The Blemished (Blemished Series)

by Dalton, Sarah

  I watched them out of the window, my nose pressed against the glass, Sebastian and his father. Mr Cole pointed and yelled. Sebastian, with his head low, moved in the direction of his dad’s finger, carrying out his orders, whatever they were. I moved back to the door and listened. There was movement on the stairs, the slow plodding movement of Mrs Cole. I ran back to the bed and slipped under the covers. I pulled them right up to my chin and then rolled on my side to feign sleep.

  She turned the key in the lock and the handle rattled. I heard the slight squeak of the hinges before her feet shuffled across the carpet. She paused for a moment and then placed a tray carefully on the bedside table. She hesitated again and I felt her eyes on me, watching. The moment hung in the air for what felt like hours. Eventually her feet shuffled away and the door squeaked shut. I waited for the lock to click and listened for her footsteps on the stairs before I jumped out of bed. I ran over to the wall.

  “She’s gone,” I whispered. “She didn’t deliver you food?”

  “No,” Daniel replied. “She wouldn’t risk it. I’m too strong, I could overpower her easily. I’m guessing they would wait until the farmers are done in the fields and then he’d be in here with his gun making sure I don’t try anything.”

  “Sebastian and his dad are still outside.”

  “Good,” Daniel said. “Are your things in your room?”

  “No. Only my clothes.”

  “We’ll have to get to Angela first, she can tell us.”

  “Daniel?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are we going to do if Angela doesn’t want to come with us?”

  Daniel paused. “She will.”

  “She’s under their spell, Daniel.”

  “We can’t leave her here. These people are crazy.”

  “To us they are. Perhaps to her they will be nothing more than a loving home, the kind of home she wants to have,” I said.

  “She’s my sister. I can’t give up on her.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’m sorry. I won’t give up on her either. But we have to give her the choice.”

  “Listen, Mina,” Daniel said his voice firmer now. “I love Angela.” He said awkwardly. “You know I do. She’s my little sister.”

  I thought of my conversation with Angela in the woods and cringed.

  “Do you think they would look after her?” he said after a pause.

  “Yes,” I replied. “I really do. That woman looks at her like she’s the reincarnation of her dead daughter.”

  “Ok,” he said. “We’ll go to Angela. We’ll give her the choice and then she has to make up her own mind. She’s not stupid. She knows what’s going on here. She’s a lot more grown up than you think. I know she’ll make the right decision.”

  I nodded to myself. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Just get me out of here. You’ll have to find a key and you’ll have to be quiet about it. Silent.”

  “I got it.”

  “Good luck,” he said.

  “That sounds too much like good-bye,” I said with a gulp.

  “It’s not good-bye because I know you can do it. I believe in you.”

  *

  The lock clicked back. I eased the door open a crack and pushed my eye to the gap. It was clear. Carefully, I opened the door wider, just wide enough to slip through. I was barefooted, carrying my shoes, so I moved silently along the carpeted landing. I had no idea where to find the keys. The most logical place would be on Mrs Cole which would mean having to do something messy, like fighting or stealing, neither of which appealed. Downstairs someone laughed. I peeked through the banisters to see Angela and Mrs Cole folding laundry. Angela touched Mrs Cole on the arm and the woman returned with a beaming smile. Persuading Angela to help was going to be difficult. I waited for Mrs Cole to leave and then I padded down the stairs.

  “Angela?” I whispered.

  She looked at me with wide eyes. “What the hell are you doing down here? You should be upstairs. Where’s Daniel?”

  “In his room. I have to get him out. Angela, we have to leave. She’s got us locked up. It isn’t safe.”

  “I know,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  She took my arm and led me into a corner of the room. She leaned forward and spoke quietly. “I mean that I know we can’t stay here. As soon as I knew they locked you up I’ve been looking for a way to get the keys from her. But she’s so guarded. I’ve been working her down, trying to persuade her to let me deliver you both the food, but she’s clever and she doesn’t trust me enough yet.”

  “Oh, thank God,” I said. “I thought you were with them.”

  We heard footsteps.

