THE CLEARING (3 page)

‘So it’s only you and your parents here is it?’

‘That’s none of your business,’ FJ said.

‘Now, now. No need to get testy. I’m just being friendly.’

‘We’ll be going back now,’ FJ said, ‘to tell our parents. Thanks for the warning.’ He took Liss’s hand and they began to edge past Mr Carter.

Liss turned back to the man as something had occurred to her. ‘You said ‘we’.’

‘Sorry?’ Mr Carter replied.

‘You said ‘
we
were coming to talk to you’. Before.’

‘So I did. You’re a sharp one.’

‘Does that mean someone else is with you?’

‘Yes, my brothers are here with me. They will return momentarily. Aah, talk of the devil.’ Mr Carter looked beyond FJ and Liss. He smiled and nodded. ‘Meet Cassius and Mark, my brothers.’

Before Liss had a chance to turn around, she felt a hand come around her waist and another hand tape something across her mouth. She was then lifted into the air before she could even scream.

The same thing was happening to FJ and she locked eyes with him for a fleeting second. In that brief moment, he gave her a look of panic, defiance, apology and . . . something else . . . something which seemed very much like excitement or . . . triumph.

Liss would remember that look in the months which followed, as it was to be years before she laid eyes on her brother again.

Chapter Four

Riley

*

When Luc and I arrived home, we were out of breath. Ma and Pa were waiting for us wearing serious expressions. Liam didn’t tell us anything more on the jog back home and left as soon as we reached the house. We’d pressed him for information but he wouldn’t say.

I had that lurching feeling in my stomach, a feeling I’d come to know too well.

‘What is it?’ I asked my parents. ‘Just tell me.’

‘It's okay, Riley,’ Pa said. ‘No one's hurt.’

I immediately relaxed. For one horrific moment, I’d been transported back to the day when they told me my sister had been killed. They’d had similar expressions on their faces that morning.

‘You’ve got some visitors,’ Pa said. ‘From outside.’

‘Liam told us that already. Who is it?’ I asked.

‘They’re at the guards' house,’ Pa continued.

‘I don't think they should see them at all,’ Ma interrupted. ‘We should let Eddie and the guards deal with them. After what they did . . . Who knows what could have happened.’

‘Who is it?’ Luc and I said at the same time, desperate to know.

‘It’s that couple - Fred and Jessie,’ Pa said grimly.

‘What!’ I cried. ‘What the hell are they doing here?’

Luc shook his head in disbelief. ‘What a nerve. They must be crazy coming here after all the crap they pulled. Sorry for the language, Mrs C.’

I couldn’t understand why Fred and Jessie would come here. They betrayed us. Why would they want to see us again? It didn’t make any sense.

‘Come on,’ Pa said. ‘Let’s go and sort this out.’

My heart was hammering, but whether from the run back home or the news I’d just received, I couldn’t tell. I grabbed a sweatshirt off the end of the bannister and caught sight of myself in the hall mirror. My eyes were wide and scared-looking and my hair was a mess, curly strands escaping from my pony tail. I pulled the sweatshirt over my head and joined Luc and Pa who were already halfway out the door.

Ma squeezed my arm and watched us leave.

Pa threw his arm around my shoulders and Luc walked on the other side of him. It only took ten minutes to get to the guards’ house but it felt like forever. Why were Fred and Jessie here? It made no sense. I realised I didn’t want to see them. I’d rather forget they ever existed.

‘I’m coming inside with you,’ Pa said in a tone that no one would argue with.

We entered the two storey red brick building and Pa nodded to several of the guards. Roger Brennan came out of his office.

‘Hello, Sir,’ he said. ‘Luc, Riley.’

We nodded.

‘Hello, Roger,’ Pa said. ‘Have they told you anything else? Said why they’re here?’

‘Nothing,’ Roger replied. ‘Keep insisting they want to talk to Luc and Riley.’

‘Let’s go and find out what it’s all about then,’ Pa said.

‘Follow me,’ Roger said. ‘I’ve got them in one of the cells. After what they did to these two, I’m not taking any chances.’

We followed Roger along a corridor and waited when he stopped outside a metal door. He unclipped a bunch of keys from his belt loop and fitted one into the lock. The door groaned as it opened and the sound echoed down the corridor. We entered the room and Roger closed the door behind us with a clang.

Fred and Jessie were sitting on a narrow bed, but they rose to their feet when we walked in. Fred was wearing his usual tweed jacket with a checked shirt underneath. He’d aged a bit since we last saw him and looked a little thinner, but the main difference was with Jessie. The previous month she had seemed youthful and fit, but the person sitting across from us was a completely changed woman; all skin and bones with sunken cheeks and hollowed out eyes. She’d grown old. How could she have changed so much in such a short space of time?

The room felt cramped and claustrophobic with all six of us standing inside. It was chilly and musty. A window sat high up on the wall, but it had no glass, just thick metal bars. A cold breeze blew into the room making a low whining noise.

 ‘Thank you for seeing us.’ Jessie looked embarrassed and so she should. She caught my eye and flushed. ‘I’m glad you’re both alright,’ she said.

