The Repossession

by Sam Hawksmoor

  ‘Promise me you won’t tell them about the dog, Marshall. Please don’t tell them.’

  Genie wanted to cry. Had no real idea why, but she’d heard Marshall come alive for a brief moment and even though he’d lost a leg, been badly affected by the experiment, he was still as much in love with it as he had always been.

  Dr Frankenstein apparently loved the monster.

  20

  Men with Guns

  An hour later, the rain and lightning came back more fiercely than before. Genie couldn’t remember a summer like it. She’d experienced floods, heatwaves one day, freezing cold nights the next, and now these intense storms with freezing rain that fell like hard sticks hitting the ground with such force it flooded everything in just minutes. It just seemed to dump on the house all at once, arriving with a sudden wind rush that blew through the forest with astonishing ferocity.

  Marshall had been in the barn when it arrived, trying to close the doors. He was trapped there now, as water literally gushed past the buildings, taking anything not nailed down with it. Genie fretted about him. This wasn’t a secret he could keep. Instinctively she knew he’d called the Fortress, or at least someone he knew who worked there. It was too much to resist. He’d want to reconnect with scientists he’d worked with. They’d be really interested too. She and Rian had made a big discovery.

  She wondered if that kind of thing had ever happened

  before? Some unfortunate kid, or bits of them, left dying on the forest floor. But then again, it would need the lightning to strike just so and she guessed it was a one-time thing. Marshall had tried to hide his excitement and she could see that he didn’t want to bury the dog. It was pioneer science. It was something to be poked and prodded and sliced up – research, don’t you know.

  Rian had found a box of old shoes in the back room upstairs and was trying them on. It worried him he didn’t have decent footwear. The blisters on his feet told that story well enough.

  ‘You OK down there?’ Ri shouted out over the rain drumming on the roof. ‘I think I got two good pairs. They don’t match exactly but . . .’

  Genie smiled to herself. Rian would look ridiculous, but at least he might be more comfortable.

  She turned, her eyes attracted to a flickering light behind her. Denis was suddenly standing there. He looked terrible. He seemed to have aged ten years. Genie’s heart skipped a beat.

  ‘Denis? God, what happened to you?’

  ‘Genie.’ His voice seemed strained as well. ‘You’ve got to get out of here. They’re coming. They’ve got guns.’

  Genie closed her eyes and cursed. She knew this would happen.

  Denis seemed to be fading right before her eyes.

  He looked sick. How was that even possible for digital boy?

  ‘Something is going wrong. They are shutting servers down. We’re losing kids. Something has changed. You have to go now! They’re coming. They know about the dog. We heard them. They don’t want witnesses. You have to go!’

  Genie felt a heart rush, looked up the stairs and called Rian. ‘Ri?’

  Rian appeared, Renée in tow. Obviously she had delivered the same message.

  ‘Go now,’ Renée urged them. ‘Please. You’ve no idea what—’

  There was a sudden power cut, plunging them all into darkness. Denis and Renée instantly vanished.

  Abruptly the rain stopped. The last sputter of lightning flickered outside, revealing Genie at the bottom of the stairs. Thunder rolled overhead, shaking the whole house.

  Rian sat down and put on the shoes he had found.

  ‘Damn. I knew that dog was bad news.’

  ‘We go?’ Genie asked, unsure.

  ‘Damn right, we go. You were right. You heard them.

  Marshall must have told someone, I guess he couldn’t

  keep it secret. We have to get out of here, Genie. Now.’

  Genie knew it and was dreading it. She swore under her breath. Why, oh why, had they gone into the forest?

  Why did they have to find the dog?

  ‘We need stuff,’ she declared. ‘We’re a long way from anywhere.’

  ‘No time,’ Rian answered, starting down the stairs.

  ‘Where’s Marshall?’

  ‘The barn.’

  ‘Grab water, some food. I’ll get a blanket and a couple of sweaters. Wait by the door.’

  Genie ran into the kitchen, colliding with a chair.

  ‘Damn.’ She rubbed her shins, her eyes watering with the pain.

