by Claire Merle
She paused on the threshold.
‘We can go if you want,’ he said.
‘I didn’t know this sort of place stil existed,’ she said looking around in amazement. ‘I thought with the record companies al bankrupt, recording studios were a thing of the past and everyone did this sort of thing on their interfaces.’
‘Nope, there are stil a few places like this hidden around London. There’l always be a market for good music.’
‘I suppose. So this is where you record your stuff?’
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‘Not the classical. Just the fusion bits and pieces I’m working on.’ He vanished into one of the tiny side rooms.
Ana peered around the corner. A kettle, cups and instant coffee were set up on a low shelf. He shook the kettle.
coffee were set up on a low shelf. He shook the kettle.
Water sloshed against the plastic sides. He plugged it in and flicked the button. ‘Would you like to hear something?’
She nodded. Not a good idea. She folded her arms across her chest. It’s just music, she argued with herself.
I think I’m capable of resisting him, even if he is a musical genius.
Cole showed her to a swivel chair in front of a dark panel.
As he booted up his interface, the computer synced with the desk and the panel began to glow. A spectrum of colour projected from it, like a foot-wide, foot-deep and five-foot-across rainbow. She inhaled sharply. It was beautiful.
‘You can virtualy do everything on this,’ he said.
‘Composing, mixing . . . Use your hands to blend the colours and shape the notes.’
Ana gazed at the machine, stunned. She’d never seen anything like it.
He put the chain of his interface around her neck. The rough pads of his fingers grazed her bare skin. She flushed.
From now on, she thought, they should definitely avoid touching. The effect it had on her was far too disturbing.
He began arranging giant earphones on her head.
‘I’l do it.’
He backed off. ‘OK, you’re al set. Have a go.’
She dipped her hand into a haze of dense blue light and the colour around her fingers rippled like water. A deep dis-cordant jumble of notes resounded in her ears. She smiled, tried stroking a finger down and to the left, as though 207
plucking a harp. A rich bass G vibrated. Intrigued, she placed her other hand in a band of sparkling red and purple.
A dark swirl of sound crashed in her headphones.
Carefuly, she spiraled one of her fingers in the crimson air. An electronic pulse began to loop back on itself.
Cole appeared next to her with two steaming mugs. She puled the headphones half back from her ears.
‘It’s amazing,’ she said. His eyes sparkled, reflecting her enthusiasm. ‘How does it work?’
He set down the mugs and angled in beside her. ‘Each strip of colour does something different. But it’s also kind of organic. It adapts to the way you play. You can’t just learn it technicaly, you have to feel it. Here,’ he said.
Gently, he placed her hand on top of his. ‘Folow what I do.’
So much for not touching.
She attempted to flow with the diving and weaving of his fingers, relaxing her body as far as it was possible in such close proximity to him.
‘Close your eyes,’ he said. ‘Don’t try to make anything
‘Close your eyes,’ he said. ‘Don’t try to make anything happen. Just go with it.’
At first there was so much extraneous noise, she couldn’t be sure ‘Second Sight’ lay beneath it al. But as her movements tuned into Cole’s, his melody took shape, sculpted by their hands from a sea of colour.
Her breathing became erratic. The hairs on her arms stood up. An ominous electronic shudder appeared beneath the notes. She wondered what was causing it and, in a sudden flash of understanding, realised it was her. Her hands were shaking.
She opened her eyes and snatched back her arm.
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‘Sorry, I . . .’ She blundered to her feet, sidestepping away. ‘I guess I’m stil shaken up about my mum.’
Things between her and Jasper were confused, complicated, but they were stil technicaly bound. She shouldn’t be here like this with Cole.
‘You look pale. Can I get you something? Water?’
Ana shook her head, ‘I think I just need to lie down. I haven’t been sleeping wel recently.’
‘I’l take you back to the boat,’ Cole said. ‘We can listen to the fusion stuff another time.’
She smiled weakly. It might help if he wasn’t so damn understanding. Avoiding his gaze, she waited for him at the edge of the room while he drained and washed their mugs.
