The Vanished

by Sarah Dalton

  “Okay,” said the girl. She was about my age, but she seemed younger. The moonlight lit up her face, and I saw a blank innocence there. She hadn’t had my tough upbringing and I wondered which of us were the better for it. Perhaps growing up like that made you nervous of everything. Or maybe something weird and wrong was going on.

  Dr Woods acknowledged the guard. It wasn’t Cam but an older, taller soldier. Just as they were stepping through the gates the doctor said something I didn’t quite catch, but it sounded like something to do with becoming adults.

  Daniel looked at me, his eyebrows creased. “That gave me a bad feeling.”

  “Me too. That was weird.”

  We moved away from the tree wondering what strange sight we’d just witnessed. Why did the doctor describe whatever it was the kids were going to do as a celebration? A celebration couldn’t be a bad thing. Could it? Dr Woods seemed like a decent man. I began to think that my experiences at Area 14 had left me suspicious and paranoid. But another feeling niggled at me, the feeling that something was very, very wrong in the Compound, and I would have to do something about it.

  14

  “Where’ve you been?” Kitty said with a raised eyebrow as though she knew where I’d been. “Making out with lover boy?”

  I snorted and joke-punched her on the arm but couldn’t deny that my cheeks warmed at the thought of kissing Daniel again. “Just for a walk. Speaking of which, why aren’t you with Mike?” I hardly ever saw Kitty in the evenings.

  She jumped up from my sofa bed and strode over to the stove to stir whatever was cooking. She made the distance in one large stride. It was a tiny space and my bed doubled as seating space next to a small Formica table which folded up or down depending on whether it was required.

  “We had a row,” she said with a sigh.

  I squeezed past her in the narrow space, trying to get to my bed so I could sit down and pull my boots off. “What was it about?”

  “Your dad. Mike thinks that he’s training us for something, training us to fight someone. He thinks that your dad is just using us.” She scoffed but sounded nervous to tell me this. “I told him it was ridiculous and that Professor Hart would never do that.” Kitty stirred the contents of the saucepan. It smelled like baked beans… again.

  “I think he’s right,” I said. “I’ve been training with him since I was this big.” I motioned something small with my hands. “At first it was just for self-defence, and then as I got older it was my powers too. I always thought it was for protection and because he loved me, but then he left and came here with you guys instead.” My voice caught in my throat. “I don’t know who he is anymore. But what I do know is that I don’t trust him.”

  “Mina, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have brought this stuff up,” Kitty said.

  “It’s fine.” I wiped a stray tear away. “As far as I’m concerned I’m an orphan now. We observe him. We train because it helps us. But we get prepared to use it against him if we need to.” I set my jaw. I meant my words.

  “What about Hiro?” Kitty said. “Hiro lives with your dad because he trusts him.” She paused. “Hiro would hear what your dad’s intentions are.”

  “You’re right. We should talk to him and see if he knows what Dad wants us to do with our powers. I can’t believe I never thought about it before.”

  *

  Hiro hid behind my leg with his hands over his ears. Members of the crowd turned and stared at us and I tried to stroke his hair to soothe him. We were in the crowd for the big announcement by Mary and Dr Woods. I’d suggested that Hiro needed some crowd practice, but really I just wanted to get him away from my dad. Daniel stood on my left and yawned.

  I elbowed him in the ribs. “Have you got no decorum?”

  “Nope.” He grinned at me and pulled me over to him to kiss me on the cheek.

  “You two are gross,” Hiro said from behind my leg. “You’re worse than the rest of the crowd.”

  Daniel looked at Hiro again. It was the first time the two of them had met. “He can read my mind?” he whispered to me.

  “Yes,” Hiro replied, more than a little exasperated, “which is why you don’t need to whisper.”

  I giggled and patted Hiro on the head. To Daniel I said, “You’ll get used to it. I don’t mind Hiro hearing all my thoughts anymore.”

  “Even when you think about punching Mike in the face or taking Daniel’s clothes off?” Hiro said.

  Daniel stared at me wide eyed with the biggest smile on his face. “My clothes… really? Hiro can you tell me more about this?”

