Blood Ransom

by Sophie McKenzie

  Well, that made sense of the way everything was moving – a gentle rocking motion that was somehow both soothing and vaguely nauseating.

  ‘I found you unconscious on the island . . .’Theo went on. ‘I brought you back . . . this is RAGE’s boat. We escaped on it about six or seven hours ago.’

  The memory of last night stabbed me like a knife.

  ‘Grace?’ I moaned, remembering how I’d been forced to hand her to Milo before we both sank under that freezing water. ‘What happened . . . Grace . . .’

  ‘What’s she talking about?’ Lewis sounded concerned.

  ‘Dunno, she said something like that before, last night.’ Theo hesitated. ‘Maybe she banged her head.’

  ‘No.’ I forced my eyes open.

  I wasn’t on a bed. I was lying on a large padded bench in what looked like the main cabin of the RAGE boat. Lots of dark, scuffed wood. Theo was sitting beside me, Lewis standing next to him. They were both peering down at me with anxious eyes – Theo’s a warm deep brown, Lewis’s a piercing blue.

  I gazed at Theo, the joy of seeing him shot through with the desperation of losing Grace.

  ‘Baby . . . tests . . . Elijah . . .’ I said, trying to make them understand. God, my whole body ached. Every word was an effort. ‘Tried . . . rescue . . .’ The memory of how I’d sunk into the water – unable to move, panic surging through me – flashed into my head. I shivered.

  Theo and Lewis exchanged looks.

  ‘Whatever it is, you can tell us later – you should rest right now,’ Lewis said. He moved closer and I realised for the first time that his face was cut and bruised. Had RAGE done that?

  ‘Get her another blanket, Theo. I need to check where we are.’

  They both disappeared, Lewis limping. I struggled onto my elbows. Apart from my underwear, all I had on was a large checked shirt. My clothes – or, rather, the men’s top and trousers I’d been given on Calla – were draped over a chair on the other side of the cabin.

  I blushed as I realised that must mean that either Theo or Lewis had removed my soaking wet clothes last night.

  Theo came back, another blanket in one hand, a glass of water in the other. I took a sip from the glass, draped the blanket over my shoulders, and sat up. We stared at each other.

  It was funny. For the past nine months the thought of seeing Theo again had pretty much been all that had kept me going. And yet now we were face to face with each other, I felt self-conscious.

  ‘What was that stuff about a baby?’ Theo asked gently.

  I sipped again at the water, my head clearing. Taking a deep breath I explained about the clone embryos in the lab.

  ‘Elijah calls it the Aphrodite Experiment but there’s one proper baby – one actually born – Grace – and . . . and Elijah’s going to do tests on her to find out about this special thing in my blood . . . my DNA . . . which is presumably going to be in her blood too . . .’

  Theo frowned. ‘What tests?’

  ‘I don’t know, but he doesn’t have me any more, and the embryos were killed, so he’s only got Grace now.’ Tears welled up as I realised how much danger she was in. ‘Oh God, Theo, I left her behind.’

  ‘What happened?’

  I told him how I’d tried to escape with Grace. As I talked, Lewis limped back into the cabin.

  ‘. . . then Milo took Grace from me and he had a torch and I know he could make it back to the cave and I’m sure Elijah would have sent someone to get us from there so Milo should have made it to the helicopter but I’m so worried he’ll hurt her,’ I said breathlessly, tears trickling down my face. ‘I mean, Elijah was telling me to keep her safe so he could do tests on both of us but she’s so tiny and he’s capable of . . . of anything . . .’

  Theo leaned forward and took my hand. ‘Maybe Elijah will just let her go, like he did Daniel.’

  I looked away. ‘He didn’t let Daniel go.’

  ‘What d’you mean?’

  My heart thudded. I couldn’t bear to tell him.

  But I knew I had to.

  ‘What, Rachel?’ Lewis said.

  ‘Daniel’s dead,’ I said, looking up.

  ‘No!’ Theo’s face paled. ‘How?’

  I explained as briefly as I could, stressing there was nothing any of us could have done to save him. ‘Elijah said he had the operation . . . the heart transplant . . . ages ago . . . last year, before he left the States.’