  Moucher whined. He was sitting in his basket. He’d taken to it the moment the first crack of thunder had shook the house and lay there, quaking with fear.

  ‘It’s OK, Mouch, it’s just me. Power’s out.’

  She groped her way to the larder and grabbed water, a plastic bag, cookies. She looked for the flashlight, but couldn’t find it. Always the way, you need a flashlight to find a flashlight.

  ‘Genie!’ Ri was calling.

  Genie spun around. Time to leave. She made her way back towards the door.

  Rian was waiting. Door open, rain dripping off the porch. ‘You got shoes on? It’s going to be muddy.’

  Genie whispered, ‘Yes,’ and moved outside. It seemed wrong to leave without saying goodbye to Marshall. She felt something brush by her legs.

  ‘Eew, what . . . ?’

  The dog barked once.

  ‘No. No. You can’t come, Mouch. You can’t come.’

  Rian was already walking away. ‘Genie, come on. Ignore the dog. He knows where he lives.’

  Genie ran to catch up. It was pitch black. No stars. No moon. The dog close at heel, happy to be with her. Perhaps feeling guilty he’d abandoned her before.

  ‘Which way?’ she asked.

  ‘The track up the hill. We get up high and then wait in the cave.’

  ‘There’s a cave?’ Genie asked, looking at him with surprise.

  ‘There’s a huge rock with a hollow. I found it a few days ago. Was going to surprise you with a picnic there on Monday.’

  ‘You were? How many other secrets you got, Rian Tulane?’

  Rian took her hand and squeezed it. ‘Remember I asked you to make a cake?’

  ‘The one I put in the freezer ’cause you said you weren’t hungry.’

  ‘And you sulked for about three hours.’

  That she remembered.

  ‘That was for Monday. Been building up to it.’

  ‘But why?’

  ‘Anniversary, Genie Magee. And I thought you were the romantic one.’

  ‘But we didn’t kiss until . . .’

  ‘We met. We talked outside the ice rink exactly twelve months ago on Monday.’

  Genie shook her head. Unbelievable. He was right.

  She was supposed to be the romantic one. ‘We should have run away then. First day. I should have grabbed your hand and made you run.’

  Rian took her hand again and held it firmly. He kinda wished they had run. Might have avoided all this.

  Would have been living in Florida or some place by now.

  Moucher suddenly stopped beside Genie and let out a whimper. Genie turned her head to see what he was staring at.

  ‘Ri, look.’

  They were already above the farmhouse. In the distance they could see three distinct pairs of car headlights making their way towards the farm. Engine

  noise was only just audible. No one, but no one, came out here for anything. It had to be the men from the Fortress. It would be a struggle. The road would be mush and mud after all that rain.

  ‘Renée was right,’ Rian muttered.

  Genie was suddenly thinking of Denis. How ill and pale he looked. Like part of him was missing.

  ‘Keep moving,’ Rian told her, moving off. ‘We got to put some space between us.’

  Genie followed. She needed no telling. The dog seemed to know where they were headed and moved on ahead.

  She wondered how they’d feed him or how they’d feed themselves. It was a distance to the ne
xt town. Two days walking in these conditions at least and all they had were cookies.

  ‘I hope Marshall knows what he’s doing,’ Rian remarked.

  Genie stopped a moment, a stone in her shoe. She looked back down the slope. The car headlights were getting closer. She reflected on the fact that there always seemed to be someone to be scared of. Always.

  They reached the cedar forest just as the cars arrived.

  Even from up on the hill they could hear car doors slam and voices calling out. Genie felt relieved they had gotten away. If they started out after them, they had a

  good headstart and they were fit and young and the Fortress men wouldn’t be. She drew comfort from that.

  Rian moved right, scrabbling between rocks. Up above them the cloud cover was clearing, stars could be glimpsed in places. ‘Come on. Not far now,’ Rian whispered. ‘Say nothing. Voices carry at night.’

  Genie nodded briefly. She wanted to see this cave.

  She was still slightly annoyed he’d kept it secret, even if it was for their anniversary.

