The Fearless (20 page)

‘Come on,’ I mutter to Cass. I’m already starting to feel apprehensive about this meeting. ‘It’s this way.’

We leave the Comms Hall with everyone’s stares drilling into my back. Mara’s room is several tunnels away – some nights she’d scream for hours, and if she’d been nearer the dormitories, no one would’ve got any sleep.

I go in first to check the room is OK. When Mara and I got here, it was stuffed with filing cabinets and junk, and Ben helped me clear it out and make it secure for her. A mattress is shoved against one wall, the covers heaped up in the middle, but we had to remove the rest of the furniture so Mara couldn’t hurt herself. Even so, the walls are scuffed and scored from where she’d scratch at the paintwork until her fingers bled. I blink, seeing her sitting on the mattress with her knees drawn up and her arms locked around them, her hair falling over her face as the cravings for the serum sends tremors through her body.

I gather up the bedding and take it out into the tunnel. ‘It’s all yours,’ I tell Cass. ‘I’ll be back soon, OK? And I’ll bring you some more blankets.’

She stares at the heavy bolts on the outside of the door. ‘What is this, a prison cell?’

Yes
, I think. ‘No, it’s just a room. I’m not gonna lock you in. But you have to stay here until the meeting’s finished. And do me a favour, OK? Don’t go wandering off on your own. It’s a big place – you could get lost.’

She nods, pressing her lips into a thin line. I have this crazy moment where I think about explaining, telling her who we are and why we’re hiding here from the rest of the world. And her miraculously understanding and telling me it doesn’t matter.

Luckily, I realize just how crazy that would be before I open my mouth.

‘I’ll see you in a while,’ I say. Then I head back to the Comms Hall.

Ben and the others are waiting.

‘So you believe Mara is on her way to the Torturehouse,’ he says.

‘Aye.’ I tell everyone else what I told Ben when we were going to see to Apollo. They listen in shocked silence.

‘I’m not asking any of you to come with us,’ I say. ‘I’m just asking for some weapons and supplies. And I won’t bring Cass back here afterwards, so you don’t need to worry about that.’

‘Wait, you want to get Mara back from the Torturehouse on your own?’ Cy says.

‘I’ll not
be
on my own,’ I say.

‘OK, you and that girl are going to go off to the Torturehouse by yourselves, to face God knows how many Fearless.’ Cy shakes his head. ‘That’s
insane
.’

‘What other option is there?’ I ask, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. ‘I have to get Mara out of there. And Cass’s brother. I
promised
her.’

Cy glances at Ben, then at Gina. ‘A few of us could come with you. I mean, if you’re sure that’s where Mara is—’

Some people shake their heads, looking doubtful, as I expected they would. But Gina rubs her hands through her dark curls, and says, ‘I’m in. We were going to try to get her back anyway, right?’

I feel a sudden, overwhelming rush of gratitude towards her and Cy. If this was anywhere else – Cass’s island, for example – I know this conversation would have gone very differently.
Who are you kidding?
I think.
If we were anywhere else, no one would have even agreed to bring Mara here in the first place, never mind rescue her for a second time
.

‘Well, I guess I’m in too, then,’ Cy says.

Ben sighs. ‘I guess that means I am too, seeing as I said I’d help you find her once the weather improved. Tana, can you keep an eye on things here while we’re gone?’

Tana nods, twisting one of her plaits around her fingers. Her face is grim. She and Cy only got together a year ago, but they’re pretty serious about each other. I know she’s not happy about Cy coming with us.

But whenever we need something from outside, Gina, Cy and Ben are the ones who can get it. They’re the strongest, fittest and fastest here. The best with guns and knives. And they’re the ones I’d pick to come with me and Cass to the Torturehouse, every time.

‘Thanks, guys,’ I say, and despite everything that’s happened over the last few days, I smile.

Three days later

‘No.’ My father thumps the desk. ‘No. You’re not going with them, Solomon. I forbid it.’

I gaze at him, my arms folded, my face impassive.
Have you quite finished?
I want to ask him. But the only way to get what you want from a man like my father is to bide your time, strike at exactly the right moment.