  Theo sat quite still for a moment. In the background, Lewis let out a frustrated sigh, but I kept my gaze on Theo, wishing I knew what to say to him.

  A year ago I know I’d have blurted out something . . . the wrong thing . . . trying to make him feel better. But now I knew that sometimes there’s nothing you can say. Sometimes you just have to let people be . . . let them sort stuff out for themselves.

  After a few moments, Lewis cleared his throat.

  ‘Are you sure you’re feeling okay, Rachel?’ he asked. ‘I mean, physically?’

  ‘I’m just tired now,’ I said. ‘What about you?’ I added, indicating his bruises.

  Lewis made a face. ‘That was RAGE.’ He explained everything that had happened to him and Theo since last night. Theo continued to sit silently beside us.

  ‘So did Elijah get away in the helicopter?’ I asked as Lewis finished.

  ‘We think so. Theo heard one of the RAGE soldiers say he was on board,’ he said. ‘His lab on the island was definitely destroyed.’

  No. It was weird – I hated the idea of Elijah breeding clones . . . creating a baby farm where the children didn’t have proper mums and dads. But the reality was that once those children existed – however tiny they were – each one of them deserved to live. I couldn’t bear to think about that, so I tried to focus on Grace, on the way her little fingers had tightened round my own . . . on her perfect, tiny face.

  My baby sister.

  ‘So, what’s this special thing in your DNA that Elijah’s after?’ Theo said at last. ‘Is it something he wants for himself? Like . . . like with me and Da—’ His voice cracked as he tried to say Daniel’s name.

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘That’s what I’m saying. Elijah wasn’t sure. He wanted to do more tests . . .’

  Theo shook his head and stood up. I watched him pace across the cabin, his shoulders hunched over. After the adrenalin rush of reliving last night I felt totally exhausted again. And defeated. Sure, I’d got away, but only to cause Theo pain by telling him about Daniel.

  And – worse – without rescuing Grace.

  ‘Are you hungry?’ Lewis asked.

  I nodded absently, and he fetched some bread and cheese from the kitchen area of the cabin. I tried to eat, but it was hard to force anything down. I couldn’t stop thinking about Grace and whether she was okay. Had Milo saved her? Had Elijah got her off the island?

  If Elijah had her, he was going to do these awful tests on her, not caring about the consequences. If RAGE had her, they would kill her for being a clone. Either option filled me with horror.

  As we went on deck, I knew that I had to find out where Grace was and try to save her from whatever she was facing. It was bitterly cold outside, despite the presence of a fierce sun high in the sky. The boat was moored in a small cove. Lewis said we were south of Calla, on the mainland – just a couple of hours’ drive from Roslinnon.

  I kept my blankets round me as protection against the strong wind. No one spoke for a while, then, eventually, Theo folded his arms.

  ‘I suppose you want to find this baby, Rachel.’ It was more of a statement than a question. His voice was even.

  I stared at him, unnerved that he’d seen so exactly into my head – and wondering if he understood why it mattered to me so much.

  ‘That’s ridiculous,’ Lewis said, his forehead creased into a deep frown. ‘We’ve all just risked our lives to get away from Calla. Rachel nearly drowned. There’s no way she’s putting herself in more danger.’

  Theo stared stubbornly at him. ‘She needs to f
ind this baby.’

  ‘Excuse me, I can speak for myself,’ I said.

  They both looked at me.

  ‘I want to get you home, Rachel, that’s the priority,’ Lewis said firmly.

  ‘You want to get even with Elijah, that’s your priority,’ Theo snapped.

  ‘That can wait,’ Lewis said. ‘We—’

  ‘We can’t go home,’ I said. ‘Once people know I’m still alive, the press will be desperate for a picture of “the girl who came back from the dead”. It’ll be like we’ve sent out a signal to both Elijah and RAGE telling them how to find us. I’d like to tell my parents I’m okay, but I can’t go home just yet,’ I said. ‘Which is fine, because Theo’s right . . . I have to find Grace.’

  ‘We have to.’ Theo put his hand on my shoulder. ‘We couldn’t save Daniel, but we’re not going to let anyone else die.’

  I smiled and looked up, grateful for his support. Theo’s dark eyes were serious and intense. They were the same eyes as Elijah’s and Milo’s, of course, but somehow they seemed warmer and stronger in Theo.