  “Quick, in here,” Angela hissed.

  She pointed to a store cupboard. I climbed in with the mop and dust pans. She put her finger to her lips and closed the door. I watched them through the slats in the wood. Angela turned back and began folding up a shirt. Mrs Cole bundled into the room, still smiling. I spotted the keys on her belt.

  “Now, dear, how do we fold shirts?” Mrs Cole asked.

  Angela neatly displayed her talents and Mrs Cole smiled.

  “That’s right, dear,” she said. “You’re really getting the hang of it now. Tomorrow I will show you how to iron a crease into trousers.”

  “I’d like that,” Angela said. I hoped that it was only me who noticed the tremble in her voice.

  The front door opened, letting in the howl of the wind outside. Mr Cole stomped into the lounge, still clutching his rifle.

  Mrs Cole tutted. “Really, Vincent. Take your boots off in the house.”

  She was ignored by her husband. “Enforcers are on their way.”

  My body went cold. Angela stiffened.

  “Enforcers?” Angela said quietly. “Why are the Enforcers coming?”

  Mr Cole gestured up the stairs with his rifle. “They want the girl. I’m giving them the girl. That way we can go on living here. Catherine – you, me and the boy are going to get in the basement for a bit, let them do their business.”

  Angela dropped the shirt. “They are on their way now?”

  “That’s right.”

  Mrs Cole moved closer to her husband. “Angela is coming with us.”

  “No she isn’t,” said Mr Cole. He turned to Angela. “You can get a head start or stay here with your friends. The choice is yours.”

  “Not much of a choice,” snapped his wife. “I’m not going down there without her.”

  She put a protective arm around Angela who leaned her body into the embrace. The two women had their backs to the closet door, and I saw what Mrs Cole did not. Angela reached around her back and gently unclipped the keys from her chain. Mr Cole grabbed his wife and pulled her away from Angela just as she slipped the keys into her pocket.

  “You will not talk back to me,” Mr Cole threatened his wife. He held her roughly by the lapel of her dress.

  “Stop it Vincent,” Mrs Cole said. She put some venom in her voice but there was fear too. “You won’t take my daughter away from me.”

  Angela backed up to the cupboard door, pretending to be frightened of the scene unfolding before her.

  “You stupid woman, that isn’t your daughter.” He slapped her around the face.

  “Dad!” Sebastian burst into the room. “What are you doing? Leave Mum alone.” He pulled his mother away from his dad.

  Amid all the chaos Angela whispered to me through the door. “Can you disarm him?”

  “Yes,” I said back.

  “You might have to fight him while I let Daniel out.”

  “Done,” I whispered.

  “I’m doing what needs to be done,” Mr Cole said to his son. “This is the only way we can stay here and look after the farm. I had to make this bargain with the Enforcers.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sebastian said. He clutched onto his mother, looking more like a little boy than a young man.

  “Enforce
rs are coming for the girl,” Mr Cole said. “I made a bargain with them to keep the farm.”

  “When?” Sebastian said. I couldn’t see his face but felt the shock in his voice.

  “Not important,” Mr Cole replied.

  “Before you told me about her?”

  “Yes.”

  “You said she was special. Needed my protection.” Sebastian’s voice quivered with emotion. “You had me follow her. Seduce her. You made me fall in love with her. And it was all to sign her death warrant?”

  Mr Cole kept a level gaze on his son. “It was nothing personal, son. A tracker contacted me from Area 10. She’s a freak, Sebastian, a genetic freak. You don’t want a girl like––”

  “You played me,” Sebastian said in disbelief. “You put her in my head. You made me want her.” He kept shaking his head, stepping slowly towards his dad.

  Mr Cole said. “She’s dangerous, son. More dangerous than you can imagine. Do you know how many Enforcers she’s killed just getting here?”

  Something dropped in my stomach like a stone. Did people die? I thought of the boat collision on the canal. Bile rose in my throat.

  “No,” Sebastian said. I could see his body shaking through the slats in the doors. “No, she wouldn’t.”

  “I think it’s time,” Angela whispered.