A thousand and one retorts hovered on my lips, but I didn’t speak.

‘Sit down,’ Roger said, motioning them back towards the bed.

They glanced around awkwardly, but did as he asked.

Fred now held his cap in his hands. He looked small and a bit pathetic.

Roger called out into the corridor: ‘We need some chairs in here!’

A few seconds later, the door opened again and a guard brought in a stack of four plastic seats. We tugged them free from each other and the four of us sat down, facing the worried-looking couple.

 ‘Make it quick.’ Luc said. ‘What do you want?’

‘If it's worth anything, we're genuinely sorry,’ Jessie said. ‘We hated doing what we did.’ She turned to Fred, whose eyes were resolutely downcast. Her eyes filled with tears.

‘You've tried the tears routine with us once before, so you can save it,’ Luc said.

Fred reached over to take Jessie's hand.

Just looking at them, brought back an avalanche of memories. We thought these two had been our guardian angels. They had showed Luc and me the warmth of their hospitality after we had been set upon by raiders, and at the time we were so grateful.

‘How could you!’ I said. ‘We trusted you. We wanted to help you and you sent us to that awful place to be brainwashed.’ I stumbled over the words, now so upset that I could barely speak. If I opened my mouth again I knew I’d cry, and they would be tears of anger. I glanced across at Pa who had a grim expression on his face, but he didn’t speak and I was grateful he was trusting this conversation to me and Luc.

‘You might not believe us, but we’re happy you escaped,’ Fred said. ‘I know we don't deserve a hearing, but will you let us tell you our story? And then you can decide whether or not to send us packing.’

I glanced at Luc who looked unimpressed and tight-lipped, but he gestured with his hands for him to continue.

Fred nodded and began his story.

Chapter Five

Liss

*

Liss tried to scream, but her mouth had been taped shut. What was happening? And where was FJ? She tried to see where the other man had taken her brother, but they had seemed to vanish into the undergrowth. Her heart thumped so violently, she thought it might beat its way right out of her chest.

She was held tight by the man as he walked, her arms pinned to her side. But because she faced away from him, she couldn’t even see what he looked like. Maybe that was a good thing. She didn’t think she wanted to see his face. What if he was a monster?

Why oh why had they come out here alone? She’d known it was dangerous, but she had stupidly let herself be talked into it. Were they going to die now? Were they going to be shot? Hot tears slipped out of her eyes and she tried to sniff them back. It was so hard to breathe with this thing over her mouth.

That Mr Carter man had disappeared too. Maybe he’d gone with FJ. If only she didn’t have her mouth taped she would scream and scream and shout for her mum and dad to come. They would surely hear her from here. And then dad would come running out with his shotgun and rescue them. Liss tried to free one of her arms, but the wriggling only made her captor squeeze her even tighter. It was hopeless.

The man grunted and set her down on the ground. He twisted her arms painfully behind her back and tied them up with something sharp that dug into her skin. She gave a soundless whimper. Her hair fell over her eyes, but through the mousy strands she saw that she was standing in front of a vehicle. It looked like an army truck.

The man moved around in front of her. He was ordinary looking. Brown hair, not fat, not thin, not a monster. Just a man.

‘Sit down,’ he said softly.

She stared at him.

‘On the ground. Sit down. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.’

Liss manoeuvered herself onto the ground. It was tricky with her hands tied behind her back, and her backside landed with a thump on the grass verge.

The man took some kind of plastic strip out of his trouser pocket and used it to tie her ankles together.

Liss wanted to ask him if he was going to kill her.

Once her ankles were secured, he stood and opened up the back of the truck. Then he bent back down and hoisted her up in his arms like a lamb for shearing.

‘You’re going to a good place,’ he said as he set her down in the back of the truck, swung her legs around and slammed the door shut.

Now Liss sat in total darkness. She thought she might’ve caught a glimpse of some other children in the truck, but it had been so fleeting she couldn’t be sure.

She realised she was shaking uncontrollably. Shaking and shivering and crying like a baby. She wondered if FJ was afraid. And if he was, was he keeping it hidden? Or was he crying and shaking too?

Maybe he was here in the truck with her. It was dark, but she could make out some dim shapes. The sour smell of vomit and sweat made her feel suddenly nauseous. She drew her legs into her body. Her arms were aching badly. How long would she be left in here like this?

A door slammed and the engine started up. A deep throaty rumble. Liss braced herself against the wall of the truck, splaying out her bound hands. As the vehicle began to move, she absorbed every jolt and judder from the road, but wasn’t able to steady herself. She was going to be bruised black and blue.

Her fingers brushed against something soft. Someone’s leg or maybe an arm? Perhaps it was FJ. But with her mouth taped, she couldn’t ask.

The journey was long and uncomfortable. She drifted in and out of terror, her mind circling around the same questions. Where were they going? Would she ever see mum and dad again? What about FJ? Was he in here with her or had they taken him somewhere else?

Liss wished more than anything that she had stuck to her guns and not followed her brother through the tunnel. In fact, if she was wishing for stuff, she wished she had been a tell-tale and told her mum exactly what FJ was planning to do. Even if he had refused to speak to her for a month it would be better than this.

