The Weapon Within: A Paranormal Dystopian Adventure (The Unexplainables Book 1) (15 page)

One night,
just over three months after moving to the commune, I awoke in the early hours with a start. As my eyes acclimatised to the dark, I scanned the room, taking long, deep breaths. The hairs on the backs of my arms were standing on end and a shiver ran through me. Climbing out of bed I moved over to the window and pressed my nose against it, staring out into the back garden. Unable to see much, I grabbed my robe and headed outside. A shape loomed up through the darkness.

‘
Argh!’

‘
Sorry, Miss Ava,’ a gruff voice said in my ear, ‘didn’t mean to scare you.’

Two security guards stepped forward. Their uniforms were identic
al to those worn by the guards I’d seen in the town, except these were red rather than green.

‘
Is everything all right, miss?’

‘
Well it was until you gave me a heart attack,’ I scolded. ‘Something woke me up that’s all. I thought I heard voices.’

‘
Voices, miss?’

‘
It sounded like someone was outside my window so I just thought I’d take a look.’

‘
Miss Ava! You must not put yourself at risk!’ the gruff-voiced one exclaimed. ‘There’s a phone in your pod that links directly to our office. If you have any concerns at all you should contact us and we’ll come and check for you. It’s what we do.’

‘
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.’

‘
We just want to keep you safe, miss. Now, if you wouldn’t mind going back inside, we’ll conduct a search of the outside of your pod and if there’s anything else you need, please use the phone.’ He swept me back down the path and through my pod door. ‘Have a good night, miss.’

Shaking my head, I went back to my room and
climbed into bed.

*

I half expected to be told off the following morning and felt somewhat nervous heading into breakfast but no one mentioned the previous night at all. In fact, the people around me seemed somewhat pre-occupied. When Simeon entered the room he climbed up on a chair and cleared his throat loudly.

‘
Can I have your attention please?’ The entire room fell quiet and every single person turned to watch him. ‘Thank you. I have some very exciting news! This morning Nicholas contacted me and asked me to start preparations for a new intake of Paradise Community members.’

People glanced at each other sideways but
no one spoke.

‘
Now, as I’m sure you’re aware,’ he continued, ‘our current accommodation is full. Therefore, we must build two accommodation blocks to house our new neighbours. I am very excited to tell you all about “Project Welcome”, so named because, as you know, the policy of our community is to welcome with open arms all those sent to us by our esteemed leader. We have put lists of names up for the building teams near the doors. Those selected will be expected to work in shifts, assisting with the construction of the new blocks.’

‘
How long do we have to complete them?’ a man shouted out from somewhere in the middle of the room.

‘
The newcomers will be here in just over a month,’ Simeon replied, ‘so we’ll need all hands on deck to get the project completed in time. There will be a small group going into town today to arrange the delivery of the supplies that we can’t provide for ourselves and I also have a job to do, so the work will begin tomorrow. Please check the lists as soon as possible. If you don’t find your name on there and you’d like to help, please speak to either myself, Naomi or Linda and we’ll let you know what we need doing. Thank you.’

I expected him to come over to my table but instead he headed out of the door again. Excusing myself, I crossed over to where the lists had been pinned to the wall, glanced over them then sprinted out into the corridor.

‘Simeon, wait! My name’s not on the list.’

‘
That’s right.’ He flashed his usual grin at me but kept on walking.

‘
But I want to help with the building work.’

‘
That’s very sweet but it really isn’t necessary. We have plenty of people living in our community who have building experience and expertise. I’m sure there’s something else we can find for you to do.’

‘
Ok, well how about you let me go into town with the others?’ I asked.

He stopped short, his eyebrows raised.

‘Excuse me?’

‘
You said that some of the others are going into town to order supplies. Can I go with them?’

‘
I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’

My heart sank.
‘Why? Don’t you trust me?’

‘
Of course I do. It’s just that it’ll be a very different experience for you – going there as one of us.’

‘
I’ll be fine,’ I replied.

