Emily (27 page)

‘
Alright then, stand over there,’ Emily requested.

‘
Wait!’ Jonas cried as he morphed into human form. Walking over to Valeskia he took her hands, his face showing the emotion from his heart. Valeskia reached up and touched his face, and then she simply turned and walked to the spot that Emily had asked her to go to. She stood calmly and Vladimir smiled at his mother. He was so proud of her bravery.

Emily reached out to Applejacks and concentrated. Suddenly Valeskia disappeared and the collar exploded, falling to the ground. In the next instant, Valeskia reappeared again by Jonas.

‘You did it!’ Jonas yelled, lifting Valeskia up off the floor in a big hug.

‘
Jonas, you really need to wear clothes to do that,’ Valeskia replied, smiling.

‘
Oh yes.’ And to hide his embarrassment he changed back into his wolf form looking very sheepish.

‘
We need to warn Vince that Varrick is tracking the children,’ Vladimir said, turning to Emily.

‘
I’m not sure I can do that,’ Emily said, ‘but I’ll try,’ and she reached out to Applejacks and shut her eyes to concentrate. After a few moments, Emily opened her eyes. She looked frustrated. ‘I can’t make the connection. I also tried with Vondra but I’m not sure if she got it.’

‘
Okay, transport us back to the old camp. This will get us closer to where Vince is taking them. We will need to beat Varrick to the new camp.’

‘
I’ll have to do it in three goes,’ Emily replied. ‘It will be cold and you’ll need to hold your breath.’ She sent Jonas and Valeskia first and then Vladimir and Eric. Looking at Applejacks she said, ‘Are you ready, old friend?’ He nodded his readiness and seconds later they were at the old camp site.

Both Vladimir and Eric were jumping, trying to get heat back into their limbs.

‘Boy, that was cold,’ Eric remarked. He was slapping his arms and thighs. Seeing Emily and Applejacks appear, Vladimir reached out and pulled Emily into his arms.

‘
I just want to say that I know how hard it was for you to send that guard into the void. It was something that had to be done and it was my decision.’

‘
Maybe you made the decision,’ Emily replied softly, ‘but I did the act.’ Her voice was thick with emotion.

‘
Em, we are at war, it is us or them.’ Eric joined the pair, touching Emily’s hair with his hand.

‘
Well, it’s us then, isn’t it?’ But there were tears in Emily’s eyes. Vladimir knew that Emily would do whatever he asked but, seeing her face, he knew that he would not ask her to do anything like that again.

Vladimir told the group,
‘We need to move quickly. I would like for all of us to stay together, but Eric, you have the advantage of being the fastest one. You need to get to Vince before Varrick does.’ Vladimir put his arm around Eric’s shoulder.

‘
I understand,’ Eric replied, and he morphed into his wolf form. After one last look at the group, he ran into the trees.

‘
Applejacks, will you take my mother as well as Emily?’ Vladimir asked the grey horse.

‘
It would be my honour
,’ Applejacks thought back. After lifting Emily onto Applejacks’ back, Vladimir lifted his mother.

‘
I’ve never been on a horse before,’ Valeskia said as she sat behind Emily.

‘
Tell your mother I will look after her
,’ Applejacks thought, ‘
and to hold onto Emily tightly
.’ Vladimir passed on the comment and changed into his wolf form and, with Jonas, bounded off into the forest. Applejacks started slowly so Valeskia could get used to the motion. After a few minutes he moved into a smooth canter. Vladimir and Jonas were already out of sight and Emily prayed that Eric would get to Vince in time. The people had to be saved!

Eric
’s paws hardly touched the ground as he poured every bit of energy into running. To the naked eye he was a blur that moved along the landscape. The miles melted away as he ran and his only thought was the continuous rhythm of the movement.