  ‘Why does this baby matter so much?’ Lewis said, his voice bitter.

  I opened my mouth to answer, but Theo got there first.

  ‘Grace is her clone . . . her sister,’ he said. ‘Like Daniel was my . . . my little brother.’ His voice cracked again. I could see he was trying not to cry and I reached up to touch his hand. Theo squeezed my fingers hard.

  ‘Okay,’ Lewis said, more gently. ‘But we’ve got no idea where RAGE or Elijah are right now.’

  ‘Actually, we do,’ I said. ‘The man who sent the helicopter was Elijah’s backer, Don Jamieson. I saw him on a video cam. I reckon that if we track him down, we’ll find Elijah. Elijah will either have Grace, or he’ll know where she is. Either way, we’ll get closer to finding her.’

  ‘Or finding out what happened to her,’ Lewis said. ‘You do realise if RAGE got her, she’s probably . . . not made it.’

  I looked him straight in the eye.

  ‘I have to try,’ I said.

  ‘What about the police?’ Theo asked.

  ‘We can’t risk that until we know more,’ I said. ‘Elijah said Jamieson had very powerful friends. There are obviously people in the government or the police force . . . senior people . . . who’re prepared to turn a blind eye to whatever Elijah’s doing.’

  ‘What about going back to our contacts . . . the agents we were given when we relocated?’ Theo suggested.

  ‘How do you think Elijah found me in the first place?’ I said. ‘He told me that an agent from the original team who resettled us “sold me out”. We can’t trust anybody.’

  ‘Jesus.’ Lewis sighed.

  There was a long silence. Theo wandered away from us, to the very front of the boat. He stared out to sea.

  I knew he was thinking about Daniel.

  I looked down at the deck. The wood was scratched at the top of the steps down to the cabin.

  ‘I think this is yours.’ Lewis handed me my silver chain with the tiny ‘t’ at the end. ‘It broke when I was getting you out of your wet clothes.’

  My eyes widened. I’d been so caught up in losing Grace and having to tell Theo about Daniel that I hadn’t even noticed it was missing.

  ‘Oh, thank you.’ I took the chain and examined it. One of the links had snapped off, but I was sure a jeweller could repair it. I glanced round at Theo. He was still looking away, thank goodness. I blushed. How embarrassing would that have been, if Theo had seen I wore his initial round my neck?

  Lewis smiled. ‘You like him, don’t you?’

  I swallowed, my face burning.

  ‘Rachel?’

  I glanced at him, knowing my expression was totally giving my heart away.

  ‘Okay, well come and help me get our stuff together,’ Lewis said, now sounding slightly embarrassed himself. ‘There’s a town a few minutes’ walk away. We can buy a couple of pay-as-you-go phones and call your parents, then see what we can find out about this Mr Jamieson.’

  Lewis disappeared down the steps to the cabin. With a last look at Theo, who was still gazing out over the dark water, I shoved the broken chain into my pocket and followed him.

  56

  Theo

  We abandoned the RAGE boat and walked in silence along the coastal path to Lamerdeen – a dull, dirty town full of grey stone buildings and run-down-looking shops. The sky clouded over as we arrived, as dark as my mood.

  Elijah only killed Daniel because I got away.

  The truth of this was so awful I couldn’t bring myself to face it head on. Daniel was an innocent little boy. The same little boy I had once been. And by escaping myself, I’d left Elijah with nowhere to turn for a heart but his younger clone. The guilt of it washed over me in waves.

  Rachel hovered beside me. I knew that she sensed what I was going through, but I couldn’t bear to look her in the eye. I didn’t want to make the whole thing any more real. She started talking about Milo, the other clone of Elijah’s who was in a wheelchair. Reading between the lines it sounded like he was well into her . . . though it was hard to tell how Rachel felt about him. She was most concerned about whether he’d have the bottle to stand up to anyone and protect Grace.

  Beside me, Lewis made an inventory of everything we had with us.

  ‘Enough money to pay for two cheap phones and a few meals . . . maybe even a couple of nights in a B&B . . . some rope off the boat, and the clothes we’re standing up in.’

  ‘What about the knife we used to cut you free?’ I said.