As they strode down the corridor back towards the As they strode down the corridor back towards the reception, she began to feel sily. She’d totaly overreacted.
Nothing was going on between them. Cole wasn’t interested in some innocent Pure girl who was six years younger than him and had no idea what she was doing.
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18
Betrayal
Ten minutes later they were back on Enkidu. Ana folowed Cole down the hatch, desperate now to lie down. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she was floundering mentaly to keep up. Stress and exhaustion were probably intensifying the muddled and overwhelming sensations she was having around Cole. She needed sleep.
She needed time to recover and reorientate herself.
Stepping off the ladder, she saw Nate, Simone, Rachel and Lila standing shoulder to shoulder, facing the hatch.
‘What’s going on?’ Cole asked. His voice made her snap to attention. He sounded way too calm, almost icy.
Ana frowned at Lila in an unspoken question. Their eyes met momentarily, before Lila tilted her head away.
‘The Wardens came here looking for her,’ Nate said, jabbing a finger in Ana’s direction. ‘That’s what’s going on.’
Heat spread over Ana’s face and down her neck. The Heat spread over Ana’s face and down her neck. The Wardens had found her!
‘When?’ Cole asked.
‘She’s Ashby Barber’s daughter,’ Nate growled.
‘He doesn’t care,’ Rachel said.
Ana looked pleadingly at Lila, but Lila avoided her gaze.
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Cole reached for her hand and drew her towards the kitchen.
‘Get your stuff together,’ he said.
Nate blocked their way. ‘She’s not going anywhere until we know what she’s up to.’
‘I’m going to get her somewhere safe,’ Cole said. ‘She needs our help.’
‘She’s Ashby Barber’s daughter,’ Nate spat. ‘Ashby Barber. The man who practicaly invented the Pure test.
The man who’s helped this government make unthinking morons out of half the population. What, she’s just turned up here by coincidence? I don’t think so.’
‘There are no coincidences,’ Cole said.
Ana’s insides prickled at his tone and intensity. It reminded her of Lila’s talk of bigger plans. Cole didn’t believe she was part of a bigger plan too, did he?
‘Don’t give me that bolocks,’ Nate said. ‘What’s she
‘Don’t give me that bolocks,’ Nate said. ‘What’s she doing here?’
‘She’s looking for Jasper Taurel,’ Cole said.
‘Wel, why did she come to us?’
‘She knew about Spike getting bagged by the Psych Watch the morning Jasper met him to give him the disc.
She came here looking for me.’
‘For al we know, Jasper Taurel was a set-up to weed out guys like you and Spike. I mean who’s actualy seen this evidence?’ Nate shoved a finger into Cole’s chest.
‘You knew about her yesterday, didn’t you? That’s why she bolted outside the courthouse. You should have told us who she was.’
‘I didn’t know she was Ashby Barber’s daughter until last night and I didn’t mention it, cos for some reaso
n I didn’t 211
think you’d take it that wel. And I might remind you that without her, I’d stil be inside.’
‘It was probably a set-up,’ Rachel jumped in. ‘A way of getting us to trust her and let her stay. How much have you told her about tomorrow night?’
Cole gave Rachel the ful force of his laser-sharp attention. ‘You shouldn’t have tipped off the Wardens,’
he said.
Nate’s eyes twitched. He cocked his head towards Rachel. ‘What?’
‘Why do you think they came here?’ Cole asked.
‘Why do you think they came here?’ Cole asked.
‘You told them?’ Nate shouted at Rachel. ‘Are you insane?
That foreign geezer asked for a pregnancy permit! I was thinking I was going to have to find someone to do him in!’
Ana felt a slap of shock. It wasn’t just any old Warden who had been snooping around. Jack Dombrant had been here. Had he seen “Enkidu” written on the side of the boat?
He’d come looking for her, but what did he know about Jasper’s abduction? Was he involved?
‘Listen,’ Simone said. ‘We al need to stay focused.
