20 Years Later (24 page)

Zane began to approach but then stopped and just stared, shaking slightly. Behind him, Titus appeared at the front door, wanting to see what the noise was about. He entered silently, unnoticed by those already in the room as he closed the door quietly behind him.

Miri took the boy's pulse and watched his breathing. “Jay, build up the fire. I need some boiling water. Zane, get me the large glass bowl from the kitchen and a tea towel.”

Zane didn't move, and just as Miri was about to repeat her order more loudly Titus said, “I'll get it!” making her jump as he hurried through the room into the kitchen.

Titus reappeared at the doorway, bowl in hand, and watched Zane moving over to the sofa fearfully, lips pale, eyes wide and fixed on the child.

“There's something inside him,” Zane muttered, coming to kneel next to his mother.

“What?” she asked, now checking that the boy's mouth was empty and lifting the pyjama top up to the boy's chin so that she could listen to his chest more closely.

“Something … in his chest, his lungs … something bad and wrong,” Zane said, his voice trembling.

He could see the boy's veins, his heart beating rapidly. But it was the substance, black and unnatural, spreading out like thick spider legs from a lump at the bottom of his lungs, that was clearly impeding his breathing. That dark substance was terrifying–not simply the fact that it shouldn't be there, but somehow the very essence of it.

“What do you mean, Zane?” Miri asked, disturbed by her son's behaviour.

Zane didn't reply, but slowly reached out to lay his hands on the boy's chest. When he made contact, a ripple of coldness travelled up Zane's arms, making him take in a sharp breath as if he had plunged his hands into icy water.

Zane knew that he had to get the substance out of him; every instinct he had was telling him that it was killing the boy. Trusting those same instincts, he moved his hands down and pressed his fingers firmly on the boy's abdomen, just below his diaphragm and the point where the black substance seemed to radiate from.

Zane began to shake as Jay and Miri watched in tense silence. A droplet of sweat ran down his temple as he began to push his fingers upwards towards the boy's chin, staring at the substance that no-one else could see and willing it to be pushed up too. When his fingers came level with the lump, the cold spread up his hands again, but this time he was ready for it and focused on pushing it away from himself. All the while, the boy was struggling to breathe, his lips starting to take on a blue tinge.

The black lump started to move, as if repelled by Zane's fingertips, edging away from them like a fearful creature. The dark threads that were spread out through the spongy tissue shrank inwards, retreating to the originating mass. Slowly and steadily, Zane pushed it towards the top of the lungs until it formed a large glob at the bottom of the boy's windpipe. When it was all in one place, he swiftly pulled at the boy's shoulders until he was sitting up and darted around Miri to get behind the child. He wrapped his arms around him, made a fist under his ribcage, and pulled hard with a quick upwards thrust.

The black substance shot out of the boy's mouth in one fat globule, splatting onto the floor at Titus' feet. The child drew in a huge breath and gasped, coughing and spluttering as the air flooded back into his lungs.

No-one spoke, staring first at Zane and the boy, then turning to look at the black matter on the floor. Zane leant heavily against the arm of the sofa, trembling. Jay went to examine what had been expelled whilst Miri absent-mindedly rubbed the new boy's back as she stared at Zane, slack-jawed. The boy struggled to breathe normally, looking uneasily at the blob on the floorboard.

It resembled a lump of crude oil, thick and shiny, unlike anything they had seen before.

“What the hell is that?” Jay asked, but no-one had an answer. Zane peered over at it, keeping half an eye on the boy and his recovery.

“Don't touch it,” Zane said. “Whatever it is, it's something nasty.” He realised now that the chill the boy had caused before had been because of this, not the child himself.

“Ugh!” Jay yelled and jumped back as he saw the lump stretch a little and then contract, moving an inch or so like a fat caterpillar. Miri gasped and scrambled to her feet as Titus stared at it in disbelief, frozen to the spot.

It slid again, moving towards the corner of the sofa. Jay
grabbed the thick glass bowl from Titus' hand and slammed it down over it.