  By the time they reached the rock, the cloud cover had gone entirely. The night was filled with brilliant stars and below them they could see the farmhouse reflected in the car headlights. Hear angry shouting too.

  Genie looked into the dark cave and smiled. Rian had carried two old canvas chairs up here and made what looked like a picnic table. He hadn’t been joking.

  ‘Cute,’ Genie whispered, her hot breath on his neck as she kissed him.

  A sudden shot rang out below them. Another. A car exploded. Another shot was fired and then they saw the first flicker of flames from the barn. They had torched the barn.

  ‘Damn,’ Rian mumbled, instinctively wanting to run and help.

  Genie grabbed his arm, held him back. She began

  to shake. She imagined all kinds of things. All scenarios had Marshall lying there dead. ‘You think they’ll come looking for us?’

  Rian held her tight. Didn’t know any more than she did but he kissed the top of her head. He was worried about something more immediate now. ‘The forest could burn.’

  Genie had thought about that too. But the rain would have soaked everything earlier. Nevertheless, it was still late summer and it had been dry before today. It depended on how wet the forest floor was, she guessed.

  She wondered where her pig was. She prayed she’d run away but feared not; the pig liked to sleep in the barn.

  ‘We safe here?’ Genie whispered.

  ‘For now. We wait and watch. All we can do. Wait and watch.’

  The barn burned quickly, roaring and popping with all kinds of things exploding and showering the yard with sparks. Luckily the wind had dropped completely.

  Trees behind the barn burst into flame, but by chance Marshall had clear cut the old growth beyond that just a week before. The fire wouldn’t cross that empty space.

  By a small miracle the forest didn’t catch, even though sparks flew high into the sky. Hot cinders and ash climbed vertically and drifted over towards the

  farmhouse rather than the forest. It was sheer chance everything was soaking wet.

  The barn burned intensely for about forty minutes.

  Genie had a vision of Marshall lying shot dead or burned alive – she tried to shut it out of her head.

  ‘What do you think they’re doing down there?’ Genie asked after a while.

  ‘Looking at everything. His notebooks, whatever.

  Digging up the dog.’

  ‘I don’t think he buried it. He just said he was going to bury it to please me.’

  Genie knelt down and rubbed Moucher’s head. She wondered again if Marshall was dead. She realized that she really cared about that. He’d been the first adult ever to be nice to her. She said a little prayer for him and hoped it was enough.

  Around four a.m. they heard a car door slam.

  Then more. The cars turned around. They watched two cars leave.

  ‘Should we go down?’ Genie queried Rian shook his head, barely awake, his head felt so heavy.

  ‘Uh-uh. We don’t know they all left.’

  ‘Marshall might need—’ Genie began, but Rian held her back.

  ‘He’d be the first to say be cautious. We’ll wait till first light. Not long now.’

  Genie felt guilty. What if Marshall needed help? Rian was only trying to protect her but . . . She stared at the ground. Sandy and dry, it would be OK to sleep here for an hour and she had Ri and Mouch to keep her warm.

  ‘You think there are any snakes?’

  ‘Moucher here is a snake dog. Aren’t you, Mouch?

  Anything comes close to us, pounce. Got it?’

  Genie smiled as the dog seemed to nod at him. ‘He looks very serious.’

  ‘He’d better be. Got you to protect now, Genie.’

  He took Genie’s hands and pulled her arms around his neck. ‘I think we’re safe. But we’re staying put to make sure. All right? I know you want to go down there. But I think Marshall’s dead. We can’t help him now.’

  Genie bit on her lip. She wasn’t convinced. Not till she’d seen him with her own eyes. She felt Rian lean in to kiss her. She felt his lips and his hands holding her tight and she began to float. A huge shiny wall of glass was suddenly wrapped around them both and they were utterly, completely safe.

  They didn’t witness the shooting star streak across the indigo sky.

  21

  Devastation

  Moucher woke Genie. He sat up straight and whimpered like he was scared. Genie sat up instantly awake. It was daybreak, the sun had not yet risen. Rian was still asleep beside her, his head resting on a rock. She turned and suddenly saw what Moucher was staring at.