Let’s not forget what we’re doing. We have a real chance of stirring up enough public outcry that they’l have to open an enquiry into the Pure test.’ Her hand moved over her large bely and stayed there. ‘I’m sorry, Cole,’ she said, ‘but she’s high risk. We need to keep her under close watch until after tomorrow night, then get her as far away from us al as possible.’
‘She’s part of this,’ Cole said firmly.
‘Be reasonable,’ Simone said. ‘She could be spying and informing on you.’
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‘This isn’t a group decision. Ariana’s coming with me. I’l keep her safe.’
‘What wil happen to her when you go off tomorrow
‘What wil happen to her when you go off tomorrow night?’ Lila asked. It was the first time she’d spoken and there was something strange about her voice. Ana could hear the hurt, yes, but something else too.
‘I’l only be gone a couple of hours.’
‘Something could go wrong,’ Lila said. ‘You could be delayed. I think she should go to the Project.’
‘The Project!’ Nate scoffed. ‘They won’t let her in.’
‘I think they wil,’ Lila said. ‘Richard spoke about her too.’
Rachel huffed and stormed from the cabin.
Ana froze. Oh my God, she thought. They think I’m part of some Glimpse into the future where Cole will heal the world.
Cole chewed the side of his lip, considering.
‘You may be right,’ he said to Lila. ‘OK. We’l go to the Project. In fact, I think we should al go. The Wardens wil come back here and try to apply pressure. It’l be the safest place for al of us right now. You two always planned to go back there to have the baby.’
Simone looked at Nate. As he met her gaze, his eyes softened. She nodded. He took her hand and helped her up the ladder.
‘Right, we’d better get moving,’ Cole said. Ana didn’t budge. Mentaly she was stil at the precipice looking into the abyss. She wanted to trust Cole, but an uneasy, creepy feeling roiled inside her. Growing up in the Community, the evil camp beyond the wal had been like Community, the evil camp beyond the wal had been like the bogeyman
– sinister, dangerous, terrifying. What if her ilness had ac-213
tivated? What if al this was some complex halucination and she was about to voluntarily enter the Project to save herself when actualy it was tantamount to suicide?
‘Ariana?’
‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry.’ The puzzlement in Cole’s eyes for some reason saddened her. She dropped her gaze.
‘I have to find Jasper.’
‘I know a guy in the Project who should be able to hack into the psych rehab home records.’
Ana shook her head. ‘I know you’re trying to help, but I can’t go to the Enlightenment Project. Your vision . . .
your Glimpse . . . you believe in higher plans and I – I don’t.’
There was a pause. Cole turned and stared at his sister.
‘I told her what a Glimpse was,’ Lila said, ‘I didn’t . . .’
‘OK,’ Cole said to Ana. Their eyes locked. The turmoil deep inside Ana was growing unstable, threatening to break through her years of carefuly mastered composure. ‘Let’s forget the Project.’
‘Hang on—’ Lila objected.
‘No,’ Cole said. ‘I agree Nate, Simone and Rafferty
‘No,’ Cole said. ‘I agree Nate, Simone and Rafferty should go, but I won’t take Ariana against her wil. You can go back to the Project with them or you can come with us.
Up to you.’
Lila glowered at her brother.
‘Let’s get moving,’ Cole said, turning his back on her.
*
Ana waited on deck as Lila and Cole packed clothes, food, cooking utensils and sleeping bags. She shifted her tote bag on her shoulder, keeping a look-out for Warden Dombrant 214
and regretting the way Cole had looked at her when she’d told him she didn’t believe in his Glimpse. But she’d only spoken the truth. And she was not going to let them al be misled into thinking she was some sort of sign or saint sent to help their cause.
After a few minutes, Lila and Cole appeared, hauling camping rucksacks up the hatch. They crossed the deck and threw their bags on to the bank. While Cole secured the hatch, Lila jumped aboard Nate’s boat and vanished into the wheelhouse. Ana gazed down at the dirty water.
Metal clanked against metal, then a hammer banged as Cole tacked lightweight boards over the Perspex windows.
