The Vanished (20 page)

As I expected, Dr Woods took centre stage. To his left was General Lloyd and to his right, with her arms folded and a stern expression on her face, was Mary. I was glad to see her and especially glad to see her as one of the front members of the group. I hoped that at least some of her good sense might rub off on the others.

“I wonder how many options they will give people,” Dad said quietly. He removed his glasses and cleaned the lenses with the hem of his jumper.

“That’s if they give them any,” I muttered.

Dr Woods began. “Friends – you heard the call for the meeting and came. Thank you.” He seemed to take a deep breath sucking in all the air from the people in the crowd as though using their essence as power. “It is bad news.”

The crowd began murmured around me – whispering and muttering. I couldn’t help but notice how there were very few families stood together. Yet again the women remained in one group, and the men in another. It seemed that no matter where I went men and women couldn’t get along. Would it always be like this?
Has
it always been like this? I thought about what Ali told me on the Scavenger trip. Where was the affection for one another? Did the children even know if their parents loved them?

“Please,” Dr Woods implored the crowd to calm down. “There is no need to panic. I know there have been rumours of an invasion from Hamish McAllister and his Clan and I regret to say these are true.” The crowd began to talk more loudly and Dr Woods had to raise his voice to be heard. “And that is what we are here to discuss with you today as a Clan.” Dr Woods turned to Mary.

“There’s no gentle way te put it – they’re strong. We know fer a fact they’re comin’ fer us. But we cannae let them take us. We’ve got the army barracks and trained soldiers on our side. We have the Glasgow cult an’ even the Perthans. We can take them––”

“Thank you Mary,” Dr Woods cut her off before she launched into a full on war speech. Mary narrowed her eyes at the doctor but firmly shut her lips. Mary’s eyes seemed to find mine and I showed my support with a smile and nod. “But before we decide whether to fight we need to discuss this. Now, Mary is right, we do have the best resources in Scotland right here in the compound. Hamish McAllister does not have access to the same volume of weapons, and his fighters are not trained like the soldiers we have here. There are guns for every man.” I felt my back straighten at the absence of the words “and women” in that sentence. Mike laughed at me – knowing exactly why I was mad. “We have a place where women and children will be safely barricaded away. We have an excellent medical centre and teams of doctors and nurses on hand. I know this is going to be tough. I won’t lie to you, this is going to be the hardest situation the compound has ever had to deal with, but I am sure that if we stand firm and protect our land we can come through this together.”

“Will people die?” shouted out a middle-aged man in the centre of the crowd.

General Lloyd answered. “There are casualties in every war and make no mistake, this will be a war. There may be more than one battle.”

The man nodded as though appreciative of the General’s honesty. I had to admit that the Council were being much more frank with the crowd than I’d imagined they would. I didn’t trust Dr Woods as far as I could throw him, and had expected at least a few lies to come out of his mouth.

“But dunnae forget, Bill,” Mary addressed the man personally, “that the Scavengers have collected Nomads to fight with us.”

“So we are talking of fighting then?” said another man, older this time. “Some of us are tired of fighting and the reason we came here in the first place was to get away from this
war
. This is supposed to be an
escape
.” His words were bitter and frustrated.

“No,” Dr Woods said before Mary could answer. “We will decide together whether we fight or evacuate.”

“But you think we should fight,” the man said. It was a statement rather than a question. “I can see that. I can see it on your face.”

“I believe we can defend our home, yes,” Dr Woods answered. “I believe that we have everything to fight for.”

“How strong is their army?” called out another man, this time a young man in a scruffy checked shirt standing not far from us. I could see the dirt under his fingernails and knew that he must work on the farm.

“If we’re talking numbers…” Dr Woods trailed off and turned from Mary to the General. “Our estimate is in the hundreds.”

The crowd broke out into murmurs again.

“And how many able men do we have here?” said the young man.

“One hundred and forty-six,” Dr Woods answered without hesitation. “According to the register.”

“How many women and children?” shouted out a man in a grey woollen jumper.

Dr Woods hesitated again. “Two hundred and eighty-nine.”