‘
Ok. Well they’re setting off right after lunch so if you still want to go then, meet them at the front entrance.’

‘
Great, thanks!’ I bounced off down the corridor wishing it was lunchtime already.

*

At one o’clock exactly I was sitting in a large saloon car next to Naomi. Two men, who were introduced to me as Frank and Drew, accompanied us. I was issued with designer sunglasses and, glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I thought I looked kind of cool.

‘
Ok, we have two places to go in town,’ Naomi told me, ‘and the plan is that we get the jobs done as quickly as possible and get straight back home. Ok?’

‘
Ok,’ I nodded, ‘straight in and out.’

‘
That’s right. So, Drew will stay with the car,’ the driver nodded in response, ‘and Frank will come with us.’

‘
Ok. This is so exciting!’

Once we
’d parked up, we headed for the first stop. Frank and I waited just inside the door of a small office while Naomi marched up to a man sitting behind a desk and gave him a sheet of paper with our order written on it. He was obviously used to this kind of interaction as he didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow. Next we went to the only bank in the town. Again, Frank and I waited, perched on plastic chairs in the reception area whilst Naomi went off to speak to one of the managers. She returned a little while later, tucking something into the pocket of her trousers. Nodding to us, she headed straight out of the door and we hurried to catch her up.

‘
Ava?’

Standing in a small group, right outside the bank were Beth, Noah, Oscar and Lissa
.

‘Come,’ Naomi spoke softly in my ear, ‘we must get back.’

‘
Ava? Is that you?’ Beth took a tentative step forwards but, as soon as she moved, Frank stepped between us.

‘
It’s ok.’ I put my hand on his arm and stepped around him.

‘
How are you?’ Beth asked but her eyes were on Frank.

‘
I’m fine, thank you,’ I replied curtly.

‘
We’ve all been so worried.’

‘
Really?’ My voice dripped with sarcasm.

‘
You just disappeared.’ She glanced over at Noah who was staring at me, his eyes narrowed. ‘We didn’t know where to find you.’

‘
Did you even look?’

‘
We tried.’

‘
Well you didn’t try very hard, did you?’ I spat.

‘
Now just a minute . . .’ Noah stepped forward. From nowhere Drew appeared, blocking Noah, his expression deadly. Noah eyed him warily. ‘It’s not Beth’s fault. You can’t speak to her like that.’

‘
Well, that’s easily remedied. Goodbye.’

‘
Ava, please!’ Beth’s voice quivered as she spoke. ‘Please come back. I miss you.
We
miss you.’

I caught Oscar
’s eye briefly before he dropped his gaze to the floor.

‘
I’m happy where I am, thanks.’

‘
What’s happened to you?’ Noah looked me up and down in disgust. ‘You’ve only been with the Parasites a few months and already you look just like them. Are they brainwashing you or something?’

I
snorted with laughter. ‘Brainwashing me? You’re actually being serious, aren’t you?’

‘
It’s not worth it. She’s walked away.’

Fury ripped
through me as I rounded on Oscar. ‘I did
not
walk away from anything.
You
walked away from me.
You
left me behind.
You
let them take me to prison and
you
didn’t come to find me,’ I snarled, ignoring his look of alarm. ‘I complicate things for you, remember? Well this is me un-complicating things for you, Oscar. You don’t have to worry about me any more – any of you. I’m happy now so just leave me alone.’

‘
Come on, Miss Ava,’ Frank wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me across the road to the car, which had its engine running. Naomi and Drew were already inside. Frank bundled me in through the back door, then ran around to the passenger side and climbed in himself. Drew put his foot down on the accelerator and the car shot forwards, tyres squealing.

*

The rest of the afternoon was spent hiding in my pod, curled up in bed. By dinner time I’d had enough of feeling sorry for myself and, although I really wasn’t hungry, I decided to go and make an effort to be sociable anyway.

The first thing that struck me was that there was no queue. There were plenty of people around
, though, standing in little groups and talking quietly.

