friends. Then later when I was lying down. Denis thinks we can help them. I told Marshall about him. His picture is on the bathroom wall downstairs. Marshall says all the kids are dead. I told him they weren’t, but he didn’t believe me.’
Rian didn’t understand either. He was annoyed he couldn’t find his clothes. He discovered he was embarrassed to be naked with Genie and feeling dizzy and hungry too. Everything was just a little crazy now.
‘I never knew you were so shy. It’s kinda cute. Your clothes are in the dryer downstairs. Don’t worry, no one is going to steal them.’
Rian felt his throat and tried to swallow. God, it hurt.
Genie was so damn beautiful, so damn happy. He was being an idiot. He knew that. He was just freaked by everything, that was all. Wasn’t well yet.
‘You need food,’ Genie told him. ‘Oatmeal practically killed me when I ate it but it’s kept me going all day.’
She suddenly remembered something. ‘Oh yeah, the pig’s back. Ate a ton of stuff that wouldn’t keep and she looks so happy on the lawn.’
Rian finally smiled. Genie couldn’t be beat. She always knew how to make him feel good. He grabbed her and pulled her close. ‘Love you, Gen.’
Genie pulled away a moment. ‘That’s what you told
Renée an hour ago. You sure it’s me?’
Rian frowned. Then smiled again, realizing she was joking. ‘Everything’s too crazy for me. Way too crazy.’
Rian spread out a map of the Cascades Mountain region on the kitchen table, while Genie was sifting through a ton of clothes from goodwill bags she’d found under the stairs. Stuff that must have belonged to Marshall’s ex-wife and his kid when he was younger.
‘God, shoulder pads. This is like an Eighties’ treasure trove.’ She held up a sparkly sweater for Rian to see and he laughed.
Genie coughed and it hurt her chest. ‘We both need to take another pill, I think. Marshall said we had to finish the course.’
Rian was studying the map. ‘He said it was called the Fortress? You sure? It isn’t on the map.’
‘It’s a nickname. Is there a reservoir? It has to be close to the hydro power station. He said it was huge.’
‘There’s nothing on this map. Not even the first place we washed up near. That glass building. I mean it was a big glass tower, right? They don’t even have any road that leads to it.’
‘You sure you’re looking in the right place?’
Rian nodded. He checked the date on the map. ‘It’s
only a year old. They can’t leave stuff off. I mean . . .
can they?’
‘Power’s on. Google it. Google can see everything.’
Rian smiled. ‘Genius. OK, where’s his computer?’
They went looking for it. Tried every room, but couldn’t locate it. There wasn’t even a satellite dish outside, now they thought about it.
‘You can’t live out here without a connection, surely,’
Rian was saying. But they both knew somehow that Marshall had, had deliberately cut himself off from the whole world. Perhaps the ex-wife had driven him over the edge.
An hour later they were standing upstairs when they heard a vehicle’s wheels crunch on the gravel outside.
Rian looked at Genie.
‘Kill the light.’
She dashed for the switch.
They ran to the window, pulling the blind to one side.
Marshall was slowly climbing out of his old Chevy truck, the dog excitedly running around his legs.
‘We’d better go down,’ Rian began, but halted, pulling Genie back.
Another SUV came in behind Marshall’s. Rian recognized the driver and the four-by-four pick-up.
‘It’s a Spurlake cop. Bastard called the cops.’ He turned to Genie. ‘Grab stuff. We got to go.’
Genie ran for the bedroom.
‘Don’t forget the pills and sweaters.’
Genie grabbed as much as she could, frantically looking for a bag to stuff them into.
Rian watched the cop help Marshall in with his packages. Never seen a cop do that before, but . . . a cop’s a cop and he’d want to take them back to town.
Genie was back, breathless. ‘We can climb out by the back bedroom, get on to the garage roof and drop down.’
Rian was annoyed. He knew neither one of them was well enough to leave the farm. They needed another day at least to get over this infection and he still didn’t know which way to go. Worse, he’d left the map down on the kitchen table.
