Fading Light

by Nick Cook

Ethan herded us away before the Shade had a chance to catch up with us again. In those moments, Chloe and I hung on to each other as if we would never let go. Although it had stopped raining, I was soaked through to the skin. And Gem, despite being wrapped in Ethan’s jacket, was shivering with every step because of the ice-cold water we’d just been pulled from. I wished I could light a plasma ball to warm us up, but that would draw too much attention.

  ‘I’m not dreaming – this is real, right, and you are alive, Chloe?’ I said through chattering teeth.

  She beamed at me. ‘Pure one hundred per cent flesh and blood me.’

  ‘But how?’

  ‘It’s all thanks to Gemma really. When she stopped her whole demon horror-show routine, my consciousness snapped back to my body on-board Moon Dancer.’ Her expression fell.

  ‘What is it?’ I asked.

  Tears filled her eyes. ‘That’s when I found out about Allan.’

  I pulled her closer into me as we walked. Of course, Allan’s body had been in the bunk above hers. If she knew that much, it was best that she heard all of it – rather than prolong the agony. ‘You should know about what happened to Clarke as well…’

  ‘Oh, please, not him too?’

  I nodded. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  Fresh tears rolled down her face. ‘God, these bloody Shade.’

  ‘I know. But the moment we get Waverider online they won’t know what’s hit them. Talking of which, I’m assuming Dad, Kelly and Claire are OK? When we got to the dock and they weren’t there…’

  She squeezed me. ‘Relax – they’re all fine and working to repair Waverider. Mind you, they got a bit of shock when I did the whole zombie routine and rose from my bunk. When they got over that, Martin told me they’d been forced to leave the harbour when a Genesis patrol had tracked them down. They only just managed to slip away on Moon Dancer.’

  I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. ‘At least they’re safe.’

  ‘They are.’

  We rounded a street corner and Ethan glanced back at us. ‘So which way to your boat then?’

  Chloe sucked her cheeks in. ‘I don’t know I’m afraid.’

  ‘What do you mean you don’t know?’ I asked.

  ‘It was the only safe way for me to come and look for you. They dropped me off before carrying on with the repairs. Kelly said she knew another place to moor up, but it was agreed that I shouldn’t know…’

  ‘In case you got captured by the Shade.’

  ‘And to stop Waverider falling into their hands.’

  ‘But there can’t be that many places they could have gone,’ I said. ‘The Thames isn’t that big.’

  ‘Actually, it’s huge,’ Ethan said. ‘With all the tributaries and places they could moor up, they could be in thousands of possible locations. And that’s if they stopped. If it were me, I’d keep moving for the very reason it would make the boat harder to track down.’

  ‘So how do we find them?’

  ‘We wait for them to make contact, which should happen when they get Waverider online. The moment they do, they should be able to restore the mobile network in order for them to contact us to arrange a rendezvous – at least that’s what the Sentinel micro mind on the boat said.’

  A text popped up on my phone from Sentinel’s other micro mind, saying, That strategy is the safest one for a lot of reasons.

  ‘So what are we meant to do in the meantime?’ I said.

  ‘We need to work out a way to track down the DEC.’

  ‘While we are doing that, I suggest we keep our heads down. I know just the place,’ Ethan said.

  ‘As long as it’s not somewhere underground again,’ I replied. ‘I think I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime.’

  He laughed. ‘No worries, Jake. I’ve got somewhere far cosier in mind, and not too far from here either.’

  ‘Good to hear,’ Gem said, shivering.

  We all followed Ethan as he led the way.

  ‘So how did you and Chloe find each other?’ I asked.

  ‘Near the harbour, when I almost ran headlong into her,’ Ethan replied.

  ‘In fairness to him, I was invisible at the time,’ Chloe said. ‘I’d shifted into the Shadowlands.’

  ‘And when she appeared out of thin air I nearly passed out with shock,’ Ethan said.

  Chloe snorted. ‘Anyway, I knew Ethan was an Awoken because I sort of felt drawn to him.’

  Like dreaming of him and calling out his name? I wondered, although really I knew exactly what Chloe meant. ‘Me too,’ I replied. ‘That’s how I found out that you were in the alley, Ethan.’