‘
It’s just shocking. Does Naomi know?’

‘
They told her when she got back from town. She’s been in with him ever since.’

‘
Do we know if he’s badly hurt?’

‘
Just that the nurses are in with him.’

I cleared my throat.
‘Who are you talking about?’

They glanced at each other nervously. I re-ran their conversation in my head.
‘Is it Simeon? Is he ok?’

Their expression told me that my guess was correct. Leaving them staring after me, I raced to the office.
Simeon was sitting in his chair, his head resting in his hand. Naomi crouched beside him, looking up at him with concern. He glanced up and saw me hovering in the doorway.

‘
It’s ok, Ava,’ he called, ‘come in.’

Naomi stood, nodded briefly to me
, then left the room.

‘
What happened?’ I sat down in my usual chair and watched as a blonde-haired woman examined a bloody wound on the side of Simeon’s head.

‘
I’m sorry,’ he smiled weakly. ‘I was hoping that you wouldn’t find out about this. I didn’t want to worry you.’

‘
Find out about what?’

He reached down and picked something up off the floor. My jaw popped open as he handed me
the bag my mother had given me.

‘
I went to arrange for your guardianship to be transferred and I’m afraid your previous guardians weren’t very happy about it.’

My stomach tied itself in a tight knot.
‘How did you get hurt?’

‘
Well, Brock went to retrieve the bag but when I mentioned the guardianship he became angry. We got into an argument, and as I turned to walk away he attacked me.’

‘
He did what?’

‘
Well one of them did. There were a few of them present. All I know is that something very hard hit me on the head. I give you my word that I did nothing to provoke them,’ he told me gravely. ‘In fact, I was trying to keep things calm. I’m not an aggressive person, Ava.’

‘
I didn’t think Brock was either. It just goes to show how wrong you can be about a person. I’m so sorry, Simeon.’

‘
What on earth for?’

‘
It’s my fault you got hurt. No matter where I go I seem to cause chaos.’ My lip trembled.

‘
None of this is your fault. You fell in with the wrong crowd, that’s all. Naomi told me about your experience in town today.’

‘
I thought they were my friends.’

‘
True friends don’t abandon each other. You have my word that we’ll never abandon you, no matter what. You don’t belong with them. You belong here.’

‘
I know,’ I smiled. ‘Paradise is the future, right?’

His eyes lit up and he laughed loudly.
‘Absolutely, it is. I’m so glad you’re here, Ava. You’re a very special girl indeed.’

*

By the time I entered the dining room for breakfast the next day, calm had been restored. Walking straight to the front of the queue, I picked out some buttered crumpets and wandered over to my usual seat. Gracie joined me shortly afterwards but didn’t speak. Instead, she sat stirring her cup of coffee constantly, absorbed in her thoughts. The sound of the spoon scraping against the china irritated me.

‘
Is everything all right?’

‘
Not really,’ she replied morosely.

‘
What’s the matter?’

She exhaled slowly, staring at her cup.
‘They’ve put me on one of the building crews.’

‘
Is that a problem?’

‘
Yes, because I have absolutely no experience of building whatsoever,’ she snapped.

‘
I’m sure they’ll be able to find something else for you to do. You’re lucky you know, I wanted to help but they wouldn’t let me.’

She snorte
d into her coffee. ‘Yeah, right. As if they’d let
you
get your hands dirty.’

‘
What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘
Nothing, nothing,’ she said quickly, ‘don’t worry about it.’

‘
Fine.’ I stood and grabbed my plate. ‘Well, if you don’t mind I’m going to go find something to do. I for one don’t mind helping the community out.’

‘
No, don’t go.’ Suddenly she looked vulnerable. ‘I’m sorry, it’s just I’m really not good with heights. I don’t understand why they picked me when there are lots of people who would do a better job. I wouldn’t mind helping in other ways though.’

‘
Well, why don’t you talk to someone about it? Look, Linda’s on her way over here right now.’

