Chasing Stars

by Helen Douglas

  ‘There you are!’ bellowed a familiar voice.

  There was a good chance I would need Clarence – or access to his apartment – to execute the rescue. So I gritted my teeth, turned on a smile and walked towards him, a fake stagger in my steps. Clarence opened his arms to receive me in a hug, and I was relieved to see he had changed his shirt.

  ‘Where did you go?’ he asked.

  I shrugged. ‘I couldn’t work out the intercom so I came outside to get a drink.’

  He laughed hard. ‘You silly thing. Don’t they have intercoms in 2012?’

  I shrugged and smiled. ‘No.’

  He picked up a bottle of water from a table and we walked down to the lake’s edge. A few candles still bobbed along the shoreline, though most had burnt themselves out by now.

  ‘Stillwater Lake,’ said Clarence. ‘It belongs to the Institute. Families rent pedaloes here on summer afternoons, but they never go beyond the cove. If you paddle beyond the corner there, the lake opens up. It’s twice the size it looks from here.’

  ‘It’s lovely,’ I said.

  ‘Give me a hand.’

  Clarence pulled at a small rowing boat until it was freed from its protective covers. He dragged it to the water.

  ‘Jump in,’ he said.

  I sat in the boat, while he kicked off his shoes and rolled up his trousers. Effortlessly, he pushed the boat down the beach and into the water, paddling up to his knees. Once it was floating, he clambered in and sat opposite me. He fitted the oars into their slots and began rowing us out beyond the cove. The orchestra had stopped playing, but the deep notes of a lone saxophone followed us across the water.

  ‘Close your eyes,’ he said.

  I did as he asked and listened to the creak and groan of the oars, the slap of the water as the oars pushed it aside, the quiet rustle of leaves in the trees. I trailed one hand in the cool silk of the lake and focused on my own slow breathing.

  The oars rattled in their rowlocks and we stopped rowing. I felt the tilt and wobble of the boat on the water.

  ‘Open your eyes,’ said Clarence.

  I opened them. All around me was intense darkness. The water was black. The trees were shady silhouettes in the distance. But above was the most incredible show of glittering stars.

  I gasped.

  It was like magic. I might be living in a different country with different people in a completely different time, but some things hadn’t changed. The constellations winked at me like old friends.

  Clarence stopped rowing. He hoisted the oars inside the boat.

  ‘Lie back,’ he said. ‘You can see the whole sky from here.’

  I rested my head on the wooden bench and laid my legs across the bench by his head. He lay the opposite way and there we were head to toe, gazing up at the inky, star-studded night sky.

  I found myself scanning the sky for Orion, but the constellation was nowhere to be seen. Still missing. Ryan had told me once that it was a winter constellation, that the days would be shortening before I would see it again. The first constellation I recognised was Cassiopeia, its w-shape a clear message in the sky. I navigated from there to Vega and then to the big square of Pegasus. Finally I found Perseus and fixed on Algol, the so-called demon star with its slow wink. The ancients thought it was bad luck, but I didn’t think that. Luck was too close to Fate – and I didn’t believe in Fate. I might not be able to influence the vast tides of time, but I would control my own destiny. A star shot across the sky, leaving a bright trail in its wake.

  ‘Did you see that?’ I asked.

  ‘It’s the Perseid meteor shower,’ said Clarence. ‘It peaked a couple of nights ago, but there should still be a few shooting stars.’

  Before the words were out of his mouth, another star shot across the sky.

  ‘This is so beautiful,’ I said.

  His fingertips brushed mine, an accidental touch, fleeting, like the stardust burning in the sky.

  Another star grazed the night sky.

  ‘Did you see that one?’ asked Clarence.

  ‘Yes.’

  His fingers moved over mine and stayed there, the warmth of his hand now wilfully, knowingly touching me. I didn’t move. I held my breath and reminded myself I was doing this for Ryan. Minutes passed. More stars tripped across the sky.

  ‘They’re not really stars,’ I said. ‘It’s just dust burning up in our atmosphere.’

  ‘I know.’

  Clarence’s fingers caressed mine. It was a light touch. But it was a step too far. I retracted my hand, curled it into a tight fist.