“Get it out of my house!” Miri shrieked and Jay frantically looked for something to slide under as the globule continued to inch slowly across the space under the glass. Titus ran into the kitchen and re-emerged with a thin chopping board that Jay took and swiftly slid under the bowl, trapping the black matter securely. He gingerly lifted it up and took it outside as Titus went and collected a lidded saucepan from the kitchen and followed him out.

Miri watched from the door as Titus held the saucepan open and Jay carefully slid the strange black matter into the pot. Titus banged the lid down and put it on the floor, holding the lid on tight as Jay found a large stone and put it on the top, both of them shuddering in disgust.

“That'll do for now,” Jay said and they both hurried back into the house. “It's not going anywhere, Miri. I'll get rid of it. Don't worry.”

She nodded, and looked at Zane who was slumped against the sofa, exhausted.

“I dunno what you did, Zane,” Jay said. “But it was cool.”

Zane just nodded, his eyes heavy with fatigue. The boy on the sofa was breathing more normally and looking around the room in confusion, his pyjama top still gathered under his armpits.

Miri, seeing how disoriented he was, smiled at him and said, “You'll be alright now. We'll look after you.” She pulled his top back down again but stopped when she noticed something. She beckoned Jay over. “What's that?”

Jay peered down and frowned at a mark just visible near the base of the boy's spine. “Lean forward a second,” he said to the boy, who did as he was asked without complaint.

A small dark rectangle, looking something like a tattoo was inked on to the boy's back. A series of numbers, small and difficult to read, ran along the bottom of it, with different width stripes running along above them.

“My God, it's a barcode,” Miri gasped.

“A what?” Jay asked but she didn't reply. “Where'd you get this?” he asked the boy with concern.

“Get what?” he replied, drowsy and disoriented.

“Let him rest, we'll talk to him later,” Miri said quietly, picking him up and carrying him to her bedroom, the child falling asleep in her arms as she spoke. By the time she came back into the living room, her son was fast asleep too. “Perhaps you should come back later, Jay,” she suggested. “Just don't tell anyone what you saw, please.”

He nodded. “I'll get rid of that stuff,” he said and left the house. Titus lurked in the corner of the room, observing everything silently. Miri looked at him.

“It's alright, Titus. It's over now,” she said reassuringly, draping her shawl over Zane.

“I won't tell anyone either,” he promised, watching her shaking hands ease a cushion under Zane's head.

She nodded, looking down on her son's sleeping face. “I'm not even sure what I saw,” she mumbled to herself as Titus slipped out of the house.

He drifted outside and watched Jay carrying the saucepan away at arm's length in the first light of the dawn. He listened to the birdsong, watched the grey palette of the garden beginning to take on the first hints of colour in the strengthening light. He glanced back towards where Miri watched over Zane, sighed, and then walked back to his house, alone.

That evening Jay returned to Miri's house with a troubled frown. He was welcomed into the living room and offered a
bowl of stew that he accepted gratefully. Zane was now awake but still looking somewhat drained, and the new boy was sound asleep in Miri's room.

Jay perched on the edge of the sofa and wolfed the stew down, not saying a word until the bowl had been scraped and then licked clean. He put the bowl down and ran a hand through his hair.

“Sommat weird is goin' on,” he said after a few moments. “The stuff that came out of the new boy had to be burnt for a couple of hours before it was gone. 'Ent never seen nothin' like it before.” He fidgeted. “It tried to get out of the pan when it was getting hot … almost like it was an animal. 'Ent natural.' He shuddered.

“At least it's gone now.” Miri tried to sound as comforting as she could.

“That's not all,” Jay sighed. “I got all the lads together and checked them for that mark. Ten of 'em have got it. That's most of my Boys!”

Zane frowned. “Does the new Boy who's scared of me have one?”

Jay nodded. “Look … I didn't want to ask them … could you check me?”

Miri nodded and he stood, allowing her to check his back. “Nothing,” she said in relief and he let out a long breath.

“Good. That freaks me out, my Boys being marked. I dunno what gang done it, but they don't remember anythin' about it, not even how they got 'ere.”

“I should check them,” Zane said quietly. “Make sure that they don't have that stuff in them.” He thought for a moment, remembering that shiver that went through him when he first met the other Boy and then said, “I think the other new Boy might.”