  I concentrated on Mr Cole’s gun. This needed to be swift, not like with the Enforcers. I needed to get rid of the gun completely. I built up the anger inside me. I focussed it. I let it tear through my mind. The gun ripped from Mr Cole’s hand and I flung it across the room and through a window. The window shattered and then all hell broke loose.

  48

  Angela took her cue and disappeared up the stairs. I broke free from the cupboard, throwing myself at Mr Cole – still staggered from losing his gun. Sebastian watched open mouthed as I punched his father in the face. Mr Cole recovered quickly, he was tough and in good shape, after stumbling back from my blow he came back strong, grappling me to the floor. Sebastian yelled for us to stop but Mr Cole hit me in the stomach.

  “I’m not going to let you ruin it!” he screamed at me.

  I pushed hard on his chest and rolled him on his back, hitting him again. Blood spurted from his nose. Someone tried to pull me away and I lashed out, hitting something soft with my elbow. I turned to see Mrs Cole, clutching her side where I jabbed her. Mr Cole took advantage of my lapse in concentration and grabbed me by the neck. My windpipe crushed and my throat burned. I scratched at his hands. Heat spread up from my chest to my face and I began to see spots. Panicked, I punched at him, not caring where I hit, not even being able to focus. Just as the world started to go black he let go and I rolled back onto the floor. When I recovered I saw Daniel and Mr Cole tumbling on the floor.

  “You little bitch!” Mrs Cole screamed before throwing a candle stick straight for my head.

  I ducked. It smashed behind me on the floor.

  “Stop this! All of you stop this!” Sebastian shouted. He stood in the middle of the room, his face wet with tears, his body frozen amid the chaos. I heard a noise like a ping and Sebastian’s hand went to his face. He turned his head and I saw the trail of blood on his cheek.

  “Everybody down!” I screamed.

  Mrs Cole, Angela and Sebastian all flattened themselves to the floor. Mr Cole and Daniel stopped fighting, and rolled on their stomachs.

  “They’re shooting at us?” Mr Cole said in disbelief.

  “Looks like you made a good deal with them,” I shouted back.

  A window smashed. Cushions exploded. A china vase shattered. We were surrounded.

  “I thought they wanted you alive,” he replied.

  “You thought wrong.”

  I focussed my anger and mentally moved the heavier furniture to block the doors. They wouldn’t last long. I crawled over to Daniel and Angela.

  “Is there a way out of this place?” I shouted to Mr Cole. “You mentioned a basement.”

  He stayed silent, his eyes wide. I could almost see the thoughts running through his head.

  I set my jaw, maintained eye contact and said slowly. “They will kill us. We are three children and they are going to kill us.”

  He swallowed but still didn’t answer.

  “If we go now, we have a chance.”

  Still nothing.

  “I’ll take Sebastian with us. We’ll take him to The Clans where he will have a better life. Your life here is over and you know it.”

  Mr Cole finally blinked. He crawled into the centre of the room and flipped over a rug revealing a rope handle. He tugged on it and a trapdoor opened. “Down here. At the back there is a trip switch that flips a wall. Behind the wall there is a tunnel. You follow that tunnel into the woods and you run. I will hold them off here as long as I can.” He turned to his son. “Sebastian you go with them.”

  I motioned for Daniel and Angela to follow me and made my way to the tunnel. I helped Angela down first.

  “I can’t leave,” Sebastian said meekly.

  “Yes you can.” Mr Cole took his son by the shoulders. Behind them another vase exploded. “If anyone can keep you safe it’s that girl.”

  Mrs Cole crawled over by her son and embraced him. “I love you, Sebastian. And… I’m sorry.”

  Mr Cole hugged him too. “I’ve been an old fool. Forgive me.” His voice broke.

  “I love you both,” Sebastian said to his parents.

  He broke away from them and headed for the trapdoor. I helped him down the steps.

  Mr Cole turned to me. “Forgive me. I made a terrible mistake. Please keep him safe.”

  I said nothing. I slipped down into the darkness.