  “No, Hiro don’t!” I shrieked. My hands went to my face which was burning up.

  “I wouldn’t want to,” Hiro said. “All that naked stuff is weird and wrong.”

  Daniel continued to stare at me with his big grinning face. I longed for the ground to swallow me up.

  “I think I got the wrong power,” Daniel said. “Yours is much more fun, Hiro.”

  “Trust me, it isn’t,” Hiro replied.

  Thankfully, Dr Woods and Mary appeared, which gave us an excuse to stop talking about my thoughts. We were in a clearing between the crèche and the market. There was a small stage with a microphone set up which I discovered from the crowd only comes out when there is an announcement from the Council. It was like their equivalent of the screens back in Area 14. Dr Woods approached the microphone and tapped it with his finger. That was when I realised that there were speakers set up around the Compound. The sound echoed much farther than I’d imagined. Even the farmers would be able to hear.

  As I thought about the farm I thought about Angela, and I looked around to see if she was in the crowd. I saw Ali leaning against his gypsy caravan. Sebastian and Ginge were stood side by side a few feet away from me. I tried to wave, but he was staring at Ginge’s hair very intently. I made a mental note to ask him if anything was going on between them. Angela was nowhere to be seen, and my heart sank. I thought about telling Daniel of my hopes to see her but Dr Woods began to speak. Hiro reached around and squeezed my and I realised he knew how much I missed my friend.

  “Compounders,” Dr Woods began in his usual dramatic style, “thank you for joining us this morning. At least it isn’t raining.” There was a murmur of unenthusiastic laughter. I thought I saw Mary roll her eyes. “The Council have an exciting announcement to make, one which is designed to be enjoyed by all, no matter how young or old. No matter if you are a man or a woman.” He clasped his hands. “I’m sure you will have noticed the recent arrivals in the Compound.” It felt as though the entire crowd turned around to stare at us. Hiro shrank back against my leg. “And here in the Clans we want to show our new arrivals just how welcoming we can be.” Dr Woods paused as though he expected a cheer. There was silence. “Which is why we’ll be putting on a summer fete.” He paused again but the crowd failed to react. “Council-woman Mary Macdonald has the details.”

  “Well, guys, the fete is set fer two weeks’ time and we’re gonnae need volunteers. We’ll be clearing out the market stalls and settin’ up trestle tables, a pig roast and so on. If anyone’s old enough to remember yer school fete, we’ll need ye on the planning committee. Farmers – we’re gonnae need a pig slaughtered and hay bales fer sittin’ on. There’s decorations te be made.” Mary sighed. I almost laughed at her lack of enthusiasm. She echoed how the crowd felt. “I’ve a sign-up sheet fer yers. Come to the stage. Line up. C’mon. Ye’ve got te help out here, it’s compulsory.”

  The crowd started to shift into a line, and I grabbed hold of Hiro’s hand.

  “Come on, let’s go sign up for decoration making,” I said. “Mary needs our help, and it’s not like she’s not helped us.” I manoeuvred Hiro through the crowd to the queue. Daniel followed behind.

  “What can we make?” Daniel asked with a frown.

  I poked him in the chest. “You are a talented carpenter and you should tell them that. They might need help with tables or something.”

  “I guess so,” he replied.r />
  “Daniel, look.” I grabbed his arm. A few places in front of me stood Angela. She was with Cam. The two of them laughed as though they’d just heard a funny joke. “Do you think we should talk to her?”

  It was Hiro who answered. “She’s thinking about not wanting to talk to you. In fact she’s thinking about running away right now in case you do talk to her.”

  “I guess that’s a no then,” I said.

  Daniel looked at me and I saw the hurt in his eyes. We both missed Angela. We’d been through so much together.

  “Hey guys.” I turned around to see Sebastian behind us. “What are you signing up for?” He stood next to Ginge and looked flushed. He was smiling, and his brown eyes were wide and animated. It was obvious that he had a major crush on Ginge who was an extremely beautiful, albeit frightening, girl with wild red hair which hung in her eyes and whipped up in the breeze. Ali told me that she was his best rifle with the best shot in the Scavengers. She wasn’t the chatty type and would stand around snap her gum instead whilst eyeing you up as a threat.