‘Come on,’ Genie was whispering. ‘We’ve got to go.’
They jumped down to the garage roof and from there down to the backyard. Genie caught her sweater on a nail and heard it rip. She swore. It was so dark and cold.
There was a clear sky overhead filled with stars. The moon hadn’t risen yet. There was no way they’d get far in this dense blackness.
‘Damn, it’s freezing, not supposed to be this cold
yet. We should have brought blankets,’ Rian told her, grabbing her hand.
They ran for the trees. Genie was full of regret. Too late, she realized that she’d grown to like it here.
Marshall was making coffee. His son came back down the stairs with a piece of paper in his hands. He entered the kitchen, patted the dog and sat down.
‘I guess they ran when they saw my uniform.’
‘That was stupid. They’re sick. They survived the flood, but it’s going to be very chilly tonight. Temperatures plummeting. Weather’s gone crazy. It’s still August for God’s sake, not supposed to be this cold yet at night. Damn it, son, I told you to wait behind till I spoke with them. They were bound to run when they saw your uniform.’
Miller sighed. ‘You didn’t tell them I was a cop? You get any names?’
‘No, never got around to telling them. Didn’t want to spook them. Girl’s called Genie. Boy’s Ri, or something.
They’re good kids. Not your usual runaways. She says he rescued her. Probably a romantic notion.’
Miller frowned. ‘Genie? Well that’s a turn up. I figured she’d drowned for sure.’
‘You know her?’
‘Not exactly, but she wasn’t lying. She was rescued from hell. I’ve met her mother and that fool Reverend Schneider. That girl must have a real will to live because she was seriously abused, Dad. I can’t prove anything, but there was something evil in her home and it sure wasn’t her.’
‘She mentioned this Reverend Schneider. Seems her mother is close to him.’
‘He’s got a lot of influence in town. Leads marches and vigils every time a kid goes missing. He’s got half the town believing Satan’s coming for their kids.’
Marshall looked at his son and sighed. ‘Well she’s really scared of him. You going to call it in, play dog-catcher?’
Miller shrugged. He was reluctant.
‘Any idea where they’re headed?’
Marshall pointed to the map on the kitchen table.
‘Your guess is as good as mine. I tried to warn the girl off. They were a bit freaked out by the clippings in my bathroom. She knows one of the kids.’
‘All of us know one of the kids. We’ve already been through this, Dad. The Chief went to the Fortress twice in the past year and saw nothing suspicious. The kids are going somewhere, sure, but not there. There’s absolutely no evidence—’
‘Son, Genie saw something at Synchro Research
plant. She claims she met one of the kids there. I know you don’t believe in “phenomena” but she says she saw Denis Malone and I believe her.’
‘Malone? Dad, listen to yourself. Malone is dead and buried. You know that. If she saw a ghost, well OK, let her believe it, but I know the Malone kid is dead.’
‘Son, one day something will happen to make you see what’s really going on. Someone is using these runaways, experimenting on them, and I’d hate it if those two kids were a part of that. Genie mentioned something about a chat forum? You know these things better than me. Som
ething about a suicide help link and offering two grand to take part in experiments in BC.’ He held up his hands. ‘I’m not saying people at the Fortress are trying to attract loners and misfits, but . . .’ He shrugged. ‘Ask around. If one kid knows, others do.’
Miller nodded. ‘I’ve heard stuff like that. We’ve got a cyber-crime officer in Hope I could talk to. She could try to trace that. There was rumour about an influenza research centre offering money. Never found it, but I had some parents insisting their kids had gone there. That’s the Web for you. Everything’s rumours and scams.’
‘Follow it up. Has no one found any traces of these other kids?’
Miller shook his head. ‘Not a one. And it won’t get easier. Have you any idea how trashed Spurlake is right now? We had a major flood, Dad. There’s two hundred dead, maybe more. Whole streets went underwater.
As if the business climate wasn’t bad enough for the town, now this. I just came to see you to make sure you’re OK at least.’
