One Wish, One Choice
Page 21
The driver of the van moved into view.
“Everyone out,” he said bluntly, before disappearing back around the side.
No one moved.
“Who’s getting out first?” Anja whispered, so only her friends could hear.
She swore she heard Faye mumble, “Wimps,” before she took a step, let go of Miles’s hand, and gracefully lept out.
Miles broke the line next, hopping down much less gracefully than Faye.
Anja saw Hailey helping Willow into her wheelchair. The old couple slowly directed the little girl to the open doors. When they were all out the little girl went to sit in Willow’s lap, hiding her face from the crowd.
Anja gripped Rufus’s hand tighter. “I’m not letting go of you.”
“Okay. Then I guess we’re doing this together.” They both stepped out.
The crowd’s murmuring stopped. A middle-aged woman with dark black hair strode forward. At her side was a small boy. His hair was the same colour as the woman’s, and like hers, it was so curly that gravity seemed to have given up on trying to keep it under control.
The woman adjusted her square glasses and smiled as she noticed that she had the group’s attention. She stopped just in front of Faye. “Welcome.” She looked friendly, but Anja had learned not to judge people on her first opinion of them. “You all look terrified.”
Nobody replied. The woman turned to the crowd around her. “Maybe it would help to have some privacy?”
There was some grumbling from the crowd but they started to disperse. She has to be their leader.
She turned back to the group. “I need to have a word with your driver, but my son will give you a quick tour of the camp,” looking pointedly at her son. He nodded twice before running forward to address the group.
“Hello.” He held his hands tightly behind his back, obviously a gesture he’d learned from his mother. His cheerfulness made Anja smile. “Please follow!” The boy beckoned them, then ran off, leaving them to hurry after him.
Once they passed the crowd of onlookers they could finally see the camp. Tents surrounded them with long, dipping tops and sides rolled up to allow a breeze to flow through. Mats and cots were set out under most of them. The camp was busy, with people sitting on wooden stools around a few small fires, children playing in the field to the right of the camp, and cooks bustling in the kitchen. Everything was alive with life, laughter ringing in Anja’s ears.
They learned quickly that the small boy liked to talk and didn’t like to be interrupted with questions. When Rufus asked how many Sorcerers were in the camp the boy huffed out his cheeks and glared at him. Rufus chuckled and mimed zipping up his mouth as the boy continued, “That’s the kitchen. If you ask, they sometimes give you snacks. Oh, that’s my tent!” He gestured excitedly to an unremarkable tent squeezed in between the others.
He showed them their sleeping arrangements. A tent on the south side of the camp had recently been emptied so they could all live in the same space. He also told them about the food schedule in great detail.
“How long have you been staying here?” Anja asked him.
The boy crossed his arms and didn’t reply for a good few seconds, annoyed at yet another interruption on his ‘tour’.
“We came here when I was…” he stuck up three fingers.“It was dangerous and no one could know about my Daddy’s superpowers.”
He continued to chatter about the camp until Anja feared he would run out of breath. At last, his mother walked up to them. The boy ran up and hugged her.
“Mummy, I showed them around!”
She nodded to him, ruffling his hair before he rushed away. She turned to face the rest of them.
“Well, now that you’ve seen the camp, we need to discuss what we’re going to do next. Things need to change and we’re going to change them,” she said. “We’ve got a plan, a way to make the government fall. But we need people to change things from inside the system. It’s going to be difficult and dangerous.” She turned and planted herself with her hands on her hips. “In exchange for your help, we will house you here and teach those of you with powers how to use them.” She paused, looking at them each in turn. “The choice is yours. Are you in?”
Anja took one look around the group. All her friends stood there, old and new, with the same fire burning in their eyes.
She knew she could answer for them all. Anja uttered the words loud and clear, “We’re in!”
Epilogue
Rufus settled himself on a roughly made bench under a large piece of tarpaulin. His sister and her friends were still talking to the lady who claimed to have all the answers.
His hands were shaking as he extended them, trying to pull forth the connection between himself and the earth. He felt the strain on his body and the way his mind buzzed, ready to use the power the necklace had given him. But as the power rose it also began to die. He felt it flicker out inside him.
No, no, no.
He pushed himself off the bench and onto the grass, his knees digging into the dirt. Placing his hands on the ground, he tried pulling energy from deep within the earth.
He tried again, every cell in his body working.
Please… don’t do this to me.
But as he knelt there, the warmth that had previously flowed through his veins when calling his power wasn’t there. His blood felt cold. The connection that he’d had with the world around him disappeared, just as quickly as it had come.
He fell forward, his forehead flat against the dirt, his fists hitting the ground either side of his head. The internal screams faded, replaced an emptiness.
It’s gone.
No one had considered that the power would run out. They’d thought that it had turned him into a Sorcerer. But now he knew that they had been wrong. The same hopelessness that he’d felt in the cell returned in force. A sickness filled his stomach.