* * *

Vondra was in the back of the truck with the children and she had felt Emily’s connection to her but had been unable to understand her message. The images that Emily projected had to do with the children but she didn’t get anything else from the connection. Sticking her head through the window of the truck cabin where Ross and Janak were, she told them what had happened. Ross decided to pull over to discuss the event and saw a little alcove where the truck could hide. Vondra told the children to remain in the truck as Ross helped her down.

‘
Tell me again what you heard from Emily,’ he asked the small woman, taking the opportunity to hold her hand in his.

‘
I didn’t really hear her say words but I think that it was about the children and danger.’

Janak suggested,
‘Why don’t we ask the children if they’re alright?’

‘
They’re all very scared,’ Vondra said. She was worried about them, as brave as they were all trying to be she could see how frighten they were.

‘
I know Vondra but this could be important,’ Janak replied. ‘It would be better if you asked them.’

‘
Alright,’ but the men could see that Vondra wasn’t happy and they understood that she wanted to protect the children from anymore drama. Pulling back the heavy canvas on the back of the truck, Vondra looked at all the little faces thinking to herself,
One of these children could be mine
. Then she put a big smile on her face and asked brightly, ‘Children, you don’t have to be scared anymore, we’re taking you to a safe place, but I need your help. Can any of you remember what happened to you when the guards brought you together?’

‘
We are always together,’ a young voice spoke quietly. It was a boy with bright red hair. ‘We live together in the nursery.’

Then one of the girls said,
‘No, that’s not true. Josef and Iva were taken away for a while, remember?’

‘
Oh yes,’ the boy replied. ‘I forgot.’

Still smiling and in a gentle voice, Vondra asked,
‘Which one of you is Josef and which one of you is Iva?’ Two hands slowly went up and Vondra’s heart almost broke from the fear that was on their faces,

‘
Come here you two,’ Janak said quietly, smiling. The children both got up, pushing their way through the group to get to the end of the truck.

Lifting them down, Vondra kneeled besides them and asked gently,
‘What happened when the guards took you away?’

Josef was so
scared, he stuck his thumb in his mouth. Iva looked like she was going to cry, so Vondra reached out and drew them into her arms and cooed, ‘It’s alright, you’re safe.’

The little girl said, her voice quivering,
‘The monster man told us that you would leave us behind if we told you.’

Vondra replied her voice firm,
‘I promise I won’t leave you.’

‘
You promise?’ the boy asked, his little face serious.

‘
I promise,’ Vondra pledged again and tapped her finger on his nose. Pulling up his sleeve the boy showed Vondra his arm. It had a big purple bruise on it.

‘
They gave me a big needle right here. It hurt so much, I cried.’

‘
Me too,’ Iva added, rolling up the sleeve of her dress; the bruise was large and ugly. ‘They said they would be able to find us if we got lost.’ Vondra put her hand to her mouth but quickly pulled herself together. Putting the children down, she asked them to sit by the tyre of the truck for a moment.

Pulling Ross and Janak over to where the children wouldn
’t hear them, she whispered, ‘They’ve been injected with trackers.’

‘
But why?’ Ross replied, but in the next instant he realised they were leading them to the people.

‘
What do we do?’ Vondra asked ‘I won’t leave them behind.’ Suddenly Eric appeared out of the forest. He was going so fast, it took him fifty metres to stop. Circling back, he morphed into a man. He was breathing heavily but regained his breath quickly.

Reaching the group he said,
‘Two of the children have trackers on them.’

‘
We know,’ Janak replied. ‘It’s the two little ones sitting by the tyre.’

‘
What do we do?’ Vondra asked. Eric looked over at the two small children. They were holding hands and looked so frightened.

‘
Give me a second,’ he said and opened up a connection to Vladimir, Emily and Applejacks. He told them that he had caught up with Vondra, Ross and Janak, where they were and that they’d found the children with the trackers.

‘
How far away are you from the new camp?’ Vladimir asked.

After consulting with Ross, Eric relayed
‘I’m guessing four kilometres.’

