“Shall I drive straight up to the building?” she asked.
“Yes,” Neelam said, uttering her first words of the journey. Don’t worry, I’ll cloak us in the guard’s minds. As far as they know, Dylan is Johnson and we’re all his troops in uniform.
“Thanks,” Dylan mumbled. “That’s a great idea.”
Scarlett slowly drove up to the gates. A guard to the left of them strode over to the car and asked Dylan to wind his window down.
“Good afternoon, sir,” the guard said. “Can I see your pass?”
“My pass?” Dylan said. “Surely you know who I am?”
He sounded masterfully convincing. Scarlett was impressed.
“Well, yes, sir, but…”
“But what?”
“Well, rules are rules. I have to follow them. You told me that, remember.”
Scarlett’s heart started racing. They were going to get caught, she knew it. Neelam must have picked up on her anxiety because she swiftly calmed her down by speaking in her head. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll sort it.” She closed her eyes with concentration as she influenced the guard’s mind. Suddenly he became much more relaxed.
“Sorry, Sir,” he said with a smile. “I don’t know what I was thinking, of course I can let you through.” He pressed a button and waved the group on as the gates electronically opened.
“Thanks, Neelam,” Dylan said quietly. “You’re handy to have around.”
Neelam shrugged nonchalantly. “I’d rather not be here at all, but as I don’t have much choice, I’d might as well help.”
Scarlett sighed. This was like being in the middle of a family row and she couldn’t believe they were all about to head into danger while the whole group was in such a bad mood. She hoped they could all keep it together long enough to pull this off.
“Where now?” she asked, trying her best to give everyone a positive smile. “Any ideas, Lucy?”
“Sorry, I don’t seem to be able to hack this place on my HandTop. I can’t get us a map or plans of the building.”
“There’s a car park to the right of that block,” Neelam said.
“How did you know that?” Jay asked.
She tapped her head.
“Oh yeah.”
Scarlett weaved her way round, found a space and parked up. The group silently got out of the car one by one before standing around and looking at each other, as if hoping that someone would offer up a cast-iron plan. Now they were here, Scarlett realised just how crazy this whole mission was. They didn’t have a clue where they were going and they didn’t even have a map. She glanced at the large building to their left, which was the size of a football stadium. This was going to be like finding a needle in a booby-trapped haystack.
“Right,” Dylan said, trying to start the ball rolling. “Let’s go that way. Just look like we belong here while Neelam keeps up our disguises and it’ll be fine.”
The group followed Dylan to the door he was pointing at, but it was locked.
“We need passes to open it,” Scarlett moaned.
“Let me,” Lucy said, pushing her aside. She fired small electric bolts at the door and it slid open. “There you go,” she smiled, stepping aside to let the others through. After they were all inside, the door closed behind them.
Scarlett looked around at her drab surroundings. The Cold War-esque fortress looked like a totally different place on the inside. While the exterior was made of miserable 1960s-style concrete blocks, the interior boasted a mass of technology that wouldn’t look out of place in a spaceship.
“Do you think they’ll pick us up on CCTV?” Scarlett asked. “Neelam can control minds, but she can’t fool computers.”
“No, but I can,” Lucy said. She dashed over to a machine by the wall and started making sparks fly with her right hand. Less than a minute later, she turned to smile at her friends. “We should be safe now,” she assured them.
“Good, now let’s move along,” Dylan instructed.
“Just a minute,” Lucy said. She pulled out her HandTop and plugged it into the computer. “I’ve found a map.”
“Good girl,” Dylan said, patting her on the back. Lucy looked proud, but Scarlett struggled to hide the jealousy on her face. Dylan must have noticed because he instantly leapt away from the blonde, who was focussed on the map she was studying.
“Yes!” Lucy yelled a little too loudly. It says where Aaron and Maria are.”
“Sshhh,” Neelam whispered.
“Sorry,” Lucy said sheepishly as she dashed over and showed Dylan the small screen. “Look, we’re here. We just need to find a way to this corner of the building over there.”