  The white-tailed deer was beautiful. It didn’t seem afraid of them at all and grazed on a lush patch of grass.

  Genie stared at its antlers and as the light grew in intensity she could see some scarring too from fights. She reached out to Moucher and held his collar. She didn’t want him to do anything rash. Moucher looked at her as if to say, ‘Are you crazy, have you seen the size of that thing?’ but at least he stopped shaking.

  The deer moved off back down towards the forest.

  By the time Rian woke, the deer had vanished and Moucher was sniffing the ground around them, impatient to get home.

  ‘Ow, my neck.’

  Genie smiled. ‘My shoulders. Can’t believe how

  hard sand is to sleep on.’

  She brushed sand off Rian’s back and he got up and ran to the bushes. Genie had already done the squat, deathly scared that a snake would find her whilst she was so vulnerable. She was looking at the cave when she noticed graffiti. G & Ri Forever. She felt suddenly very warm inside. G & Ri Forever. Exactly. She decided not to say anything about it – just commit it to memory. She wondered when he’d written that. She would have written it in the sky in reply if she could, in giant letters for the world to see.

  Moucher came up to her and barked once. He wanted his breakfast.

  ‘Cookie?’ She dug the last cookies out of the bag for him and he snapped them up.

  Rian was looking down at the farmhouse below.

  Smoke was still rising from the burned-out barn, a wooden skeleton all that was left. The sun was slowly rising now.

  ‘You think it’s safe to go down now?’ Genie asked.

  Rian wasn’t sure. ‘Maybe.’

  Genie stood up, brushing sand off her jeans.

  ‘I hope they left some food.’

  Rian looked at her and shook his head.

  ‘All you can think about is breakfast?’

  ‘I’m trying not to think about the trouble we’re in, Ri.

  Or what happened to Marshall.’

  Rian looked back down at the farmhouse. ‘Anyone who can use live, lonely kids and dogs for experiments, knowing they’re going to die, wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone who knew about it.’

  ‘You realize that means us,’ Genie said.

  ‘And that mean
s us. We go down, get stuff and get the hell out, Gen. It was good being here, but we’ve got no business being here now.’

  Genie shivered. She’d grown used to this place, even happy – and she couldn’t remember when she’d ever been happy.

  They set off down the slope towards the farmhouse.

  Moucher racing ahead, glad to be going home. Her heart went out to the dog. He was going to have a shock when he got there.

  The farmhouse was silent. The burned-out shell of a Fortransco Ford Edge SUV stood outside the house. It had taken several surrounding trees and bushes with it but hadn’t caused major damage. There was no sign of Marshall. Moucher was barking and if that didn’t get anyone’s attention, nothing would. Genie looked at Ri and he signalled that they should go by the back way.

  Genie nodded.

  They looked in through Marshall’s ground-floor bedroom window. It was a mess. Someone had trashed it.

  Rian listened for trouble at the back door left ajar but all he could hear was the sound of the fridge. The power was back on, at least.

  They didn’t go in. Rian didn’t feel it was safe. He signalled to Genie to go around to the front.

  They emerged by the overgrown blackberry bushes at the side of the house.

  Moucher spotted them and ran up, wagging his tail.

  He had no idea what was going on. Genie could see a lot more trees had perished behind the barn than she’d originally thought but weirdly one tree stood untouched and green, whilst those all around it were crispy black.

  ‘Where’s Marshall?’ Genie asked him and Moucher immediately dashed off towards the barn.

  They followed, cautiously, hoping there was no one in the house watching.

  The barn frame was a charred ember, still smoking.

  The remains of an old tractor all that had survived inside.

  The smell of cinders and ash was strong. Moucher was barking again. Genie recognized that his tone had changed; it wasn’t a happy bark.

  ‘I don’t think I want to look,’ Genie said, wincing.

  Rian said nothing, but rounded the corner and checked his steps.

  Marshall was lying on the ground, his prosthetic leg detached and partially burned where he’d fallen. Beside him lay his shotgun, the stock blackened and blistered.