  ‘Too blunt to be of any use,’ Lewis said. ‘It took me nearly half an hour to cut through the last rope.’ He hesitated. ‘Anything else?’

  I shook my head. The small bag I’d brought with me from America was still in the B&B back in Roslinnon.

  ‘These clothes are as bad as the ones they gave me on Calla,’ Rachel complained.

  She was still in the outsize shirt Lewis had found for her last night, plus a pair of jeans rolled up at the ankles and a sweatshirt we’d found in one of the cabins.

  ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about that,’ Lewis said distractedly. ‘Our first priority should be to get the phones so you can call your parents and find an internet café to start tracking down Jamieson.’

  It was midday by the time we found a café. Lewis ordered some food while I dialled Mum’s number. It was only seven a.m. at home in Philly, but Mum should be up.

  She answered on the first ring.

  ‘Theo?’ Her voice cracked. ‘Oh my God, are you okay?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ I said. ‘Did you get my other messages?’

  ‘Yes, but what the hell are you doing? Where are you? Who are you with? Why didn’t you—?’

  ‘I’m in Scotland,’ I said. ‘I came here because Rachel was in trouble and I had to help her.’

  ‘What?’ Mum shouted. ‘You little idiot.’ She started ranting on at me about how stupid I was being, and how much danger I’d put myself in. ‘And how did you even get over there?’ she shouted.

  ‘I had help,’ I said, not wanting to dump Lewis in it.

  ‘I’m calling the police,’ Mum shrieked. ‘You can’t do this, Theo. Don’t you see, the only reason Elijah would want Rachel is to try and use her to bait you.’

  ‘I don’t think so. He’s managed to find himself a new heart . . .’ I paused, unable to bring myself to explain about Daniel, ‘. . . he doesn’t need me any—’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Mum yelled. ‘You don’t know what he’s thinking . . . what he’s after . . . For goodness’ sake, Theo, you have to come home. The government went to a lot of trouble to hide us. You’re risking everything.’

  ‘I can’t come back yet,’ I said. I could feel all my old, stubborn anger at Mum rearing up. Why did she have to treat me like I was a little kid who couldn’t look after myself?

  Mum shouted some more.

  ‘I’m sorry, Mum, but I’m nearly sixteen,’ I said in the end. ‘I have to do
this.’

  I rang off and went back to the others. Lewis was still queuing at the food counter. Rachel had found a stool by the window and was leaning against it, frowning.

  ‘Did you speak to your parents?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘It was awful. They cried and asked masses of questions, then cried some more. They want me to come home.’

  ‘My mum shouted at me, she wants me home too.’

  We looked at each other. Rachel shrugged. ‘They don’t understand.’ She paused. ‘I’ve been thinking. I’m sure Milo will do everything he can to protect Grace. He’s a good person, basically, and—’

  ‘Milo?’ I interrupted, unable to believe what I was hearing. ‘Elijah’s henchman is a good person?’

  ‘He’s not a henchman,’ Rachel insisted. ‘He’s sweet and Elijah treats him really badly.’

  ‘Right,’ I said, feeling unsettled. How could Rachel seriously think anyone who worked for Elijah was ’sweet’?

  I pointed to the nearest computer terminal. There were several arranged in two rows on a long trestle table. A few were occupied. Most were vacant.

  ‘Let’s Google Mr Jamieson,’ I said.

  Rachel pushed herself up from the stool and went over to the computer. She sat down, logged on and began the search. I went over to help Lewis with our plates of food.

  As we came back, Rachel looked up, all excited.

  ‘Look,’ she said, pointing at the screen. ‘That’s him.’

  57

  Rachel

  The picture on the screen was definitely the same Don Jamieson – balding and round-faced. But he didn’t look like a villain. In fact, he looked like your average middle-aged businessman with a pleasant smile and a CV full of charity work.

  ‘What’s his connection with Elijah?’ Theo asked.

  I ran my finger down the screen, stopping at an entry halfway down the page. ‘There. It says he runs a company called Amarta Pharmaceuticals.’

  ‘So?’ Theo said.

  ‘Maybe this special thing in my blood . . . these tests Elijah wants to do on Grace . . . maybe Jamieson is hoping he can turn whatever Elijah finds into a product he can sell.’