So I wait.

As he carries on ranting, I think back over the last three days. Ever since David Brett arrived with the woman, whose name is Sofia, and his half-dead Fearless, Hope’s been in a state of uproar. They’ve stayed for a few days because they needed to rest, they said, but really, I think Brett’s playing some sort of sick game with my father, trying to mess with his head.

‘We’ve found a way to cure them,’ Brett told us in the office after he said to my father,
You helped create them, Simon. Now’s your chance to help us make things right
. ‘A simple operation. It’s a bit hit and miss – an unfortunate consequence of having to work in the field, I’m afraid – but as you can see, when it
does
work, it’s completely successful.’

He indicated the Fearless, who was just standing there, his expression vacant, his mouth gaping open. The stench coming off him was worse than ever. I glanced at the window. My father saw me looking and nodded. I went to open it.

‘And then what?’ my father said.

‘They become biddable again. All their aggressive tendencies disappear.’

‘Who are you people?’ I demanded.

Brett turned that sneering smile on me. ‘Haven’t you heard of the Magpies, son?’

I shook my head.

He shook his head too. ‘My, they really do shelter you on this island of yours, don’t they?’

He handed the chain to the woman and sat down on a corner of the desk. ‘Once upon a time, son, your father and I were colleagues. We both worked for a company called PharmaDexon—’

‘David,’ my father said in a warning tone.

‘—where we created a drug we hoped would stop people in the armed forces suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. But it did more than that. It stopped them feeling fear altogether. And then—’

‘David, he knows all this,’ my father said.

‘I do,’ I told Brett. ‘We had a . . . a talk about it.’

I wasn’t about to tell him what had really happened. A year ago, my father had got drunk on some moonshine brought to the island by the barterers. I’d found him in our apartment, weeping over a picture of my mother, and without any warning at all, he’d spilled the whole sorry story of how he and his team at PharmaDexon had been the scientists responsible for creating the drug that would eventually turn people into Fearless. Then, because he was up to his neck in debt, my father and David Brett decided to sell the formula to a group of scientists working for the enemy for a crazy amount of money and split the proceeds. It was shortly afterwards that it emerged the drug wasn’t just stopping soldiers from feeling fear, but turning them into super-strong, psychopathic lunatics. By then, the scientists my father and Brett sold the formula to had strengthened it so the side effects started immediately.

The rest, as they say, is history. And although my father and Brett had never intended the drug to be used for evil, it was too late. All they could do, my father said, was watch as the world started to fall to pieces around them.

I’d listened in surprise, then fear, then anger. The Invasion had happened
because of my father
, and instead of trying to stop it or owning up to what he’d done, he’d fled to Hope – which he’d got ready as soon as he realized things were going wrong – like a rabbit disappearing into its burrow.

Was that when I started to hate him?

I’m not sure, but I think it might have been.

‘I see,’ Brett said. ‘And what about the rest of the Islanders? Do they know?’

‘No,’ my father said in a low voice. ‘And I’ll thank you not to tell them, either.’

‘Seems to me we’re in an ideal position to strike a bargain, then.’ Brett smiled, and the Fearless shifted restlessly from one foot to the other. The woman gave a hard yank on its chain, making it moan. I saw how the metal cuff was cutting into its flesh, despite the bandage, and felt a secret thrill. Neutralized or not, it was still a freak. Why wasn’t Brett going round shooting them all? Surely that would be easier? Not to mention a whole lot more fun.

‘A bargain?’ My father’s voice was guarded.

Brett nodded. ‘The Magpies are growing steadily in number, but we can always use more pairs of hands.’

‘Why? What are the
Magpies
doing, exactly? Except for parading round with
those
—’ My father jerked a thumb at the Fearless, who was drooling slightly, ‘and threatening to blow up innocent communities?’

I glance at him in surprise. What does he mean,
communities
? There aren’t any other communities, are there? Or does he know something we don’t?

‘We’re taking back the country, Simon. We’ve already had major success overseas—’

‘Is that where you went?’ my father said, as I considered what Brett had just said, and more pieces of a puzzle that minutes ago I had no idea existed slotted into place.
Major success overseas
 . . . Was it possible the world beyond Hope’s shores wasn’t quite as dead and dangerous as my father had always led us to believe?