  ‘I’ve always loved this lake,’ said Clarence. ‘I learnt to swim in it, I learnt to sail on it. I even learnt to scuba-dive here. It’s much deeper than you might think.’

  My heart jolted. I knew how we were going to get Ryan off the grounds of the Institute: under the water.

  ‘But this is perfect, isn’t it?’ said Clarence.

  It was perfect: the lake; the stars; the music.

  And now I had the perfect plan.

  Chapter 18

  Trying not to jangle the key, I unlocked the door and tiptoed inside.

  ‘It’s three in the morning. I was getting worried,’ Peg said. Empty coffee mugs and schoolbooks were spread across the table. He shut his textbook and came towards me.

  ‘Everything’s fine. I’ve got so much to tell you.’

  ‘Tell me he didn’t touch you.’ Peg’s voice was hoarse.

  ‘I was fine the whole time,’ I said, mentally brushing aside the moment I’d felt vulnerable, alone in Clarence’s apartment. ‘Although he did come close to throwing up all over me.’

  Peg shook his head. ‘What a charmer.’

  I kicked off my heels. ‘Help me with this zip.’

  Peg’s hands were cold against my skin. His hands shook as he struggled to unhook the catch at the top of the dress. When he pulled the zip down to my waist, I felt my whole body relax. Clarence had magically selected a dress in the right size, but the bodice was tight against my ribs. Now I could breathe.

  I stepped out of the dress and threw it over the couch. ‘I have a plan. I have it all worked out.’

  ‘You wanna put some clothes on before you tell me about it?’ He was looking at the floor.

  I ran into my room, grabbed a T-shirt and tugged it over my head. ‘He thinks I like him,’ I shouted.

  ‘Why does he think that?’ Peg shouted back.

  ‘Because I wanted him to think that,’ I said, as I pulled on a pair of shorts. ‘Actually, he doesn’t seem so bad. A bit creepy and a bit pathetic, but not that bad, you know?’

  ‘He is that bad. Don’t let him fool you.’

  I went back into the living room. Peg was tidying up his schoolbooks.

  ‘Why do you hate him so much?’ I asked.

  ‘Because he’s spoilt and arrogant.’

  I perched on the edge of one of the couches. ‘Clarence said he stole the fuel for Ryan’s ship. Is that true?’

  Peg nodded. ‘Yeah. It’s true.’

  ‘So then why . . .’

  ‘He didn’t get Ryan that fuel because he wanted to help him. He got it in exchange for Ryan taking the blame for something. Clarence thinks he can buy his way out of trouble.’

  ‘What are you talking about? What happened?’ I asked.

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  ‘Tell me.’

  Peg rubbed his hands over his face and leant back against the table. ‘A few months ago – it would have been March – Ry was completely stuck. He had a ship and he had a plan to save you, but no fuel. You can’t just drive into a fuel depot and ask for a few tonnes of premium grade fuel without the right paperwork. We were all out of ideas. And then one night, we went to a party on the other side of Winnipesaukee. Me and Ry, Lyra, the twins.’

  My stomach knotted at the thought of Ryan and Lyra going to a party together.

  ‘Lyra hooked up with Clarence. She’d been on a couple of dates with him before, but they weren’t
together officially or anything. Anyway, they left the party before the rest of us.’

  I tried to get it straight in my head. Lyra had been with Ryan for a year. Lyra dated Clarence five months ago. Ryan thought she liked Peg now.

  ‘So what happened that night?’

  ‘We left the party and drove home. There’s no expressway around the lake unless you make a massive detour. Halfway home we found Clarence’s car in a ditch. It had been raining heavily and the roads were slick. Lyra was injured, but he hadn’t called an ambulance or anything because he was drunk.’

  ‘Oh, God.’

  ‘Driving under the influence would have meant immediate expulsion from the Academy and the end of any ambitions he might have for a career at the Institute. He asked us if one of us would say we’d been driving. Ryan was the only one who hadn’t been drinking.’

  ‘So he agreed?’