Liss felt like she’d been sweltering inside the truck forever. She couldn’t breathe properly with this horrible tape over her mouth and she worried about how much it was going to hurt when they peeled it off – like a plaster only much, much worse.

Suddenly the truck stopped with a lurch and Liss was flung sideways. Her head landed on something soft. The engine grumbled for a moment and then everything went quiet. Had they reached their destination? Wherever that was. Liss shuffled upright again and cowered away from the door.

On the one hand, she was so tired and her arms ached so badly that she was dying to get out of here. Plus, the smell was terrible. But on the other hand, what if what lay out there was worse than being in here?

And now that the engine had stopped Liss could tell there were definitely other people in here with her. She heard muffled coughs and sobs and felt the movement of people shifting about, probably trying to get comfy. Apart from that, it was quiet. She heard no sounds at all from outside.

Her stomach gurgled with a mixture of nerves and hunger, but she knew that even if her favourite food had been placed in front of her right now, she wouldn’t be able to choke any of it down.

After what seemed like an age, Liss heard a voice outside. It sounded like the man who had tied her up and bundled her into the truck. Seconds later, the door creaked open, letting in a violent flood of light.

Squinting and blinking, she stared around the truck into the faces of other children, all bound and gagged with fear in their eyes. She desperately tried to see if FJ was among them, but from what she could tell, these others were all girls. Most of them were raggedy and scrawny. They looked like real outsiders with matted hair and dirty angry faces. But she did make out one with brushed hair and clean clothes.

Suddenly another person was dumped next to her, a young girl who couldn’t have been more than four or five, fresh tears streaking down her chubby red face.

Then the door slammed shut again and darkness descended. The engine started up and she felt the new girl lean into her, her little body shuddering and shaking like hers had done earlier. Liss wished she could comfort the girl, but she couldn’t talk and couldn’t even put her arm around her.

She shuffled her bottom around and reached out her fingers. She felt the ridged metal truck floor and the edge of some carpet. Then her fingers came upon material – the girl’s t shirt. She scooched around a bit more until finally she found the girl’s bound hands. She took them in her own and gave them a small squeeze.

Liss felt the girl’s body stiffen next to her, felt her fingers freeze and then retract. Liss felt for them again and rubbed her thumb along the back of the girl’s hand, trying to reassure her. But the girl really went crazy like she’d been given an electric shock and tried to shift away so Liss gave up and inched backwards.

The truck soon stopped again and this time two more girls were put into the truck. As the door opened, Liss quickly stared around at the other prisoners. The small girl from before looked up at her with wide eyes and Liss tried to smile, but it was impossible with her mouth covered like this.

As they were plunged back into blackness, Liss felt the girl shuffle towards her and she took a grain of comfort from the small body.

The truck stopped several more times and each time another girl was dumped inside. Liss’s eyes soon grew heavy and despite her fear and worry about where they were headed, she eventually fell asleep.

Liss awoke from a dreamless slumber. She tried to stretch out her limbs, but they seemed to be stuck.

And then she remembered.

In that brief second after waking, she had thought it had all been a dream, but as the terrible stench of fear and pee and vomit hit her nostrils, she knew it was all too real. She was here in the truck, kidnapped, taken from her family and heading who knew where.

Her body cramped with stiffness and the darkness crowded in on her like a living breathing thing. If she could have opened her mouth, she would have screamed. She took a deep breath in through her nose realising that the truck was now still and the engine had stopped. Maybe the man was putting more girls in the truck.

What would her parents be thinking by now? Were they cross or worried? Maybe they were looking for her. Perhaps FJ had managed to escape. . .

The truck door opened. It was dark outside, but the fresh air felt good on her sweaty face. She heard voices. A man and a woman talking. No – two women. They were talking about numbers and about boys and girls but she couldn’t make proper sense of the words. The voices merged like mashed potato and butter all swirled around together. She realised that was a strange thought to have, but she felt very strange. Not so scared anymore, just tired and odd.

A face loomed above her. It was a woman. She was quite young and Liss couldn’t work out if she was friendly or not. She didn’t smile, but she didn’t look mean either.

The woman was saying stuff, but Liss didn’t think she was talking to her. No. She wasn’t. She was talking to a man next to her. They were arguing.

‘Was this tape really necessary?’ the woman said.

‘I’d like to see you try driving all day with a lorry-load of screaming kids,’ he replied.

‘Poor dear.’ The woman took the corner of Liss’s tape in her fingers and gently began to peel it off.

The skin around Liss’s lips stung as the tape pulled away, but it didn’t hurt as much as she had thought it would.

‘What’s your name?’ the woman asked.

Liss took in a gulp of air through her mouth. It was lovely to get rid of that horrid tape.

‘Liss. Melissa,’ she replied.

‘Hello, Melissa. My name is Sarah.’

Liss stared up at the woman.

‘Let’s get you out of this nasty truck. I’m sure you could do with a wash and some food.’

The woman climbed up into the vehicle and began peeling the tape off all the girls’ mouths. But it was strange, because even though everyone was now free to talk and cry and scream, not one of them said a word.