There were gasps through the crowd. I couldn’t understand why they were so shocked – surely they could see the number of young children running around the compound?

“Why can’t the women fight?” I shouted.

Mary turned to me with almost a smile on her face. “Very good point, Mina. There’s no reason why we cannae train some of the more able women te use a gun––”

“Absolutely not,” the General interrupted.

“I can fight,” a woman into her thirties called out. “I’ve been working on that farm all ma life. I’m as strong as any man. And we can help in other ways.”

“What ways?” Dr Woods almost snapped at her. “Ways more useful than looking after the children?”

The woman had her back to me and I saw the way her body stiffened. “The soldiers can show us how te make bombs. We can stock check the weapons, help build barricades. They can teach us basic fighting skills.”

Mary raised her voice. “This is an excellent idea.”

The two men scoffed and General Lloyd said, “Listen this isn’t going to work. We need all the women alive to look after the children.”

“You should have thought about that before inventing the Celebration,” I blurted out without thinking. “Before you forced all these girls to have babies they don’t want.”

“Mina!” my Father looked across at me in disgust.

“You’re gonna get it worse than Hamish McAllister,” Mike said with a look of approval on his face.

The crowd gasped in shock and began murmuring and arguing amongst itself. General Lloyd stared down at me like I was a bug that needed crushing. “Girl, how dare you criticise our customs.”

“Mina Hart, you will remain silent for the rest of the meeting,” Dr Woods said with real menace in his voice.

“Uh-oh!” Mike said under his breath.

“Mina, I quite agree. Please be quiet,” ordered my dad.

I felt sudden tears of humiliation prick my eye balls and cursed myself for being so impetuous. When would I learn to think first and act later?

“Are we not even going to discuss the possibility of evacuation?” asked a man who looked a similar age to my father with glasses and a cleanly shaved chin. “Are there no places we can go? The Isles?”

“There is a chance that wherever we go Hamish will find us,” General Lloyd said. “And this is as good a place as any to stand our ground, if not better. Of course we would never force people to stay and even if the decision made is one of war you are still free to leave.”

The man bobbed his head slowly up and down as he mulled this over. I wondered how many people would choose to run.

“How do we vote?” shouted out the man in the checked shirt. “Are we just going to raise hands?”

“Is there a better way?” Dr Woods suggested. For once the crowd was silent. “Are you ready to vote? Do you have enough information?”

“What more information do you have?” the man in the checked shirt asked and I decided that I liked him.

Dr Woods opened his hands as though proving innocence. “None. We have laid bare everything we know. The decision now rests in your hands. You know how the Council feel, we all believe in standing our ground and defending our Compound. We believe the fight we be long and hard, and that we might lose lives, but that we have a chance of survival.”

“There is one other thing we know,” Mary interrupted. “That Hamish McAllister is a good-fer-nothing basterd of a man.” She spoke rolling her ‘R’s to sound even more fierce and aggressive. “He’s a man of chaos and destruction. He wants te rape our land and turn it into a hateful, backwards place, and I know I dunnae want that fer the Compound. It may not be the homeland te ye all but it’s become yer home, and I know in ma heart that ye love like I do.” I looked out at the crowd and noticed people nodding along, some putting a hand over their heart as Mary spoke. “And I know that ye want the best fer yer home. Yer want a future fer yer children. For God’s sake people – ye have te fight fer yer future.” She pleaded with the crowd, holding her hands out. “Ye have te give yer soul fer this country and its right to survive in the right way. Ye have to do it fer the bairns out there and fer yer own piece of mind. Otherwise, how can ye live with yerselves?”

“Shall we vote?” Dr Woods gave Mary a grave look. “Who votes to stay and fight for the Compound?”

Nearly every single hand in the crowd raised straight in the air.

After the meeting I waited in a very long line of people waiting to receive a job from the Council. Daniel clutched my hand so tight that it was like he never wanted to let go. He looked sad. The Council meeting had frightened him.

He opened his mouth to speak a few times, and I waited while he gathered his thoughts. Eventually, he said, “I know everything you said today is true, and I respect your opinion.” He sighed. “I just really don’t want you to fight.”

