20 Years Later (37 page)

“You cannot honestly believe that you are strong enough to protect these women,” Luthor replied in a hushed growl.

“Don't give me that crap,” Jay snarled. “Me and my Boys can take care of 'em fine.”

“Don't we have some say in this?” a red-headed woman spoke up.

Luthor guffawed. “No,” he replied, making Erin scowl at him. “You don't.”

“But that's not right!” Titus exclaimed, and the argument quickly escalated.

“Look, this isn't the time for this!” Shannon announced loudly, cutting through the hissed words of people trying to argue passionately but fearful of being heard. “Worry about what happens on the surface later. We need to find the children and get out of this godforsaken place. We're wasting time.”

“Children?” a woman said. “What children?”

Shannon frowned and shut his eyes, pieces of an ugly puzzle falling into place. “I can only assume,” he replied with obvious reluctance, “that they're your children.”

The women looked at each other. “But they died,” the redhead said, in a faltering voice.

“All of them,” another added. “They said they were stillborn.”

“They said it was the virus, that it was because we're carriers,” the redhead continued. “They said that was a side … effect.” Her voice trailed off as she saw Jay staring at the gap between her front teeth. He exchanged a look with Shannon as he realised the same truth.

“They lied, didn't they?” she cried. “Oh my God, they lied to us!”

“Where are they? Where are our children?” a chorus of despairing mothers clamoured to be heard over each other.

“Quiet!” Luthor tapped the floor with his bow and a hush descended. He gestured towards Shannon. “He knows where they are and you can come with us, but only if you stay back and stay quiet. We think all of the Guardians are dead, but one or two may have extra air supplies.” He leaned closer to Jay. “We'll finish this later.” With that he picked up his bow and set off down the tunnel. “Besides,” he muttered grimly to himself, “I can't think with all these women caterwauling.”

They formed a strange line of people as Shannon led them to the tunnel where the children were kept, Hunters in front, Titus and the women in the middle, Jay guarding the group from the back. They saw several bodies, many of whom looked like they'd suffocated in their suits, but no-one else left alive.

At the tunnel that Zane had been taken to, they found all of the doors open and not one child there. Shannon, fearing the worst, went from one to the next, checking it with a sweep of the torch, but Titus knew they had gone.

“No bodies,” Shannon muttered. “That's something.”

“Maybe they went to the surface,” Erin whispered. “No reason to stay down here in the dark.”

“Maybe,” Titus replied and looked at Shannon. “I suppose Eve knew the way from helping you.”

Shannon looked doubtful. “She was afraid of the surface– all of them were. Let's keep looking.” He glanced back at the women, most of whom looked ragged with fear. “Why don't you take them up above?” He asked Jay.

“I 'ent leavin' 'im to find the kids,” he jabbed a thumb at Luthor. “We stay together 'til we find 'em.”

They trudged on, sweeping the rooms with their torches, the only noises being their footsteps echoing off the curved concrete. At the end of the corridor, Shannon suggested they try another spoke and all agreed.

“I was never allowed into this one,” Shannon whispered to them as they reached one of the heavy doors that formed airlocks between the spokes. “It was high security. Never knew what they did here.”

Luthor's frown was deepened by the shadow-laden light. “Then if there are any survivors, they are likely to be here, where there may be something to protect.”

“I think he's right,” Titus muttered.

“Hear sommat again?” Jay asked. He raised his eyebrows at Titus' nod. “You got good 'earin.”

Luthor moved to the front, putting himself between the air lock and Shannon. “Stay back,” he told the women. “Erin, up here with me.”

Luthor swung the heavy door open as Erin trained her arrow on the opening. It was immediately apparent that there were no Guardians in the tunnel. Squeals erupted from a gaggle of children who fled down the tunnel away from Shannon's torch beam, but one remained, squinting at the bright beam of light.

“Eve!” Shannon and Titus yelled in unison and she ran to them as they stepped into the tunnel. She stopped a few feet away and grinned at Titus.

“I knew you would keep your promise,” she whispered to him.