‘I’m fine. I just wish those kids hadn’t run. As unhappy as they may have been at home, nothing is worse than what will happen to them at the Fortress.’
Miller grabbed his coffee. ‘You don’t even know they’re headed there. And let’s not argue about all that again. You said yourself that all that stuff you researched was never likely to happen in my lifetime.’
‘You can’t ignore that over thirty-four or more kids have gone missing from around Spurlake and there’s the fact of the Fortress experimenting with transmission of matter. I think someone there has crossed a line.
Someone should investigate. I just don’t want those kids to wind up there, that’s all.’
‘I’m not arguing about the Fortress again. They pay their taxes, they’ve contributed a lot of money to help build shelters after this flood, they are good corporate citizens. I’ll look for the kids, but if they’re in the forest at night, they’re lost, Dad. They won’t get far. I’ve got
to head back anyways. The bridge is out and it’s a two-hour trip to get here now.’
‘That’s another thing. I told them the bridge was in the wrong place when they were building it.’
‘Well you can tell them again when they start repairs.
By the way, you know there’s a pig out there? When did you start with pigs?’
Marshall grinned.
‘Should be good for some quality bacon a few months from now.’
Miller picked up his hat. ‘Flood took out more than a hundred and fifty homes in the town. We’ve got a make-shift camp up by Princeton Park and they’re flying in tents and stuff. About five hundred people displaced and who knows how many missing. Your runaways were lucky, now I think about it. The part of Maple Street the girl lived on was torn apart. We’ve got mud and debris everywhere. The trailer parks by the river were just completely trashed. Flooded your favourite coffee shop too.’
‘McBean’s?’ Marshall was quite disappointed. It was the oldest pastry shop in Spurlake. He’d eaten there as a boy when it was called Schram and Swelter’s Continental Coffee Parlour.
‘They’re fixing it up as fast as they can. Many of the
historic buildings in town stand, but everything’s knee high in mud. The new civic offices took a real beating.
Floodwaters just sliced through them. Gonna take a while to get straight and the insurance people are claiming “Act of God” so no payouts. The Premier has allocated emergency funds to clear it up, but people are angry.’
‘Same flood happened in ’77,’ Marshall remembered.
‘That’s why I told you to buy up on the ridge. Just because it hasn’t flooded for thirty years, doesn’t mean it won’t. No one remembers anything, no one learns anything. I told the mayor, you need brick and stone at street level in Spurlake, not glass.’
‘Well, thank God I listened to you, for once.’ Miller grinned and drank his coffee quickly. ‘Better check out the forest. If they’re smart, they’ll find a hollow and huddle up. You’re right, going to be a cold one tonight. What the hell happened to our summer? Shortest ever.’ He looked back at his dad and smiled. ‘And no, I don’t want another lecture on climate change. Take it easy, Dad.
Look after yourself better, please.’
13
Lost
The cough was getting worse. Genie could feel it building.
Walking in a cold forest probably wasn’t the best way to beat this thing. Rian wasn’t doing well either, his fever had returned. They had been gone just an hour by her reckoning, but neither one of them could walk much further and they hadn’t made much progress. It was really dark. Rian had sworn there was a track but they hadn’t seen anything of it and he felt annoyed with himself for being so stupid. Genie was just disappointed about leaving the house without a plan. They were plain lost.
‘We don’t know where we’re going, do we?’
Rian said nothing. He was shivering, regretting leaving the house, regretting a lot of things.
‘We could go back,’ Genie said. ‘We could go back and—’
‘We can’t go back, Genie. We can’t. They’d take you.
I can go home. You . . .’ He coughed. His chest sounded real bad.
Genie remained silent for a while. It was freezing and the forest seemed to have closed in on them. The weather seemed to have gone from summer to fall in one day.
‘Besides,’ Rian added a moment later, ‘I’ve no idea which way we came from, let alone which way to go forward. I’m sorry, Gen, I just can’t think.’
Genie took his hand. She had no words of comfort.