“Oh that’s all,” Jay groaned, rolling his eyes. “Walk halfway across a secure unit full of prisoners and Goulden’s goons – that should be easy.”
“You could run,” she suggested. “They’d barely see you.”
“No, we stick together,” Dylan said.
“It actually is quite easy,” Lucy explained. “Look, we don’t need to go across the main building, we can go down a hallway through this door on our right. It will take us straight to an unused room, which is next to the one where Aaron and Maria are.”
“That seems a bit too easy,” Neelam said.
“Don’t be such a pessimist,” Jay scolded her. “This is an old building with old secret tunnels. Nothing easy about that.”
“I say we go that way,” Lucy said. “What do you think, Dylan?”
“Yeah, it looks straightforward,” he said as he studied the map again. “And I prefer that to walking through a training room, staff office and prison guards’ meeting room. Don’t you?”
“Well, duh,” Lucy said. “The long way would be impossible.”
“OK,” Neelam agreed. “Lucy, lead the way.”
Lucy shot out another lightning bolt and opened the door. She, Jay and Neelam dashed into the hallway, but Dylan hung back and turned to Scarlett.
“I’m sorry if I seemed short with you earlier,” he said. “I was just worried and on edge. What you and Jay did was a good move. It got us here.”
“That’s OK,” she said, as they slowly started to follow the others.
“And there’s nothing between me and Lucy…”
“I never thought... I mean, it’s your business if…”
“I’m just being nice because she’s upset about her brother right now, that’s all.”
“Yeah…” she mumbled.
Dylan stopped, grabbed Scarlett and turned her to face him.
“The thing is, Scarlett. I’m aware things could go really wrong today, so I need to tell you that…” he looked at the ceiling nervously then looked her right in the eyes. “You’re very special to me.”
She was lost for words.
“Erm…” she started to say. “I… that… that kiss…”
“What are you guys doing?” Neelam yelled in their heads. “We’re in the other room!” They both ignored her.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Dylan said. “I shouldn’t have picked now to say this to you and I never should have kissed you… I know you don’t feel the same…”
“I was going to say, it was wonderful,” Scarlett said, finishing her sentence. Dylan looked at her. His eyes were open wide in surprise and happiness.
“Really?” he whispered.
“Really,” she smiled.
Dylan stared at his feet, blushing, then looked up and smiled at her.
“Dylan, Scarlett! Where the hell are you?” Neelam yelled, intruding in her heads again.
“Yowch,” Scarlett muttered, rubbing her head. “It hurts when she shouts.”
Dylan sighed. “Come on, we’d better go,” he said. “We’ll finish this conversation later though. I promise.”
He grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, then led her down the hallway and into a light blue room. It looked very different to the entrance area they had been in previously. Scarlett glanced around their cold and clinical sur
roundings, which were mostly bare apart from a few metal cabinets, then looked at Neelam, Lucy and Jay. They all had questioning looks on their faces.
“Where were you?” Lucy asked suspiciously.
“I thought I heard someone coming,” Dylan said. “So we had to stay absolutely still until we were sure the coast was clear.”
Scarlett couldn’t help smiling at him like a naughty little girl. It was a rubbish excuse, but who would dare challenge them?
“We need your help, Scarlett,” Lucy said as she pointed at a large metal cabinet in the corner. “There’s a door behind that and we need you to move it. It’s too heavy for us.”
“What? I can only move small things! Well I’m getting good at medium things, but that’s huge.”
“Try, please,” Lucy begged.
“Of course,” Scarlett said with an unconfident sigh. She left Dylan’s side and went to check out the cabinet. After peering at it from all angles, she tried moving it, but it wouldn’t budge. “Just move,” she said as she summoned all of her strength, but it barely shuffled an inch.
“Try harder,” Lucy said, sounding exasperated, but as Scarlett began, a flash of light exploded behind her on the other side of the room.