Eric could sense Vladimir
’s frustration through the link as he ordered, ‘Take the other children from the truck and have Janak and Vondra stay with them. Get Ross to take the two children with trackers and drive back to the old camp, but tell him to take his time. Eric, you need to go to Vince, collect the men and as many guns as you can and return to the old camp. Emily, you and Valeskia head back to the old camp and I will turn back now with Jonas. Stay out of sight until we get there.’ Eric relayed Vladimir’s instructions to Vondra, Ross and Janak.

‘
No!’ Vondra cried. ‘I won’t leave Josef or Iva, or Ross for that matter. I promised the children I wouldn’t leave.’

Janak added in support,
‘I’ll be fine with the children. It’s not far to the camp.’

‘
Okay, let’s go,’ Eric replied and he morphed back into his wolf form and turned towards the camp. Vondra and Ross quickly got the children out of truck and led them to the edge of the road.

‘
I think it’s best for you to stay off the road until we’re underway. Varrick may not be far behind us.’ Then to Ross, ‘If you drive a bit further up the road, there will be a road on the left. It’ll take you back to the camp. It should take you an hour if you go slowly.’ Ross nodded as he helped Vondra with the children.

Vondra sat between the children near the cabin, and as she put her arms around them Iva asked,
‘We’re monsters aren’t we?’ Her small face was turned up to look at Vondra, her eyes serious.

Josef added, looking at Vondra as well,
‘When we grow up, we’ll be bad won’t we?’

Kissing both of the children on their heads and tightening her arms around them, Vondra replied,
‘We’re a new people, each of us is special, but we choose whether or not to be monsters. You’ll have a choice.’

‘
I won’t be a monster,’ Iva declared strongly.

‘
I won’t either,’ Josef added. ‘I’m going to be a truck driver like that man,’ pointing to Ross in the front.

Vondra laughed and the children smiled, relaxing in her arms.
‘What a splendid idea,’ and they could hear Ross chuckling, having overheard the conversation. ‘Would you like me to tell you a story?’ Vondra asked. The children both nodded and she began a story that Varrick had told her when she was young and life had seemed so sweet.

* * *

Eric had made it to the new camp in under three minutes from where he had left the truck. Within ten minutes, Vince had organised his men and they were on their way to the old camp site. Helena ran to find Janak, she would bring the children back so he could join Vince and return to help Vladimir. She knew Janak would join in the fight. Eric had quickly eaten a large bowl of stew that one of the other women in the camp had cooking over the fire, before turning back to the forest and morphing into his wolf. His speed was incredible and within seconds he had left Vince, in the old jeep, behind.

Vince tried to think of a plan. He was worried that they might not make it in time and knew if they did they
’d only have minutes to come up with a plan. He knew that Vladimir would expect him to have one on the spot. They each had a machine gun but ammunition was limited, they also had a rocket launcher with only one rocket. Still, it was better than nothing.

Janak, in his wolf form, suddenly came out of the forest and joined the jeep, matching its pace. Looking at Janak, Vince had an idea and thought about it for a moment; he was sure it would work.

Talking out loud, more to himself than his men he said, ‘We’ve got to get to the camp before Varrick,’ and he pressed the accelerator to the floor.

Emily and Applejacks stopped as soon as Eric forged the connection. After the discussion, Emily told Valeskia what Vladimir had ordered. Valeskia was clearly uncomfortable on Applejacks. She didn
’t say anything but both Emily and Applejacks could feel her tension.

‘
Instead of riding back, I’ll teleport us,’ Emily told Valeskia. Valeskia nodded and within seconds she felt the in-between coldness, then they were back at the old camp. Taking a moment to orientate herself, Emily asked Applejacks to take them back into the forest where they would be out of sight from anyone entering the camp. Twenty minutes later, Vladimir, Eric and Jonas bounded into the camp. ‘Over here,’ Emily called from the bushes. The men morphed back into human shape as they gathered near Emily, Applejacks and Valeskia.