The cell.
Memories flooded his mind, a wave overpowering every thought. He remembered every moment. The cold, concrete floor, the few tasteless meals, the drone of the air vent. Most of all, Atgas’s dark eyes staring through the slot in the door. She had seemed so nice, offering him food in exchange for information. He’d almost given in. He was going to tell her everything on her next visit.
But the next pair of eyes to appear behind the door hadn’t been hers. They were piercing blue. The man begged him not to give Atgas the information she wanted. “Don’t give her the only bargaining tool you have. She can’t let you go, so once she has got everything out of you, you’ll just be a liability.”
The words had given him the strength to refuse Atgas on the next visit. He had been confident that she would value his information enough to offer him his freedom in return. But he had been wrong.
He pushed himself from the ground and sat back on the bench. He heard Anja’s voice and smiled. He may have lost his power, but they were finally safe.
When the others reached him he asked to talk to the leader alone.
Anja scowled. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything, because Rufus knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to her.
They walked by a few tents. When they were safely out of earshot, she turned to him and smiled.
“What is it you want to discuss?”
“How many Sorcerers are here?”
“Twenty-eight, including you.”
Rufus shuffled his feet. “Well, let’s maybe not include me.”
Her reaction was subtle, her expression tightening. But she kept quiet, waiting for his explanation.
“My powers have run out,” he told her.
“A Sorcerer’s powers can’t just run out.”
“Yeah, that would be because I’m not a Sorcerer. The necklace didn’t turn me into one, it just gave me the powers contained inside it.” He was fed up of thinking about it, so he shut his mouth tightly, waiting for her response.
“Interesting.”
Rufus finally met her eyes, annoyed that he hadn’t received the response
he’d wanted. “Are you going to kick us out?”
“No, we can’t do that. If you were to leave we’d have to kill you.” Rufus’s body stiffened. The lady smiled. “I’m joking.” A little chuckle escaped her lips. “But you have shown us that maybe we can share the powers.” She looked around, lost in thought.
Rufus broke the silence impatiently. “You still need me?”
“Of course. You are paramount to our plans. The government fears you, Rufus.”
“They what?” His voice broke.
“You’re the first Sorcerer to successfully use your powers against them in a very long time.”
“Not a Sorcerer,” Rufus muttered. She ignored him.
Her talkative son rushed up, his curls covering his face as he stumbled to stop in front of his mother. As he struggled to get the message out she reached down and held his hand, calming him. “What is it?” Her voice was peaceful but her eyes held fear.
“News.” The little boy sucked in a breath. “Important.” He pointed behind his back.
His mother squeezed his hand and sent him off. She strode back to the group. Rufus followed quickly behind.
A dark-skinned, older man stood with Anja, Willow and the others. He nodded when she came to a stop next to him. “Ash, what’s going on?” she asked.
He took a small step towards her and whispered something in her ear. She frowned.
“Well,” she muttered. “That does change things.”
Everyone moved closer, waiting for an explanation. She turned to them, her face dignified but worried. “You said Jabez killed his mother.”
“He did,” Anja replied. Rufus had never heard his sister’s voice so quiet.
“Well,” said the lady, “it seems she’s more resilient than you thought.”
Rufus couldn’t breathe. “You mean…?”
She nodded, her expression grim. “President Atgas is alive.”
Book Two - 2021
The next, and final book is coming in 2021
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Acknowledgements
During the two and a half years this book has been in the making, so many people have helped me along the way.
Firstly, I need to say thank you to my mum and dad, who never told me being a teen author was delusional. You guys supported me through every stage of the writing process. I love you both so much.
To C.R.R. Hillin, without you, this book would not be published. You have gone above and beyond, helping me so much while editing this book. I can’t put into words how grateful I am. You’re the best.
Thank you to my whole family, who listened to me ramble on and on about this book, even though you didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. Also to my grandparents, sorry about all the swearing and murder…
I also need to thank my best friends for all of their encouragement and support. Kirsty, thank you for listening to me rant about the stresses of writing this book. Elsie, thank you for putting up with my constant book talk. Hattie, thank you for your help with the cover and your incredible character art.
A big thank you to my brothers, without you, I’d never have had known the rage to write Faye. But know that if you’re ever as stupid as Rufus, I’d come and save you.
To everyone who read my unfinished drafts - I’m sorry you had to read that rubbish, but without your feedback, this book would’ve been pretty awful, so thank you.
And finally, to everyone who gave my writing a chance, I hope you stick around for the next book.
About the Author
Abby Hope Patrick is a teen author from England.
Just being a reader wasn’t enough for her so she started writing her own book. She spends her time either reading, writing or singing along to musicals at her desk.
In her spare time, she runs a successful bookstagram account and writes reviews to share with her followers.
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