They had gotten themselves into this mess.
‘We have to go back. Get warm, Ri. We’re still sick.’
‘We can’t, we . . .’
That’s when they heard a dog barking. Rian felt his heart miss a beat. Police dog. He’d let Genie down. They would be found, be separated again. He’d done everything wrong, made Genie’s life worse, not better. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a great canyon, about to fall to his death.
‘We’ve got to move.’
‘Where? I can’t see anything but one tree ahead. You said there was a track but . . .’
‘I lost the track. I’m sorry. I lost the track,’
Rian mumbled.
‘We could climb?’
‘Dog will just sit and wait for the cop to arrive.’
‘Then what?’ Genie heard the desperation in her own voice.
The dog was suddenly on them. It jumped up on Genie. It seemed real pleased to see her. ‘What? Hey boy?’ Genie was thinking that this was one hell of a tame police dog. Weren’t they supposed to bite you or pin you to the ground?
‘Hey, it’s Moucher,’ she exclaimed, bending down and hugging it. ‘You found us.’
Rian was puzzled.
‘That you, Genie?’ Marshall shouted from out of the darkness. He flipped on his flashlight, flooding the area with light. He stood some twenty metres away.
‘You might also want to give me a hand getting back.
Not easy walking for me out here. Next time you run off into the woods, take the firebreak. You’re both headed for the ravine and it’s a hundred-metre sudden drop hereabouts.’
Rian glanced at Genie. They could run but it would do them no good. Look stupid running from a man with a tin leg.
‘My son, Max, has gone. He’s a cop in Spurlake, visits every week. Genie, got to tell you that your house was badly damaged in the flood. Seems you were very lucky Rian broke you out of there when he did.’
‘Ri’s sick, Marshall. I think he’s got a chill.’
‘Don’t surprise me one bit. We got ourselves an
early frost on the way. Good for the apples, but little else.
Come on. I’ve got a fire burning and there’s a chicken in the oven that needs eating.’
‘What about us?’ Rian asked, sneezing violently.
‘First you both got to get well. Let’s get you out of this damn forest. You didn’t happen
to notice how cold it is out here? Don’t they teach you city kids anything? Never leave home without a flashlight and a compass.’
They reluctantly followed him out of the forest. The track was apparently a hundred metres to their right. If they’d found it they’d have been a long way away by now or more likely dead at the bottom of the ravine.
Fate makes plans for you and never consults.
‘Moucher found you both with no trouble at all. Think he’s fallen for you, Genie.’
‘I was planning to kidnap him first chance I got,’
Genie replied. ‘Trade him for the pig.’
‘That would be fair,’ Marshall replied, chuckling to himself.
Marshall felt Rian’s forehead as he drew alongside.
‘You’ve got a fever, Rian. You can’t just outrun sickness y’know. You have to give your body some time to build up strength.’
‘Why are you helping us?’ Genie asked, as they started towards the house.
‘Because I don’t want you to end up like all the other kids on my wall.’
‘Your son think they ended up at the Fortress too?’
Rian asked, his voice a croak now.
‘My son thinks I’m crazy and I should mind my own business.’
Genie linked her arm through Marshall’s to help him along (and steal some of his heat).
‘We have to help them, Marshall,’ she said.
‘Who?’
‘The kids. I know you don’t believe me or understand, but they’re alive. I just know they’re alive.’
14
Synchro
It had been three days since they’d returned to the house after their embarrassing episode in the forest. Three days of Ri coughing and being sick with a high fever. It was a mean virus. The antibiotics were taking their time to fix him. Marshall wanted him to see a doctor but Ri refused. He just had to sweat it out. Genie was pretty clear of it now. Whatever the pills didn’t do for Ri, they had beaten it off in her.
She had found pens and a notebook and started sketching again. It comforted her to draw, although Moucher was a terrible fidget. She worked on getting Ri’s frown just right as he slept too. She didn’t know if she was any good, but it made her happy.
The Repossession Page 10