Lila returned just as he was finishing. Without speaking, the three of them disembarked.
Cole removed the gangplank and dropped it in the lock.
It hit the water with a slap. Ana watched it sink with a sense of regret. She’d driven them from their home. Cole and Lila had gone out of their way to help her and yet she didn’t trust them enough to folow them into the Project.
Cole chained his motorbike, covered it with tarpaulin, and he and Lila set off down the towpath without looking back. Ana caught up. They headed east along the waterway, passing beneath the busy markets and folowing the weave of the river until they cut north through a block of flats, a playground, and a park. They came out on a narrow street and turned left down an aley that led to Camden Road station. At the ticket machine, Lila slotted in her ID and purchased three tickets. Then they stood on the platform until the next southbound train arrived.
The journey to Forest Hil in South-East London was 215
agonisingly slow. There were lengthy waits for the electric, crowded trains. They had to change three times and the silence between them grew leaden, until it was impenetrable. Most of the time, Cole stood apart from the girls, making cals and sending interface messages.
The rattle of the train drowned his voice. Once or twice, Lila attempted to smile at Ana, but the strain and sense of disilusionment in her eyes only made Ana feel worse.
Ana decided to risk powering up her interface for the three seconds it would take to switch offline.
Undoubtedly the Wardens would have her tagged; they’d receive a flutter of activity somewhere between they’d receive a flutter of activity somewhere between Shadwel and Wapping. But she couldn’t take any more of the heavy silence. Besides, Warden Dombrant would already know she was on the move. A train in east London wouldn’t help him find her.
Offline, she selected a compilation of Chopin and Schumann and let her head drop back against the seat.
Jumbled images filed her mind. Her thoughts drifted, and she found herself back in the Barbican car park where she’d looked for Jasper after the concert.
Water dribbled down the wals. A strange light pulsed.
She tried to lift her feet, but slime puled at her shoes.
At once, she realised she wasn’t alone. A shadow moved, puling itself inwards, gathering up
the darkness like folds of cloth. From its inky centre a figure emerged.
Ana gazed at the dark holes where eyes should have been. Glacial terror spread through her. She was being attacked by zombies!
Franticaly, she began running for an exit. Al around her shadows amassed themselves into black doorways for 216
zombies to step through. The first creature closed in on Ana. Throbbing light sent forks of pain into her head. Her dream self cried out for Cole. At the same time, her head knocked against the train window.
She blinked awake. They were clattering over a bumpy part of the tracks. Chopin’s ‘Goutte d’eau’ floated through her earphones. Beyond the window, rows of squat houses flew past, their narrow backyards overgrown or deluged with junk.
overgrown or deluged with junk.
‘We’re there,’ Cole said. Ana looked up and gulped in his presence with an uncomfortable mixture of relief and self-consciousness. Opposite her, Lila stood up. The train crawled into Forest Hil station and they alighted.
A simple portico lined the station building on the platform side. Hanging baskets dangled from the shelter, their plastic flowers so old, the greens and reds had faded and ripped. They crossed a footbridge and came out on a busy street. It was almost six o’clock. Vendors had begun packing up their stals and people hurried home.
Ana trudged behind Cole and Lila, vaguely taking in the disorderly array of Victorian and Georgian houses on either side, sprinkled with modern, concrete architecture.
The uphil hike tired her, but at least it was something to focus on; something to distract her from Cole’s broody reticence.
Finaly, they veered into a driveway, climbed three steps, and knocked at a 1930s house that had been divided into a dozen flats.
The front door opened at once. They were ushered into darkness and the door closed behind them. In the glimmer of candlelight, a man led them past stairs and through 217
a second door. He bustled them into a room and went around lighting other candles to reveal a ten-foot-square bedroom with two single beds, a dresser, and a wardrobe.
A faint pink glow from the sun sinking on the horizon spilt around the closed curtains. Cole slipped the man cash and told him they were expecting someone. Then he and told him they were expecting someone. Then he closed and locked the door, and the three of them were alone.