“Are you all alright?” Shannon asked and she nodded.

“Everyone's afraid. We didn't know what was happening.”

“What are you doing here?” Shannon asked. “Are you lost?”

She shook her head. “No, we're looking for Zane.”

“Zane!” Erin and Titus exclaimed and then shot a look at each other.

“Zane's down here,” Eve replied, her voice just as quiet as it had been in the dream. “The Guardians and a doctor brought him. And they cut me to see if Zane could make it better, and he did. And there was a very scary man–even the Guardians were scared of him–and he killed the doctor to see if Zane could save her from the illness, but he couldn't, and she died and then Zane fell over and they carried him away. The scary man told them to take Zane to a high security cell, and I knew that was probably here, so we're here looking for him.” Her audience was too shocked to say anything for a moment, and she misinterpreted the silence. “I didn't want him to be left behind,” she added. “Everyone else is dead.”

“Eve!” a boy hissed at her from the far end of the tunnel. “We found him! Come quick!”

In moments, the children burst through the door the boy stood in front of to find Zane slumped in a corner, so pale that his skin looked grey, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. Lying in the middle of the room was Roper, exposed to the air and having suffered the same fate as Radley.

Zane was staring at him, the only colour on his face being flecks of the man's blood drying in the stale air. His stillness paused his friends and father in the doorway, as they struggled to take in what had happened.

“Zane?” Shannon asked after a beat, but his son didn't look up.

“Zane?” Erin repeated, pushing her way into the room as people crammed into the doorway to try to see what had happened.

“He's in shock,” Shannon muttered and went to him. It was only when he touched Zane's shoulder that the boy seemed to notice anyone else. He looked at his father, blinked once, and then his eyes rolled back to stare at the body as he began to
shake violently.

“He must have tried to save the man,” Erin whispered to Titus, but he didn't respond, only watched as Shannon scooped Zane up and hurried out of the room.

“He gonna be alright?” Jay asked as they passed.

“He will be,” Shannon reassured. “Let's just get out of this godforsaken place.”

They emerged from the stairwell in the hour before dawn, the birds starting to stir and call to each other. Their songs sweetened the air, softened the edges of the horror they had all lived through that night. The grey-blue light sketched out the buildings, the drifts of dust, the rusting cars, all strange, terrifying things to the new children. They clustered tightly together, many of them trying to hold Eve's hands, or at least be close to her. The huddle of children quickly separated themselves from the others, regarding them suspiciously.

The women, some crying, some staring silently, also clustered together and watched the other adults with as much suspicion as the children. Titus, Erin, and Zane, still in his father's arms, found themselves between the two groups as Jay and Luthor joined them.

“S'alright.” Jay smiled at the children and said, “You'll love it in my patch and your mates are there already.”

He said it in such a relaxed way, with that smile and such self-confidence that some of them nodded. Eve, caught in the centre of the huddle, watched Titus as if hoping for clues, but when none were forthcoming, she looked around at the tall buildings and then up at the sky and began to cling to the boys in return.

“It's all so … big,” she whispered, and several of the children began to whimper in fear.

“Everyone's like this when they first come up,” Jay reassured, his voice gentle. “But believe me, you get used to it dead quick. And it's great up 'ere. Honest-like.”

As he was speaking to them, Luthor turned to the women. “You should all come with me, and consider yourselves under
the protection of the Red Lady.”

“Hang on!” Jay rounded on him. “You 'ent got the right to go claiming' them when we're this close to my patch!”

“Nobody should be
claiming
anyone!” Titus interjected. “Where do you want to go?” he asked the women.

Nobody replied straight away, many of them were looking at the children, studying their features in the dawn's light. Two were whispering to each other excitedly and the taller of the two stepped forward and said, “I think you're my son!” to one of the boys clinging to Eve.

The word clearly meant nothing to any of the Unders children and the boy in question simply clung onto to Eve more tightly, staring at the woman in such a way that stole the excitement from her eyes.