  *

  Daniel dropped down behind me. He sucked in air as though in pain but I could see nothing in the darkness.

  “Are you hurt?” I whispered.

  “No. Keep moving.”

  Sebastian turned on a torch. “We keep it by the wall,” he explained.

  We hurried to the fake wall Mr Cole had told us about. Sebastian pulled a hidden lever underneath a shelf – the room was set out like a bunker with tins of food, bunk beds and even a toilet – and the wall opened like a door to reveal a very narrow tunnel dug through the earth. Sebastian led the way.

  “Make sure to pull the door back tight,” he said. “We need to move as fast as we can.”

  As my feet touched the wet soil I realised that I’d left my shoes in the Cole’s storage cupboard. The tunnel was just a few inches wider than Daniel’s shoulders and tall enough that his hair skimmed the soil above. I noticed Daniel was pale and sweaty.

  “Are you all right?” I asked.

  “Fine. Walk faster.”

  I turned back and obeyed, following Angela. Sebastian lit the way with his torch, revealing the wooden framework of the tunnel holding up the ceiling. I tried not to think of the weight of the soil above our heads. The floor sloped and we went further underground. I inhaled dank, musty, thick air, made warm with our breath in the confined space.

  It was hard going and we moved quickly but soon I could not ignore the ache in my calves and my belly. The tunnel was taking us deep into the woods, which was good if the Coles kept their part of the bargain and distracted the Enforcers. I tried not to think about what would happen to Sebastian’s parents. Instead I thought about the Clans and seeing my dad again. In front of me, Angela tripped and I bumped into her.

  The longer we walked the more the tunnel sapped my hopes away. My throat choked on the lack of air and I felt certain that the Enforcers would find us. What if they tortured the Coles? I couldn’t imagine Mrs Cole holding up well under duress. My hair was matted with soil. My body ached all over. I was exhausted from using my gift and fighting the Coles. I tripped over a root and landed on my knees. Daniel pulled me up.

  “Come on, Mina,” he whispered into my ear. “You can do this.”

  I touched my necklace and drew energy from it. I drew energy from Daniel.

  “The floor is slopi
ng up,” Sebastian called back. “We’re close.”

  My heart quickened. There was a chance that the Enforcers were waiting for us in the woods. We were unarmed. We would die. But there was also the chance that we’d fooled them and escape. I couldn’t give up hope.

  The floor climbed beneath my feet and I followed it. Steeper and steeper it climbed and my leg muscles ached. Behind me Daniel panted. Angela stopped.

  “We’re here,” Sebastian said. “There is a ladder leading up to the manhole.”

  “How far have we walked? How deep are we inside the woods?” I asked between pants.

  “At least a few miles,” Sebastian answered. “Do you think it’s safe?”

  “Just, be careful.” I said.

  “Do I have to go first?” he said.

  Daniel answered. “After what your parents did? Yes.” His voice sounded strained.

  I saw Sebastian nod and then he climbed the ladder. There was an agonising pause as the manhole cover screeched open. I waited for the sound of gunfire. Despite everything Sebastian and his family had done, I didn’t want him to get hurt.

  “It’s all clear,” he called down, keeping his voice low. Sunlight flooded the tunnel and I had to squint.

  I exhaled. “Okay, Angela next.”

  She climbed and I watched her carefully. As Sebastian helped her out I put my hand on the first rung.

  “Mina, I don’t think I can make it out,” Daniel said.

  I turned around and my mouth fell open. Daniel looked terrible. His skin had turned to a sickening green-white. His hair was plastered with sweat, dirt trickled down his face in tracks. He held onto his shoulder. I moved towards him, instinctively taking some of his weight. He looked on the brink of collapse.

  “What happened?” I said.

  “I was shot,” he answered.

  “No,” I whispered.

  Daniel sagged in my arms, his legs buckling beneath him. “Leave me.”

  Tears welled in my eyes and there was a ripping pain in my chest, something deep within and agonising. “No.”

  He looked deep into my eyes. “Leave. Me.”

  49

  “I need help,” I shouted up. “No, Daniel. No! Don’t give up. Please.”