  ‘So there must be some sort of link between the Awoken then?’

  ‘We didn’t know it until now, but it makes a lot of sense to me,’ Gem said. ‘There’s definitely been a connection between me and Jake.’

  Chloe raised her eyebrow. ‘Yeah, tell me about it.’

  I shot her a quizzical look. What exactly was she talking about?

  I think you’re correct about this, Sentinel messaged, as I showed the phone to everyone. After all, you do share a range of psychic gifts and a supernatural ability to sense each other. It is logical when you think of it in that context.

  ‘A disturbance in the Force, huh?’ Chloe said.

  ‘Something like that,’ I replied. ‘Anyway, how did you find us?’

  ‘We knew you were somewhere in the sewer system, just not the exact location,’ Chloe said. ‘That’s when Ethan told me that Domino could get to the section we couldn’t reach.’ She reached down and patted Domino’s head. ‘But this poor guy was scared out of his wits by the storm water and it wasn’t as if we could just tell him to go and fetch you.’

  I stared at her, realising exactly what she’d done. ‘I thought I recognised that expression on Domino’s face when he found us.’

  ‘What?’ Gem asked as Chloe grinned.

  ‘Chloe was inside Domino’s mind, controlling him in the sewer when he found us. That’s right, isn’t it, Chloe?’

  She nodded. ‘Very good, Sherlock.’

  Gem’s mouth fell open. ‘You can control animals, Chloe?’

  ‘Yep, and you can summon up demons and melt Awoken minds, so I think you still top-trump me.’

  ‘Yeah, but I’m not proud of it.’

  We rounded a street corner and Ethan pointed towards an Edwardian building straight ahead. ‘That’s a shelter for the homeless, run by the Salvation Army. You and Gem can thaw out there before you both freeze to death.’

  ‘Now that’s a plan I can buy into,’ Gem said.

  We approached the building and Ethan held the door open for me.

  As we stepped over the threshold, warm air spilled over us in a comforting embrace.

  ‘Oh, this is complete and utter bliss,’ Gem said.

  We entered an entrance hall thronged with people wearing old clothes and tired expressions.

  ‘It’s packed in here,’ Chloe said as an old man squeezed past her carrying a steaming mug of tea.

  ‘Not surprising in this awful weather,’ Ethan replied. ‘A cardboard box doesn’t give you much protection when it’s this bad.’

  ‘It must be so hard for homeless people on the streets of London,’ I said.

  ‘It is. We’re just the unseen as far as the majority are concerned. That is unless you stick a Big Issue under their noses and force them to see you.’

  We entered a bustling canteen filled with tables covered in plastic tablecloths and lit candles. The room buzzed with conversation and the odd burst of laughter drifted across. Compared to being outside, this place felt like one of the most welcoming places I’d ever stepped foot in.

  Ethan led us to a quieter corner and we grabbed the one remaining empty table.

  ‘Before we do anything else, we need to get Jake and Chloe some warm showers and a dry change of clothes,’ Ethan said.

  Cold water drip dropped off the end of my nose as I nodded. ‘I couldn’t agree more.’

&n
bsp; ‘OK, Gem, I’m going to hook you up with Sally. She’s one of the staff here and an old friend of mine. She’ll get you sorted out. Then I’ll be back for you, Jake.’

  ‘Thanks, Ethan,’ I replied.

  He nodded towards Chloe. ‘Can you make sure no one spots Domino? Dogs aren’t supposed to be in here.’

  ‘No problem,’ she said.

  ‘Thanks.’ He clicked his tongue and pointed under the table. Domino settled himself under it, resting his head on my soaking feet.

  As Ethan headed off with Gem, Chloe placed her hand over mine, massaging it with her thumb. ‘So, how are you doing there, Jake?’

  ‘You mean about Allan?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  I closed my eyes for a moment. ‘I did everything to try to save him, Chloe.’

  ‘I know you did. The others told me there was nothing anyone could’ve done.’

  ‘Maybe. I just wish he’d stayed safe back on the island,’ I replied.

  ‘But that was never going to happen. Allan was always going to help us, specifically you, in any way he could. And if anyone should be on a guilt trip, it should be me.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’

  Her eyes flashed at me. ‘I got sloppy, Jake – way too confident with my new-found powers when we went hunting for Gem. Everything that has happened since, because of that, has been my fault.’