  “Decorations,” I said. “What about you?”

  “The Scavengers are going to clear the market and I’m going to help.”

  “What about you, Ginge?” I asked.

  “I’m singin’.” She blew a bubble with her gum and it popped with a crack.

  “I didn’t know you were a singer,” I said.

  “I dunnae like te most of the time.” She talked at speed with a thick Scottish accent. I had to concentrate to understand her. “Just special occasions an’that.”

  “She has a beautiful voice,” Sebastian gushed. “Hey, isn’t that Angela? I’ve not spoken to her for ages. Is she all right?”

  I shared a glance with Daniel. We had no idea. I shrugged. Sebastian saw my expression and changed the subject, launching into a detailed retelling of the last few days on the market. I listened with a smile, holding Daniel’s hand on the left and Hiro’s on the right. We moved up the queue as people signed up for their tasks – slaughtering the pig, gathering table cloths, baking bread, finding garden games for the children.

  “What have you got left?” I asked Mary when we reached the stage.

  Mary leaned over to ruffle Hiro’s hair. “All right, laddie?”

  “Yes,” Hiro answered.

  She laughed at his shyness and then turned to me. “Ye can make bunting out of old tents?”

  I wrinkled my nose.

  “We need someone te climb trees to hang the decorations?”

  Climbing trees sounded fun. “I can help with that.”

  Mary thrust the sheet under my nose and I signed it. “What about ye, Danny-boy?”

  “I’m a carpenter.”

  “Stick yer name down here then.” Mary passed him the paper and pen.

  Daniel’s face turned scarlet and I remembered why. Trying not to make it too obvious I took the pen and paper from him and scrawled his name down. Mary noticed but didn’t say anything. I took hold of Daniel’s hand and squeezed. His eyes were back to thunderstorms.

  “What about ye?” Mary said to Sebastian.

  “I can help dismantle the market stall.”

  “All right then––”

  “I ain’t havin’ a clone touchin’ my stuff,” a man interrupted us. He pushed past us towards Mary, his fists clenched. He was young, in his twenties, with platinum blond hair.

  “Dunnae be an idiot, Glen. We need the boy’s help,” Mary said. She folded her arms and glared at the man.

  Glen turned to Sebastian with a disgusted look on his face. Then he noticed Ginge and that disgusted look turned to rage.

  “He’s with one of us? He’s with her?” he said in disbelief. “You should stick to your own, love.”

  That was too much for Sebastian. He punched the man in the face.

  15

  Glen staggered back clutching his nose and Daniel grabbed at Sebastian, pulling him away. Another man in the crowd lurched forward to avenge his friend, shoving Ginge to the ground in the process. I pulled Hiro out the way, lifting him onto the stage. Mary yelled as the second man punched Sebastian in the face. Sebastian pulled himself out of Daniel’s grip and threw himself at the new attacker. I ducked past the brawling men to help Ginge up when the two of them fell towards me, almost knocking me to the ground.

  And then I lost my temper. Remembering the kick-boxing my dad taught me, I roundhouse kicked Glen to the side and he doubled over, collapsing to the ground. Then I pushed Sebastian away from him with all my might. Sebastian went tumbling to the floor. Glen picked himself up and tried to push me out of the way. Mary and Daniel were both yelling something at me, but I didn’t hear them anymore. The heat took over and my hands tingled. The focussed energy seared through my mind and Sebastian, Glen and the new guy all hurtled through the air. I was throwing them so hard that they were going to get hurt and I panicked, thinking I was about to maim my friend. As they flew through the air, thirty feet above us, I tried to clear my mind of all the anger and concentrate on controlling them.

  “Mina!” Daniel said. “You need to catch them!”

  They were free-falling. I no longer had control. They’d slipped from my mind. Around me the crowd screamed and ran for cover. There was no guessing where they might land.