Jay nodded. “He's damaged, that one. Been through sommat really bad. He'll be alright one day, but it's hard work.
You know, I've always wondered where they all came from, but I never
worried
about it. If one turns up and he 'ent in another gang, we take 'em in and that's that. Now I'm startin' to wonder about it. Maybe they were in a gang before comin' to our patch.”

“Do they always turn up in those funny clothes?” Zane asked.

Jay shook his head. “I think a couple might've done, ages ago, but they turn up in all kinds of things.” He jabbed a thumb towards Miri's room. “This one alright to stay 'ere a night? Just so I know he'll be alright? I'll make it up t'ya.”

Miri smiled reassuringly. “Of course.”

“Tomorrow I'll come over and check the ones with the mark on them,” Zane offered.

“Ta,” Jay said and went to the door as Zane followed to wave him off. When Jay had left, Zane took a moment to look across to Erin and Luthor's house, but saw that it was still dark. Something about their being gone for over a day made him nervous, made him mindful of other people's lives being shaped in ways beyond his knowledge. Oh but how little he was aware of then! How little did he appreciate how the delicate thread of his life was already being woven tightly in the affairs of others.

Later the next day, Jay shut the door to the hotel room and went over to Titus and Zane, who were standing by the window looking out onto Russell Square.

“So … whaddya find?” he asked, trying to seem nonchalant in an effort to hide his concern. It wasn't working. Zane noticed how tired he was and suspected that he'd hardly slept since his conversation with them about the markings the night before.

“Squeak has some of that black stuff in him,” Zane began, his voice quiet and tired. “Only a tiny bit and he won't let me near him enough to get it out. I think some of the others used to … not any more though.”

Jay peered at him. “How'd ya know that?”

Titus stepped forward. “Jay, we have an idea about where they came from before they arrived here, where that mark on their backs comes from.”

His diversionary tactic worked. Jay scratched his head. “Go on.”

“The Unders,” Titus stated calmly, making no attempt to soften what he was saying. “Squeak was definitely there and he has the mark.”

“I dunno much about them,” Jay admitted. “Why are the marks there? What are they for?”

Titus spread his hands and shrugged. “I don't know. When the Boys with the marks were asked about … certain things, most of the others had similar memories about being locked in rooms and the corridor that Squeak told me about.”

“All of them knew someone there called Eve,” Zane added.

“And this Eve mentioned Lyssa to the newest Boy,” Titus continued, keeping his face and voice as neutral and calm as he could, whilst tightly gripping the windowsill that he leant against. “Which confirms that she's down there now.”

Jay leant against the wall, rubbing his face as if trying to wipe away something clinging to it. He dropped his hands to his sides. “I really don't know anything about this Unders gang– don't know their sign, their territory, nothin'.”

“No-one knows much,” Titus replied. “We know that the Giant comes from there, that they can make lightning, that they take people –”

“Women,” Zane interjected, “Mum said they take women and they never come back.”

Titus looked down at the floor briefly. “That too.”

“How'd you know the Giant came from there?” Jay ran a hand through his hair, clearly agitated.

“The marked boys recognised the picture that Dev found,” Zane replied, handing it back to Jay. Zane then looked to Titus, but he didn't add anything about his dream.

“Hell,” Jay muttered. Then he frowned. “Hang on. If they were with the Unders, and locked in rooms like you say, how'd they end up out 'ere with us?”

Both Titus and Zane shrugged. “None of them can remember,” Titus said. “They only remember waking up outside and you finding them.”

“I don't like this,” Jay muttered. “I gotta think this over.”

Zane nodded sympathetically. “You know where to find us.”

He and Titus reached the door and as Zane was opening it, Jay moved towards them with a jolt, as if he hadn't noticed they were leaving. “Er, look … thanks for this, for helpin' me out an' all. I won't forget it.” Zane smiled and Titus gave a small nod.
“And Titus.” Jay held him back with a brief touch on his arm that made Titus tense immediately. “I'll help you get Lyssa back. It 'ent right, what 'appened …”