  I gawped at her. ‘You can’t be serious. It could have just as easily been me who got caught.’

  She thumped the table with her fists. People turned to stare at us. ‘But it wasn’t. I need to do better. People have died because of me!’ She stared at the table.

  So there it was. It was like looking in a mirror. Yet another of my friends on a guilt trip, and a totally undeserved one at that…and, if I was honest, just like me.

  I took her face in my palms and raised it to look at me. ‘This isn’t your fault, Chloe. You know where you should park that anger.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah I do.’ The hardness seeped away from her expression. ‘I’m so sorry, Jake.’

  ‘You have nothing to be sorry for. We’ve both been through too much not to understand each other, especially at moments like this.’

  ‘I know, but my emotions have been all over the place recently.’

  ‘I felt like that when you were trapped by Mathews and I thought…’ I couldn’t finish the sentence.

  ‘I know what you thought, because I felt my heart would break when Ethan told me you’d risked your life to save Gemma. All I could think was that you might already be dead. But I should have expected nothing less than what you did, Jake Stevens. Only you would try to save a woman who’d been attacking you. Incredibly brave and, just like Allan, always putting someone else first.’

  A lump caught in the back of my throat and I nodded. ‘Maybe it’s just because I’m incredibly stupid.’

  ‘No, it was straight-out heroism, and that’s always been your style, Jake. If it wasn’t for you, Gemma would’ve drowned. Ethan told me it was obvious she couldn’t swim when she hit the water.’

  ‘And neither of us would have made it out of the sewer if you hadn’t shown up with Domino when you did.’

  ‘That’s what we do: we watch each other’s backs.’ She raised her hand to cup my face and smiled. ‘You…’

  I cradled her face in my hands too. ‘You.’

  She grinned back at me.

  ‘So about that rescue you pulled off with Domino?’ I asked. ‘How did you manage to control him like that?’

  Her whole face lit up. ‘Oh, Jake, it was crazy.’ She rested her chin on her hands. ‘I knew we had to find you. Then Ethan had the brilliant idea of sending Domino into the sewers to search for you guys. He told me that Domino could cover far more of the tunnel network and in a shorter time than we ever could. But Domino was afraid of the storm water and didn’t want to go in.’

  ‘Sensible dog.’ I reached down and patted Domino’s head, a hot-water bottle for my feet. He flicked his ears up in response.

  ‘You probably guessed that I’ve been practising my animal control powers on Midnight.’

  I put my hand over my mouth. ‘What, really?’

  Chloe gave me a gentle punch on the arm. ‘Anyway, what I did with Domino this time was much more than that. The best way I can explain it is that I sort of became Domino, at least part of me did, while he was down there looking for you. I couldn’t even feel my own body any more, just his.’

  ‘What? You’re telling me you actually became a dog for a while?’

  ‘I think so. And I’ll tell you this – a dog’s sense of smell puts ours to shame. It’s like a whole new way of experiencing the world.’

  ‘Is that why dogs are always sniffing each other’s butts?’

  Chloe laughed. ‘Probably, because there’s a whole biography of each other, right there. It’s lucky for you that Domino does have such an incredible sense of smell – without it I’d never have found you and Gemma. It was as if I had a scent GPS to guide me to your exact location.’ She reached down and ruffled Domino’s fur.

  He responded with a contented sigh.

  ‘Talking of which.’ She wrinkled her nose at me.

  I crossed my arms. ‘What are you saying, dear friend?’

  Chloe laughed. ‘Let’s just say you’re a bit riper than your usual sweet self.’

  ‘Yeah, sorry about that…the sewer…well, you know.’ I gave her an embarrassed look.

  She squeezed my hand. ‘Don’t worry about it, Mr Hero.’

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an old man smiling at us from the next table. He caught my gaze and his smile broadened as he returned his attention back to his battered newspaper.

  Chloe, oblivious to the attention we were receiving, peered at me. ‘So what about Gemma then? Could she still be a threat to us?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Let’s see what Sentinel has to say about it.’ I put my phone on the table.

  The screen lit up at once. No, I think that once Gemma’s trance was broken she regained full control of her mind.