  ‘Yeah. Ryan asked Clarence if he could get hold of five tonnes of premium grade fuel. He said he could. So Ryan took the blame. He was suspended from the Academy, but he didn’t care. He had the fuel he needed and a way back to you.’

  ‘And Lyra?’

  Peg shrugged. ‘Her leg and pelvis were badly damaged. She had three operations, but she’ll always have a limp. She might have forgiven Clarence, but he never once called her to see how she was. Lyra was in hospital and Clarence was out drinking and partying with some other girl. Lyra had to let Clarence get away with it, because Ryan needed her to keep his secret so he could get back to you. So yeah – Clarence is right at the top of people I don’t like very much.’

  I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled. ‘That explains a lot.’

  ‘I’m gonna make some more coffee. You want some?’

  Five minutes later, we were sitting together on one of the couches, each with a cup of coffee.

  ‘You ready to hear my plan?’ I asked, rubbing my eyes.

  ‘Shoot.’

  ‘I’m going to call Clarence and ask if I can come over tomorrow night and watch a movie with him.’

  ‘I already don’t like this. I don’t trust him. I’m not saying he would be violent or anything, but he’s . . .’

  ‘Hear me out. I’m going to get him really drunk. And then I’m going to suggest we go outside and sit by the lake or something. You’ll be waiting down by the lake.’

  ‘How am I going to get through the security entrance? They count people in and out. By six o’clock the Institute is closed to visitors.’

  ‘Do you still have Antoine’s map?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He jumped up and snatched the map from the dining room table.

  I opened it, resting it half on Peg’s lap and half on my own. ‘The lake at the back of the Institute is called Stillwater Lake. It looks quite small from the back lawn of the Institute, but once you get beyond the cove it opens up.’

  ‘How do you know this?’

  ‘Clarence took me for a romantic boat ride under the stars.’

  ‘What a creep.’

  ‘He also told me that he learnt to scuba-dive in that lake.’

  A smile crept on to Peg’s face. ‘I think I know where this is going.’

  ‘If you came across the lake in a boat, you’d be seen. But if you scuba-dive from the far side of the lake, you can emerge in the forest this side of the fence.’

  ‘Genius.’

  ‘I need to get Clarence so drunk he passes out.’

  ‘He’s a big guy,’ said Peg. ‘That will take a lot of alcohol. Let me talk to the twins. Their dad’s a pharmacist. They might be able to suggest something.’

  I drained my coffee. ‘Then we dress you as Clarence and we both go back inside and up to Clarence’s apartment.’

  ‘Don’t they have security?’

  ‘No. Not really. Just a doorman. I mean, he’d probably challenge us if he thought we were visitors. But if he thinks you’re Clarence and I’m his friend . . .’

  ‘That’s a big “if”.’

  ‘I just walked in tonight. Clarence waved at the doorman and he let us in. It was easy.’

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘I found a way to get from his apartment to the cells.’

  Peg swore. ‘You’re freakin’ kidding me?’

  I shook my head. ‘These people can’t even help themselves to a glass of water without calling down to the kitchen. Can you believe that?’

  ‘Actually, I can.’

  ‘And everything comes up to the dining room in this dumb waiter.’

  ‘What the hell is a dumb waiter?’

  ‘It’s like a lift for food. And it’s quite big. I fit in it easily. It takes you down to the kitchen. From there you can access everywhere. We can get to Ryan’s cell. Free him and then escape through either the service entrance or Clarence’s apartment.’

  ‘This is brilliant,’ said Peg, grinning. ‘You’ve figured most of it out. The only thing is getting him out of the cell.’

  ‘I’ve seen where they keep him. I was standing outside his cell tonight.’ I decided not to mention that the guard had his gun trained on my heart.

  ‘How did you manage to do all this?’

  ‘Good luck. There’s just one guard outside the cell. And he has the key to the cell on his belt. He’s armed – of course – but surely the two of us can overpower one of him.’ I tried to hide the tremor in my voice. ‘Especially if we play two silly, drunk kids who got lost.’

  Peg chucked the map on the floor and reached over to hug me. ‘I think we have a plan.’

  Chapter 19

  ‘Clarence, I’m going to turn in now,’ said Mrs Wolfe. ‘We have an early start in the morning. Don’t be too late. I want us to be on the road by nine.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I’ll be in bed soon.’