“What are you lot doing here?” Jay said.
Scarlett turned around to see what was happening and there in the middle of the room were Sasha, Andrew, Ethan, Toshiko and some other guy who had his back to her. They’d somehow appeared out of nowhere.
“Oh my goodness,” Neelam gasped. “You’re alive.”
“Alex?” Lucy said. “Is that you?”
The boy turned round.
Scarlett couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Alex!” she shouted. “You’re here!”
Chapter 14
Scarlett ran straight over to Alex. She could not believe that her best friend from ‘home’ was here in this strange, dark world. Wherever here was. She hadn’t seen Alex since a truck had hit them both back on her 18th birthday and she had since presumed that he was either dead or just didn’t exist in this weird reality that she had found herself in. But he was very much alive. He was here!
“It’s so good to see you,” she said as she hugged him, but Alex pushed her away. He definitely wasn’t pleased to see her.
“What are you guys doing here?” he asked, looking over Scarlett’s shoulder at Lucy, Neelam, Jay and Dylan.
“What are you doing here, don’t you mean?” Dylan snapped. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead? We almost lost Scarlett because you attacked her in that building.”
“What?” Scarlett mumbled as she stared from him to Alex in disbelief… “What are you talking about?”
“This is Alex Connor,” Dylan told her. “He’s a teleporter and one of this gang of villains.” He gestured at Sasha and her friends. “He nearly killed you. We thought he’d died too.”
“So did we,” Toshiko interrupted. “But it seems Little Miss Perfect here isn’t the only one who can come back from the dead.” She smiled smugly and looked at Scarlett, Dylan, Jay, Neelam and Lucy gleefully. “Brilliant, isn’t it?”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Dylan grumbled.
Scarlett didn’t understand. Were they trying to tell her that Alex was an evil guy who’d tried to kill her? Did this mean he wasn’t the Alex she knew as her childhood best friend? Were there two Alexes? Were there two worlds? Had she imagined her past? Was she dreaming now? Was she going mad?
“I feel like I’m going mad,” she thought as she grabbed her head in frustration and screamed.
Dylan ran to Scarlett’s side and put his arm round her tenderly.
“What’s wrong with her?” Sasha said sarcastically. “Is she cracking up?”
“Shut up,” Dylan barked.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Andrew said, stepping forward from the group. He was really huge and strong looking. Scarlett took a little step back in fear.
“We’ll ask you again. Why are you here?” Andrew asked.
Dylan stepped forward and squared up with the taller, stronger teen.
“The same reason as you I’d assume – to free Aaron and Maria. And we were doing a pretty good job of it till you turned up.”
“Yeah same here. So where are they?” Andrew asked.
“In that room there,” Dylan said. “Why, where did you think they were?”
“Here,” Andrew said, looking confused. He pulled a folded-up map from his pocket.
“Aren’t we in this room?” he asked Dylan, pointing to a spot on the map.
“No, we’re in the one next to it.”
“Alex!” he said, lightly whacking him on the back of the head. “You brought us to the wrong room, you bozo.”
Alex knocked Andrew’s arm away. “Give me a break. How many times do I have to tell you lot? It’s difficult for me to teleport to places I haven’t been before. If I can’t picture it, I can get it wrong.”
“Yeah give him a break,” Sasha said defensively. “At least he got us very close. Remember that time he landed us in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?”
“How could I forget?” Andrew grumbled. “Anyway, so what’s your plan?” he asked Dylan.
“As if we’d tell you,” Dylan snapped.
“Look, we’re here now. We have the same goal. Why don’t we just work together?” Andrew said back just as angrily.
“I don’t work with murderers,” Dylan replied coldly.
“Listen here,” Sasha said. “We ain’t never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it, you listening to me? It’s always been in self-defence and it’s always been evil government bosses who would have gone on to kill more innocent people if they were still alive.”
“That’s no justification,” Neelam scowled.