“Daniel––” I started.

“I know, I know. You’re strong and you’re always telling me how strong you are. I still don’t like it though.”

“I guess you wouldn’t be human if you did. I don’t like the thought of you fighting either. I want to protect you.”

He laughed. “You’re not helping me feel manly here.”

“You know what I mean though,” I said. “Are we okay?”

He turned to look at me and his eyes were calm. There were no thunderstorms today. “Yeah. I think we have other things to worry about. Like Angela – and war.”

*

In the days following the Council meeting the Compound had never been busier. As the inhabitants downed tools or closed their market stalls they picked up weapons to train with. Mary enrolled women to help with constructing bombs. Others were taught how to fire a gun, stab a man through the stomach and self-defence. There were deserters, but in good spirits the Compound wished them well on their journey back into England. Scotland had become Hamish’s playground, unsafe for unwitting travellers.

Army trucks were moved and positioned so that they were out of sight, filled with petrol and ready for a last ditch attempt at an evacuation. Trailers were boarded up and people moved inside the castle borders where the vehicle barn had been emptied of trucks and weapons and filled with mattresses, food, camping stoves, clothes, blankets and bottled water. This was to be the new home to most of the adults in the compound. It was agreed that the medical centre would be the place where the children and some of their mothers would hide out. Not all of the mothers could fit in with their children and a desperately sad but necessary separation would take place as soon as the centre was made safe.

The acrobats from the Sun Worshippers whooped and caterwauled, climbing trees like monkeys and hanging from the branches, scaring Compounders young and old. Ben taught martial arts, but most people were too frightened of them to go anywhere near. Spider and the Neds hung around campfires drinking whiskey and tossing knives in the air, their motorbikes parked in semi-circles around the fires.

Cam had lengthy meetings with the Council about his father. Angela was let out of hospital. She needed to get away from the farmers, so she moved into the trailer with me and Kitty, much to Kitty’s annoyance. She still hadn’t forgiven Angela for the way she’d treated me. But, Angela was still weak and Dr Woods had decided she should stay out of the way of the preparations going on in the Compound. It was agreed that she would stay with the children when the war started

Gradually, the Compound transformed into a fortress. The first barrier being the large border gate which the Council and the army estimated would take at least a day to infiltrate. Then there was the wall between the Compound and the castle which was not anywhere near as high and needed strengthening. I was working with Mike and my dad to saw through trees and move them into the barracks. The trunks of the trees were being fashioned into hulking logs to block the gates once everyone was inside. My power came in handy moving these around, although the Compounders still eyed me with distrust.

In the evenings I met with the Freaks. Dad would be with us. They were more like séances than training sessions. We stood, holding hands, feeling the power pass between us, while my dad circled us, talking to us in a hypnotic voice, cooing and soothing everything away. It was in these moments that I felt the hair prickle along my arms, even under a thick, woolly jumper. Wind seemed to whoosh in through the barn, prickling the nape of my neck. My fingertips tingled with the anticipation of using my gift as it multiplied from the influence of the other Freaks. They gave me strength. And the power… my goodness, the power. It was incredible. I closed my eyes. Dad’s voice droned on. Daniel’s hand over mine gave me strength. Then Hiro gasped.

“They are coming.”

*

“There are so many,” Hiro said.

“Can you estimate how many?” Daniel said.

We stayed holding hands. No one broke the circle. I had opened my eyes and I saw Dad looking at us pensively.

“I… I’m not sure,” Hiro replied.

“I can,” Kitty said. “Three hundred, maybe more.”

“With the Nomads that’s not so bad,” I said.

“We’re almost on equal pegging.” Dad agreed.

“They are fearless,” Mike said. “They are actually
looking forward
to this. They smell like lemongrass and mould.”

“What’s the mould?” I asked.

“Just badness.”

“Can you hear tactics, Hiro?”

“How far away are they?”

“Let him think.”

All eyes turned to Hiro. He took a deep breath and squeezed my hand hard.

“Find Hamish,” I said.