  ‘Only the Shade would be so devious as to use an Awoken like that,’ I said.

  Just so, especially one that can cast up a demon for them.

  Chloe frowned. ‘Surely that’s not part of an Awoken’s job description – to create demons?’

  My guess is that was Gemma’s fear manifesting as such a creature.

  ‘Do you think she can create other projections?’ I asked.

  Possibly, but we won’t know until we start training her to harness her ability.

  ‘But how do we know that the Shade won’t take control of her again?’ Chloe asked.

  We don’t. But that’s all the more reason for us to keep her close. That way the Shade can’t use her against you again.

  I nodded, ‘Makes sense—’

  The door crashed open, cutting me off, and a woman rushed in. She was wearing a tatty old coat tied up at the waist with a piece of string.

  ‘Albert, where are you?’ she shouted.

  A hush descended over the room.

  The old man with the newspaper at the next table waved. ‘Over here, Hilda.’

  The woman headed over to him and collapsed on to a chair at his table, her breath rattling.

  The old man clutched her arm. ‘What’s wrong? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.’

  ‘Wolves more like – three of them walking through the streets along the Thames. Bold as brass they were!’

  Chloe gave me a worried frown.

  Albert gazed at Hilda. ‘Have you been on the sauce again, my dear?’

  ‘I wish!’ Hilda said. ‘No, I’m telling you.’ She raised her voice, I guessed so everyone could hear her. ‘There are wolves in a pack hunting out there. The streets aren’t safe! I’ve never run so fast in all my life to get here.’

  ‘A wolf pack, Hilda? Now I’ve heard everything,’ said a woman as she entered the room. She was wearing a Salvation Army uniform and had neat brown bobbed hair, a k
ind round face and large eyes framed by glasses.

  ‘Just saying what I saw!’ Hilda said. She turned her back and bent into a whispered conversation with Albert.

  With a few snorts of laughter and shakes of heads, the general chatter returned to the room.

  Ethan and Gem were standing just behind the Salvation Army lady. Gem looked a different woman to the one I’d rescued from the sewers. Her hair had been washed and combed and she was wearing a warm, comfy, woolly black jumper that came down to her knees, with dark leggings underneath. My heart did a little flip as I took in her appearance. To me, despite her thrown-together wardrobe, she looked utterly gorgeous.

  I felt Chloe’s finger under my chin.

  She grinned at me. ‘You may want to close your mouth before you swallow a fly,’ she whispered.

  I hoped Gem hadn’t noticed me gawping at her. I scowled at Chloe.

  ‘Really?’ she asked.

  I shrugged. We so weren’t going to have this conversation at the moment.

  Ethan gestured at the Salvation Army woman as the three of them reached us. ‘Hey, everyone, I’d like you to meet Sally. She’s an all-round wonderful person who should have been sainted long ago.’

  ‘You and your silver tongue!’ Sally said as she looked at Chloe and me. ‘So you’re Ethan’s friends?’

  We both nodded.

  She tutted as her gaze tightened on my face. ‘Look at you, blue with cold. Come on – let’s get you a warm shower and a change of clothes.’

  ‘But what are you going to do about the wolves?’ Hilda asked.

  Sally sighed and glanced across at her. ‘Hilda, see the upset you’re causing? Hush now, please.’

  The old woman cast a glare at Sally’s back as she turned to us.

  ‘You mustn’t mind Hilda and her stories,’ Sally said. ‘She used to be in theatre, and, between us, I think she still craves the spotlight. Anyway, Jake, let’s get you thawed out. Ethan, can you show him where the men’s shower room is?’

  ‘Of course. There’s no reason for the wolf pack to be able to find us here,’ Ethan said under his breath.

  Chloe and Gem both nodded.

  ‘Let’s hope so,’ I replied. I followed Ethan out as Chloe and Gem bent their heads together and started to talk.

  I showered and, courtesy of Sally’s stockpile of donated offerings to the shelter, found a dry set of clothes to change into. In jeans and a grey sweatshirt and at least looking human again, I rejoined the others in the cafeteria, though most of the dining room had emptied out. My stomach glowed with warmth when I devoured a large bowl of thick home-made vegetable soup.