The Vanished (24 page)

I sat under the Chestnut tree, watching the clouds in the sky. It was a breezy day and they travelled along quickly, blowing away the smell of smoke and burnt metal. I rubbed my sore wrists on my trousers. Most of the medical supplies had been destroyed in the castle bombing and I needed to find new dressings before they became infected. I squinted through the sun at the figures moving around the Compound, or at least what was left of it. Daniel and the others were amongst that group. I’d been helping but I needed five minutes alone to gather my thoughts. Today was a big day. A day to say goodbye.

After the battle ended I’d been unconscious for three days, or at least that’s what people told me. Dad and Daniel had moved the wounded into our old training barn, the one structure still standing. Even the farm had been obliterated by the Highlander’s bombs. People tried to pick up the pieces of their lives and rebuild them – like a tragic jigsaw. Many had lost family members, friends or loved ones. The trailers were almost completely destroyed. Supplies were low. There were only a few vehicles working, the weaponry had been depleted. People were living in tents. The Perthans had left while I was unconscious. Terrifica left me a note, a poem by someone called Tennyson about Boadicea. The words she had spoken to me in Perth. She said I was a true warrior woman and that she would be watching me.

I was lucky. My friends and family had all survived. We just had our wounds. Sebastian had wounds deeper than the lacerations and bruises inflicted getting Ginge out of the castle-grounds. Angela’s concussion was nothing compared to losing her farming friends in the explosions. The deep cut on my arm and the sores on my wrists were nowhere near as bad as the memory of watching the soldier die, or being kidnapped by the psychotic Dr Woods. Cam would never be the same after watching his own father die in a rubble of stones. I closed my eyes and took a deep, healing breath.

“Hey.”

I opened my eyes to see Hiro stood in front of me. “Is it time?”

He held out his hand for me to take. “It’s time.”

This was the part I had been dreading for days. But it had to be done, and it had to be done soon. We walked together, feeling each other’s pain and fear. Daniel waited for us by the Compound exit, along with everyone else in my life. He took my hand. Dad patted me on the shoulder and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. Kitty and Mike led the pack, arm in arm. Angela and Cam followed, holding hands. Ginge had stayed with Sebastian in the barn. His leg had been badly injured and he still needed time to recuperate. Ali flanked us with Mary. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. The drama of the last few weeks had taken their toll on him. Mary smiled weakly at me. She’d been quiet and I suspected that she blamed herself for taking in Dr Woods when he was a young man. I didn’t blame her. I saw how he fooled everyone.

We left the Compound and followed a trail left by many feet through the green fields. I stepped over a stile and headed down towards the nearby woods. “Are they all there waiting for us?”

“Yes,” Hiro said.

I saw them from a distance – the ones who were left: young girls, children, old men and wounded soldiers. Our community had been stripped back. It truly did feel like
our
community now, like I had finally been accepted. They were all gathered at the river, holding long flaming torches; Nomads, Neds and acrobats; Compounders, Freaks and Scavengers. Piled high on rafts, tethered to the river bank, were our dead. They were waiting to be released and we had the flames to help them on their way.

As we approached, there was silence. Sergeant Kinsella walked up to me, holding out a torch. “They want you to be the first.”

I took in a deep breath and tried to steady myself. Dr Woods, the man who tormented me, was in there somewhere, covered by twigs and leaves, killed in the final blast – along with Hamish McAllister. Daniel squeezed my hand.

“You can do this,” he whispered in my ear.

I stepped forward towards the floating rafts. With a trembling hand I lowered the torch to the raft and set it alight. “You fought well,” I said to them as though they could still hear me. “We will never forget you.”

And then, one by one, the others did their bit until the people who had died protecting our homes had been transformed into glittering golden flames. It seemed a fitting tribute and I even found myself smiling.

Mary MacDonald stood on a large wooden box and addressed the crowd. She was our new leader now, silently agreed by the entire community. The Council didn’t exist anymore. No one had seen Arthur Pittmore since the battle started, General Lloyd and Dr Woods were dead. But Mary was good and pure and I had every faith in her as a leader. Sergeant Kinsella stood to her right with her arm in a sling, a faithful deputy.

“I want ye te take a moment,” she said. “Not te say goodbye or mourn, I trust ye’ll do that in yer own way. No, I want ye te take a moment te look around ye. This is us now. Fer whatever reason we’re still here an’ we still have the Compound. There’s been sacrifice an’ war an’ suffering an’ I want ye te remember that an’ keep it in yer hearts. But dunnae ever forget who’s still here, who survived and who’ll rebuild our community
together
. Fer the children.

“There’s gunnae have te be some changes, and it’s gunnae be tough but we’ll get through. If not, we’ll end up on a bonfire too. I know it sounds harsh but it’s the truth and I want ye to know that with me ye only get the truth. Now, we know that Dr Woods wasnae all he seemed and he duped us all, including me. But we can learn from that.