He looked away and screwed his eyes shut. I hated to see his little face so serious. This was no job for a child.

“Shh!” Hiro said to me. “I hear him, but it’s faint. They are… an hour away from the border. Some are in cars, some are on motorbikes. They know we are expecting them.”

“From the Perthans,” I said. “They must have been there first and seen that they were expecting them – then presumed that we are too.”

“Or the Perthans told them,” Mike added.

“They wouldn’t do that.”

“How do you know?” He glared at me.

“They plan to surround us,” Hiro continued. “They are planning to surround the border and then climb over. They… they have ropes. They have lots of weapons.” Hiro paused. “He’s a bad man, Mina, I don’t like him. He wants Cam back, he wants his son back. Oh! They lost some men to the Perthans. It didn’t go to plan there.”

“What about the Perthans?” I said. “Are they okay?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

“Why do you care?” Mike snapped.

“Because they are meant to be sending fighters to us.”

He made a
pfft
noise.

“Let’s just be quiet so that Hiro can hear Hamish,” Daniel said.

“I don’t think he knows about us and what we can do,” Hiro said. “That’s one good thing.”

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Dad said. “We need to tell the Council and we need to get you all to safety.”

“If we go ahead will you get Angela and take her to the medical centre with the children?” I said.

He nodded.

The five of us broke hands and left the barn, heading ninety degrees away from Dad. Ali saw the direction we were heading and jogged over to us.

“You lot look serious,” he said. His eyes narrowed. “They’re comin’ ain’t they?”

I swallowed. My throat had dried up. “Yes.”

“How long?” he asked.

“An hour,” I said. He turned to leave and I grabbed his arm. “Approximately.”

“Okay, kid.” He smiled at me and our eyes locked for a moment. When he broke away he turned and disappeared into the darkness. Ali had been given the task of directing the Compound fighters. Now he had to round them up and tell them the bad news. I sucked in air.

“This is really happening isn’t it?” I said.

Kitty appeared at my side. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to win.”

“I just don’t want anyone to die,” I said. My voice was coming out all whiney and high-pitched. Daniel put an arm around me.

“We’re going to help stop that happen,” Daniel said.

We approached the gate and Cam saw the serious looks on our faces. He swore and kicked the ground.

“I hoped te God this wasnae happening. He’s comin’, in’t he?”

“Yes,” I said. “Come with us to the Council. There isn’t much point standing guard now, anyway.”

Cam left his post and joined us. We went through the gate and into the castle, winding up the cold, stone stairs. The Council were sat waiting for us around their table. It looked like Mary and Dr Woods had been in an argument over tactics. She turned and saw the look on my face.

“He’s coming?”

“Yes,” I croaked.

“How long?”

“One hour.”

She swore. “Does Ali know?”

“Yes.” I tried to clear my throat but it burned.

“Good. Now we need te get you lot in a place ye can see.”

My heart fell. “It’s night. How am I going to see them?”

“We’ve the floodlights,” Mary said.

“They aren’t bright enough to make out who is on which side. The whole plan, it’s gone wrong. How can I help when I can’t see?” My heart had begun to beat so hard I thought that it might crack a rib. It was impossible. I’d had this stupid, romantic idea that somehow I would be able to stop all the fighting, to keep everyone safe, and I hadn’t thought about the most important thing. I needed to see.

Daniel took hold of my hand. “Remember when you were in the tree?”

“Yes,” I said.

“And you couldn’t see the person trying to pull you out of the tree?”

“Yes.”

“You knew they were there and you stopped them. That’s exactly what you’re going to do tonight. You know they are there. You just need to believe in yourself.”

“But I won’t know who is who.”

“You’ll think of something,” Daniel said. “I know you will.”

I wasn’t so sure. Mary looked at me pensively. Arthur Pittmore examined his nails. Neither Dr Woods or General Lloyd seemed particularly concerned. Sergeant Kinsella stood.

“I have te get the soldiers ready,” she said. Before she left she turned and hugged Mary. “Good luck.” She hugged each one of us in turn and wished us good luck.

We were going to need it.