“They don't know who we are,” the red-headed woman muttered and in that moment, it was as if their collective maternal yearning shrank back, repelled by the sight of their own children fearing them as strangers.

“But we should stay with them,” the tall woman said tearfully. “Else they'll never know who we are!”

“You're more than welcome!” Jay retorted, flashing a triumphant grin at Luthor. But when he glanced back at the children cowering away from the adults, it quickly faded.

“That is an absurd idea,” Luthor said to the woman. “His gang has no means to protect you or provide for you.” He pointed at her swollen belly. “You need protection. We will give it. There is no debate here.”

Erin stepped forward, eager to soften her father's words. “You won't be prisoners!” she urged. “The Red Lady's gang is strong, and we grow food and hunt, and have clean water. There's a proper kitchen and rooms with beds that are clean. Won't that be better for you whilst you're ill?”

“We're not ill,” the redhead retorted. “We're pregnant.” When she saw no understanding in Erin's expression, she
added, “We're going to have babies.”

Erin's nose wrinkled. “Oh. Well …” She glanced at Shannon, but saw that he was setting Zane down on a nearby doorstep. “I don't know much about that …”

“You will be vulnerable.” Luthor stated. “You will need protection for you and your children. Come with us.”

Jay was about to wade in again when he saw Hunters emerging from the next street, returning from their part in the plan. His hands flicked out the bottom of his jacket to rest on the hilts of his knives as he glowered in their direction, but he said nothing. It was no coincidence that he was the only Bloomsbury Boy to see the early days of adulthood; he knew which fights were worth the risk, and which were not.

“Fine,” he said. “Take 'em. My new Boys don't like 'em anyway. We're all better off without ya!” He turned on his heels, jerked a thumb towards his territory. “This way you lot, come and see my Boys.”

“But what about Eve?” one of the boys wrapped around her left arm squawked. “She's a girl!”

Jay stopped and looked at her, frowning. “That's true …” He watched the way the collective mass hung on his response, nodded to himself, and said, “Well, I'll let her join too, if you think she's that great. But that don't mean any other girls can. Only Eve.”

At that, they swept off, Jay marching ahead of them like the Pied Piper. With a slightly dazed expression Eve glanced back at Titus, who called out, “I live very close to Jay's square! I'll find you soon!” and then looked rather surprised at himself for doing so.

Once Jay had left with the children, the rest had been simple. Shannon asked to go with the women, having discussed something with Zane who was slowly coming back to himself. Luthor agreed, knowing that a doctor would soon be
indispensable.

Erin didn't join her father straight away as she helped Titus to take Zane home, one under each of his shoulders. It was the first time that the three of them had been alone since it had all started, and even though he was struggling to walk in his exhaustion and aftereffects of the injection, Zane held onto his friends as tightly as he could.

“How did you get down there?” Erin asked at the end of the street. “Did they catch you on the way home?”

He shook his head. “I went to speak to Radley. I was trying to stop you all.”

Erin and Titus stopped, bringing Zane to a halt also.

“I'm sorry,” Titus said quietly. “I'm sorry we didn't listen. I should have guessed what you were going to do, but I was so –”

“It doesn't matter,” Zane mumbled. “It's too late now. It's all over.” His voice was flat. Titus and Erin both frowned as they watched him, sagging between them. “I was stupid to think I could've done anything.”

“You're saying that because you're so tired,” Erin said quietly. “It must have been horrible.”

They started to walk again, their footfalls echoing off the buildings around them. “Don't say anything to Mum, about Dad I mean,” Zane said as they neared the square. “He wants to see her himself, once he knows the women will be ok, and once I'm feeling better.”

“We won't say a word,” Titus affirmed.

“Promise,” Erin added. “It's your business.”

None of them were surprised to be met at the edge of the square by a ragged Miri who had spent a sleepless night imagining the worst. Titus outlined only the briefest version of the events as Miri crushed Zane to her. Callum soon joined them, helping Miri put the exhausted boy to bed, giving her a
steady shoulder to weep her relief into.