‘Never mind where I went,’ Brett said, and for the first time I wondered why, if he and my father were working together so closely before the Invasion, Brett never came to Hope. Did they fall out over the stolen formula? Was my father scared Brett would tell people what they’d done? ‘The point is, there’s a huge, untapped resource out there – thousands of Fearless we can cure and use as labourers to rebuild towns, cities, the country’s infrastructure – leaving ordinary people free to do the more difficult tasks, like forming a government and so on.

‘Our mission right now is to round up as many Fearless as possible. I have people from all over Europe and Asia working under me, a large number of them ex-military. But the work is difficult and hazardous. We’re launching a mission to Sheffield in a week or so’s time, where there’s rumoured to be a large Fearless lair. We expect casualties to be high.’

‘So you’re here because . . .’ my father said.

‘The population on Hope is young and strong,’ Brett said. ‘Surely you can spare a few of them to join us?’

My father’s face went pale, then flushed red. ‘Absolutely not. That’s preposterous!’

‘As preposterous as you keeping people here, continuing to pretend the world has ended so you can cling onto a little bit of power?’

‘You are not taking anyone from Hope to join the Magpies!’

I imagined going after the Fearless, helping to round them up, and wondered how many it might be considered acceptable to kill in self-defence. My skin was prickling all over with excitement.

‘I wonder what they would say, then, if they were to find out they’ve been in exile for the last seven years because of you – that you’re the reason they lost their homes, their families . . .’

‘You wouldn’t dare!’ my father choked.

‘Try me.’ Brett’s smile had become cold and humourless.

‘You’re just as culpable as I am!’

‘Yes, but
I’m
taking steps to put what I did right. What are
you
doing? And anyway, Simon, selling the formula was your idea. I still have the documents to prove it.’

My father went pale again. ‘Solomon, go and ring the Meeting Hall bell,’ he told me. ‘I want every Islander over the age of sixteen here in five minutes’ time.’

‘Excellent,’ Brett said, and his smile returned to full wattage.

Shortly afterwards, everyone was packed into the Meeting Hall’s main room. David Brett had covered the Fearless in a blanket again, and when he whipped it off, people gasped. He went through his spiel about rebuilding the country, and all the great work the Magpies had done so far. Then he asked people to consider joining them.

‘You don’t have to decide immediately,’ he said. ‘Think about it and let me know. We’ll be here for a few days.’ He smiled at my father, who shifted uneasily in his chair.

And inside, I was smiling too, because I’d already made my decision.

‘I’m going, Dad,’ I say once my father has finished ranting at me. ‘You can’t stop me. I’ve already handed in my armband to Captain Denning.’

My father stares at me, open-mouthed.

‘But Sol . . .’ His angry tone becomes almost pleading. ‘There’s a great future for you here – you could become Mayor of Hope yourself, in time—’

‘I don’t
want
to become Mayor of this shithole,’ I bark at him. ‘Brett was right. All you’ve done is hide yourself away here and refuse to take responsibility for what you did. This is my chance to make a difference. I’m no coward, even if you are.’

‘
No!
’ My father grabs his cane and struggles to his feet.

‘Oh, shut up.’ I turn and walk out of the office while he’s still trying to get out from behind the desk. My pack is just outside the door, leaning up against the wall. I swing it onto my shoulder and jog down the Meeting Hall steps.

Colonel Brett and Sofia are already at the jetty, the Fearless bundled in the back of the boat. Marissa and Andrej are on board too. No one else was willing to leave their families.

‘
SOLOMON!
’ I hear my father yell from the other side of the sea wall as I step down into the boat. Brett sighs. ‘Is everyone here?’

‘Yes, sir!’ we say.

He nods at Sofia, who starts the boat’s engine. With six people on board, it sits low in the water, but we soon pick up speed. My last sight of the island is my father, waving his stick at us from the top of the sea wall. I turn away from him and watch the docks approaching on the other side of the channel.

I feel a grin spreading across my face.

Future, here I come.