‘
No!’ her eyes widened in panic. ‘Please, don’t say anything. I’ll be ok, I’m just having a bad day.’

‘
Are you sure?’

‘
I’m sure, thanks. Look, I’ll catch up with you later, ok?’ She stood up and rushed away, just as Linda reached our table.

‘
Is everything ok?’

‘
I think so,’ I replied, smiling.

‘
That’s good, because I’ve got some very exciting news for you!’

She dragged me out into the corridor and headed towards Simeon
’s office, but before we got there she ushered me into a small side room.

‘
I’m sorry to be so cloak and dagger, but we’re trying to keep this quiet for the time being.’ She bounced up and down on the spot, wringing her hands and grinning from ear to ear. ‘Nicholas has come back early!’

‘
He has?’

‘
Yes! He’s in Simeon’s office, right now. He wants to spend some time with you before the others know he’s back.’

‘
Really? That’s kind of him.’

‘
That’s the sort of person he is. Ok, are you ready? Come on then!’ She grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind her, racing down the rest of the corridor until we reached the office door. She gestured for me to enter, then turned and walked back the way we’d just come.

Nicholas was sitting in Simeon
’s chair. He was alone in the office, which for once was dark and gloomy. Despite it being quite warm outside, the log fire was burning fiercely in the fireplace and the curtains were drawn. He was sitting so still and quiet that I thought for a moment he was asleep. It was only when I sat down on the edge of the chair opposite that he stirred. His face was quite handsome with thick eyebrows, a long straight nose and full lips. His hair was thick, dark and wiry. I couldn’t tell what colour his eyes were, however, as they were hidden behind thick, dark sunglasses.

‘
Hello, Ava.’ He was well spoken and each word was clearly articulated. ‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. My name is Nicholas and I’m the founder of Paradise Community.’

‘
Hi,’ I replied, unable to think of anything better to say.

‘
How are you feeling?’

‘
I’m fine, thank you.’

‘
Good. Simeon has told me that you’re fitting in very well and are an asset to our community.’

‘
That’s very kind of him. Everyone has been really nice.’

‘
Wonderful.’ His lips pressed into a thin line, which I took to be a smile. ‘You’ll have to forgive me, I have difficulties with light and have to wear these glasses all the time to protect my eyes. I also feel the cold easily.’ He gestured to the fire.

‘
It’s not a problem,’ I replied, ‘I like the warmth too.’

Shifting in his chair, he stared at the fish tank for a moment.
‘Ava, I have returned early because I need to speak to you about something of the utmost importance. I have asked Simeon and Naomi to travel in my place so that I can spend some time getting to know you and bringing you up to speed with what’s happening. You see, things are changing on the outside and not for the better. I have spent a lot of time travelling around the country, looking for opportunities to spread the news of our ways in the hope of encouraging others to embrace a peaceful existence. The problem is that people are scared. The Unexplainables are growing in number and strength all the time. Incidents of them losing control of their powers are increasing and the hospitals are full of innocent Standards who have, in some cases, been seriously wounded. There have even been deaths. Yet at the same time they have been fed lies about my work. The people who follow me have been labelled “parasites” and “brainwashers”. The Standards are stuck in the middle, unsure which way to turn.’

‘
Can’t the security people step in?’ I asked.

‘
They’ve tried, but they’re losing control. The Unexplainables are no longer afraid of them and this is causing panic in their ranks. As you found out for yourself, they are making mistakes. Placing a young person inside a maximum security prison for a minor offence is just one example of the mess they’ve made.’

‘
But how can I help?’ I asked. ‘I’m a Nex after all.’

‘
Oh no, you are not,’ he replied, ‘you are something else entirely. Don’t you see that?’

‘
Not really. The only difference I’ve seen is that I have more powers than the others.’

‘
Exactly. And that sets you apart immediately. There are no other beings with multiple powers. You are one of a kind and your powers may well be stronger than all the Unexplainables on this planet put together.’

‘
But surely that makes me more of a risk?’