  I made my fingers twitch. I had to catch them. I had to stop them from getting hurt. My eyes screwed shut and in my mind I imagined catching them in the palm of my hand, letting them drift down onto my soft, cushiony flesh. Behind me someone gasped and I dared to open my eyes again. With relief I saw the three men hovering a few feet above the ground. I lowered them into the grass.

  “What’ve ye done, lassie,” Mary said, staring at the three gasping three men. “What have you done?”

  I turned around to see every single eye in the compound focussed on me. Dr Woods stared at me intently, an unreadable expression on his face. For a moment I felt as though he hated me. I felt as though all of them hated me. I was a Freak. I was an abomination. Tears pricked at my eyes. I turned around and ran. Daniel called after me but I ignored him. I ignored everything. I just ran.

  *

  I don’t know if I found myself back at the Chestnut tree or if it somehow found me there, but that’s where I ended up. My knees sank, I was spent from using my powers like that, and I collapsed to the floor in a heap before spreading my body out wide as if I were making a snow angel in winter.

  As I stared up at the sky Mary’s voice echoed in my mind: What have ye done, lassie? What have you done? What had I done? Turned the Compounders against us all, that’s what. Some fete it was going to be with them all hating us. I was such an idiot. After all the warnings to not use our powers I had to go and lose control. With a sigh I tried to block out those feelings and watch the birds circle the Compound instead. I’d not known it to rain yet, despite everyone telling me that it was always cold and wet in Scotland.

  “Mina.”

  I sat up and looked into the wise eyes of the little boy who knew too much. “Hey Hiro. Want to come lie down with me?”

  “Sure.” He plonked himself down on the grass. “It does rain a lot. I’ve seen it in people’s minds. Some people remember having to save their tents or their children drenched from head to toe with mud up to their knees.”

  I laughed. “Maybe I’ve scared the rain away.”

  “I don’t think you’re scary,” he said.

  I pulled him close to me. “I don’t think you’re scary either.”

  “Daniel wanted to come.”

  “Why didn’t he?” I asked.

  “He was needed to calm Sebastian down.”

  “Oh,” I said. “I didn’t do a very good job of that. Did I? Is Mary still mad at me?”

  “No, I don’t think so – just disappointed that everything ended up like it did.” He paused. “I don’t like Dr Woods. He thought nasty thoughts about you when you were using your power.”

  I shifted round on my side to look at the little boy. “Like what?”
r />   “It wasn’t clear.” He frowned. “It wasn’t words, more like a strong feeling, like he was really, really bitter. I think he’s jealous of you and he sees you like a science experiment.”

  I shuddered. “He creeps me out.”

  “Me too.”

  “Hiro?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You spend a lot of time with my dad.”

  “He looks after me in the trailer,” Hiro replied.

  “Is he a good person?” I asked. “I just don’t know what to think anymore. He hides things from me. He disappears. I can’t… trust him. Why does he train us to fight?”

  “Because of the war.”

  “What war?”

  “The Clan war,” Hiro said. “The Compound is under threat from the other Clans in Scotland and your dad is worried we’ll get hurt. He also thinks we are a good weapon, like we’re joined together to create an army or something.” Hiro’s eyes narrowed as if he was concentrating. “But then he can act strange too, sometimes. He sees a woman’s face and tries to block it out. She’ll pop up in his mind and then he’ll go for a walk to get away from me or start singing a song in his mind. It’s like he’s trying to hide something.”

  “What does she look like?”

  “She has dark hair tied back in a bun and she wears a white coat. Like a doctor’s coat.”

  My mother had dark hair but why would she wear a doctor’s coat? It had to be someone else.

  “Do you think he’s a good man, though?” I asked. For some reason I had a jitter in my stomach. I was afraid of the answer.

  Hiro paused as though weighing up all the things he’d plucked out of my dad’s head. “Yes. He’s a good man.”

  I exhaled. “Your opinion really matters, Hiro.”

  “That’s because I can read people’s minds!”

  “No, not just because of that.” I paused and then pounced on the boy, tickling him under the armpits. “Because you’re so wise!”

  He giggled and squirmed under my fingers. “Stop it!” He shouted in between giggling. “No, it’s too ticklish!”