“People. There is one thing I want te offer ye as spokesperson fer this community and that is choice. I want ye te know that every single one of ye out there is free te choose the way you want te live yer lives. And ye know what? I think we’ll live better fer it too. It seems appropriate te think of phoenix rising from the ashes when looking at the fire here in the lake and I want ye te know that we can do it. We have the opportunity te live the way we want te. We have the opportunity te start all over again.”

She stepped down and slowly each survivor clapped. Daniel wrapped his arm around me and we watched the rafts float away as the sun set. Tomorrow was a new day. A new opportunity.

*

The next morning I woke feeling lighter. There was less tension in my shoulders and it became apparent that my experience with Dr Woods had left me more traumatised than I’d thought. Knowing that he was finally gone gave me some peace. I wasn’t glad he was dead. I was just glad that he would never be around me again.

On my first night in the Compound I’d spent the night in a tent with Sebastian and it had felt strange. Now, I slept in a barn with dozens of people, getting used to the kind of smells and sights that a Blemished girl should never see. All of that was just trivial now. I stepped over a sleeping Daniel, dodged through rows of Compounders, and made my way out into the sunshine. Dad crouched over a fire with a kettle. There was a light but chilly morning breeze. I rubbed my hands together.

“Tea?” Dad said.

“Please.”

He handed me a thermos mug. The warmth from the hot tea spread up my hands and arms. I took a sip.

“How are you feeling?” Dad asked.

“I’m okay, I think. I feel positive about the future.”

“Good,” Dad said. “I’m looking forward to rebuilding the Compound too.”

I crouched next to him on the grass. “All of that stuff before feels kinda stupid now. Wanting to join the Resistance and take down the GEM. Right now, I just want peace and quiet.”

Dad laughed. “Until you get bored.”

I sipped my tea. “I’m serious.”

He looked at me.

“What is it?”

“Everything that happened with Dr Woods.” He sighed. “I never wanted this life for you, Mina. I’m sorry that any of this happened to you.” He reached over and took my hand.

“Thanks, Dad.” My eyes welled with tears. Embarrassed, I drank my tea. “He was insane. No one could see that, he duped everyone. The things he said… they just didn’t make any sense.” I sighed, thinking about what he’d said about my mum and the GEM. “At least he won’t hurt anyone else now.”

I noticed movement at the edge of the Compound near the entrance and we both stood to get a better view. A vehicle drove in through the obliterated gate.

“A car,” I said. “Maybe it’s Terrifica.”

“Let’s go and find out.”

We walked down towards the car. It was a very expensive looking black four wheel drive with dark windows. A door opened and out stepped a tall man with blond hair and a long dark coat which flapped in the breeze. I dropped my tea and turned to Dad in utter shock.

“It can’t be!” I clutched my mouth with my hand. “Uncle Matthew!”

“Morning, Min.” He grinned.

I rushed forward and hugged him. “I thought the Ministry had you?”

“Don’t underestimate your old Uncle,” he said.

Another car door opened. I pulled away from Matthew and turned towards the sound. A woman stepped out of the car. She was pristine. Her hair had been tied back into a tight bun. It was brown with a few greys. She had large brown eyes and full lips. Her frame was slim and dressed in a well-tailored suit jacket and skirt. She wore inappropriately tall heels. There was nothing remarkable about her except that she looked familiar. At least that was what I thought until I saw my dad’s face. He was pale. He looked sick.

“Jonathon,” she said, nodding her hello.

He stared at her with eyes wider than plates. After a blink he swallowed and said, “Anna.”

Then it hit me. The way she looked. The name. I knew her. I knew this woman.

“Mum?” I said.

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A beautiful world comes at a price…
In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her right to have a child.
Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude’s School. But their friendship is soon complicated by Angela’s adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who Mina is forbidden from even speaking to…
The Blemished is a frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with adventure, romance and rebellion.
Book one in the popular YA dystopia series ‘Blemished’.
Available on Amazon

“The Compound bustled with action and anticipation, causing my stomach to do a flip. I stopped in my tracks, realising something, something I hadn’t thought of before. We were going to war, and people were going to die.”
The Vanished are the forgotten: those who live beyond law or society. Mina fought for freedom. She fought for a better life – a future. But even a free world can decay.
As Mina begins her new life in the Clans she meets people with surprising knowledge about her power, knowledge that could change everything – even her relationship with Daniel. But as she makes new friends, old friends turn against her in shocking betrayal.
Life in the Compound is tough; there are ways and traditions so strange that Mina begins to suspect foul play at the very heart of her new home. Instead of leaving corruption behind in Area 14, Mina is faced with the rotten core of human nature as a Clan warlord threatens to invade the Compound. The Clans are turning against each other and Mina is stuck in the middle.
The Vanished is the second instalment in the Blemished series and follows Mina’s story as she continues to challenge those in power and seek out new dangers. With even more rebellion, romance and betrayal, The Vanished promises to take the reader on a roller-coaster ride of adventure and emotion.
Will freedom fall?
Available on Amazon