  ‘Is Eden staying over? I can have Anna make up the spare room.’

  ‘Oh no,’ I said. ‘I’ll be heading back home in a few minutes.’

  ‘OK, sweetheart. But if you change your mind, Clary will call Anna and have her make up a bed for you. You’re always welcome here.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Clarence waited till his mother left the room. ‘She means well. Don’t judge her too harshly.’

  ‘She’s lovely, Clarence.’

  He smirked. ‘She got extra helpings when God gave out enthusiasm.’

  ‘I like her.’

  Clarence put a hand on my arm. ‘You know, I could arrange for you to have your own apartment in the city. I don’t like you living with Pegasus Ryder in that run-down market area. It’s not safe.’

  ‘It’s fine for now. In any case, he’s my legal guardian; I don’t have a choice.’

  ‘I can be your legal guardian. Or one of my female friends. I don’t like my girlfriend living with another man.’

  ‘Am I your girlfriend now?’

  ‘You’re here, aren’t you?’

  I stood up. ‘What time will your dad be home?’

  Clarence shrugged. ‘Don’t worry about him. He seems fierce, but he’s a pussycat really. Anyway, he’s not coming home tonight. He had to head south to New Marseilles for work. He’ll spend the night there. My mother and I have to join him tomorrow to help him with his campaign.’

  ‘What campaign?’

  ‘The election campaign. The date has been postponed until after the investigation into Admiral Westland. But it will still go ahead eventually. Dad’s had some bad publicity with protestors outside Wolfe Energy in New Marseilles, so he’s down there to deal with that. And then he’s escorting Orion to the moon.’

  I looked away.

  ‘I’m sorry, Eden. I have to go with him. He’s taking a film-maker and a load of journalists with him and using this as a publicity stunt. This isn’t just the election; it’s the whole of Wolfe Energy. A lot of people think the Lunar Facility is inhumane. He’s using this as an opportunity to show that he’s tough on crime and that the Lunar Facility is a good thing.’

  ‘Great.’

  ‘Don’t judge me. He’s my father. I don�
�t have a choice.’

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ I said. ‘Let’s go down to the lake. I’d like to see what it’s like without hundreds of party guests milling around.’

  Clarence stood. ‘If you want.’

  ‘Do you have anything to drink?’ I said. ‘Maybe we could take some more of that beer with us?’

  ‘This time traveller has expensive tastes,’ said Clarence, winking.

  We had already shared two bottles of beer, though in very unequal measures. I followed Clarence into the dining room alcove. He pressed the kitchen intercom and requested a magnum of Alaskan beer along with two glasses. Two minutes later the beer and glasses arrived on a heavy silver tray in the dumb waiter. Clarence shoved the bottle into one of his jacket pockets and hooked his fingers around the stems of the glasses.

  ‘Come on then,’ he said.

  I snatched his big straw hat off the hatstand as we passed and pulled it over my head. It would help to cover Peg’s dark hair later on. Clarence was bright blonde.

  Everything outside was still, with nothing to disturb the quiet but the song of the cicadas and the gentle lapping of the lake against the sandy shore. The air had cooled; in the distance I could hear the low rumble of thunder.

  ‘We need a storm to clear the air,’ said Clarence.

  ‘Let’s just sit by the water’s edge,’ I said.

  We both removed our shoes and walked barefoot over the cool sand.

  ‘This OK?’ asked Clarence, when we reached a sandy place by the shoreline.

  ‘Perfect,’ I said.

  Across the lake, out on the Forest Service road, Antoine and Belle would be waiting in their car, ready to drive Ryan to the shipyard. The trees nearby rustled and I hoped Peg wouldn’t do something premature. Clarence had a high tolerance for alcohol and the two bottles he’d drunk earlier had not dulled his senses in the slightest. The only way this was going to work was if I managed to slip the sedative Belle had given me into his beer without him noticing.

  We sat at the water’s edge, the lake water gently washing over our toes, two glasses of cold beer beside us. He was alert. Much too alert.

  ‘I’m going to be a real pain,’ I said.