“And I suppose you lot think running around the country being all saintly like the Famous Five is going to bring down Goulden, do you? This ain’t no fairytale, you know. Sometimes you gotta do things you don’t wanna do.”
“There’s always another way without killing or hurting people,” Neelam said.
Toshiko and Sasha rolled their eyes.
“You lot make me sick,” Toshiko laughed. “You think you’re so great but you’re just a bunch of patronising goody two shoes.”
“Enough!” Dylan yelled. “We have our way, you have yours, let’s leave it at that. None of us are getting anywhere standing here bickering. You’re giving me a headache.”
“I see he’s still as bossy as ever,” Sasha said to Neelam.
“Leave him alone,” Neelam snapped. “He works hard to lead this team.”
Scarlett thought it was nice to see Neelam defending Dylan after they’d been arguing all day. In fact, it seemed that the arrival of the opposition had united the whole team after their evening of rows. That was a good thing at least.
Dylan smiled appreciatively at Neelam.
“OK, I somewhat reluctantly agree with Andrew. We should work together,” he said.
“What!?” Neelam shrieked.
“On this occasion only,” Dylan said. “We could use their help. We’re all here and he’s right – it makes sense to team up.”
“Good choice, fella,” Andrew said, slapping Dylan on the back. “Now what’s the plan?”
“Aaron and Maria are in that room there,” Dylan said. “There’s a door behind that cabinet. Scarlett was trying to move it, but do you think you could…”
“Of course, mate,” Andrew said. “Piece of cake.”
He walked over to the cabinet, picked it up like it was a cat toy and dropped it effortlessly at the side of the door.
“I can’t believe Scarlett couldn’t do that,” Scarlett heard Toshiko whisper to Sasha. “What’s happened to that girl?”
“Sshhh,” Sasha said when she saw Scarlett looking at them.
“Well that makes me feel like a big loser” she thought. “I’m clearly not anywhere near as good as the Scarlett they knew.”
Dylan tried the door handle. It was l
ocked.
“It’s a bog-standard manual lock,” he said. “Scarlett?” he looked over to her with a hopeful smile.
“No problem,” she said as she waved her hand and popped the lock. That was getting easier with practise.
Dylan opened the door and poked his head in cautiously.
“I can’t see anyone,” he said.
“They must be in there,” Sasha said impatiently. “Let me have a look.”
She stormed into the room, followed by her team. Dylan went next, then Jay, Scarlett, Neelam and Lucy reluctantly followed.
This room was grey, cold and eerie. It was shrouded in darkness because there were no windows, but there was just enough light to reveal that the room was very much empty.
“Where are they?” Lucy said. She looked distressed. “I thought they’d be here for sure.”
“Maybe there’s a hidden compartment somewhere,” Jay said.
“Yeah, what’s behind those long curtains over there?” Sasha said.
Scarlett watched as Sasha walked over to the velvet drapes hanging at the other side of the room.
“I don’t like this one bit,” she said to Dylan. “I think we should get out of here.”
Suddenly, Sasha screamed. A hand grabbed her from behind the curtains, then the lights snapped on and 12 uniformed men stepped out and surrounded them in a circle. They all raised their guns, made a clicking sound as they loaded them, then aimed them at the group of teenagers.
“Don’t move,” one of them commanded.
“Alex, get us out of here!” Andrew yelled.
“I’m trying!” Alex said. “I can’t teleport.”
“Of course you can.”
“No, I can’t!” he insisted. “Something’s stopping me. Hang on a minute... maybe that’s why I missed getting in here when we came. It must be lined with gold. It blocks my powers.”
“Very clever,” Scarlett heard a creepy voice from behind them say. She didn’t dare turn around, but she did hear the door close, so the speaker must have just entered the room.
“Of course this room is lined with gold. I don’t want you spoiling the party by teleporting out of here now, do I?” the man said as he strode to the front of the room. Scarlett shivered as the cold, loud sound of his footsteps grew closer.
Out Of Time Page 12
