The Forever Ones (The Iduna Project)

by DeLuca, Marjorie

  We crouch below the window ledge and find that we’re able to look downwards into a cavernous white room. There’s a long rectangular table in the middle of the room with five or six people sitting around and Edelia standing at the head. She talks for a while then points at a large screen.

  “Recruiters’ training session,” I whisper.

  “I’d like to drop the whole lot of them,” hisses Chale. “Making money out of our misery.”

  “Take it easy,” says Sileas. “We have to be smart about this or we’ll find ourselves hooked up to a feeder tube before we can do anything about it.”

  “We’ll wait until the meeting’s over and then we’re gonna pay Edelia a visit,” I say trying to stifle the anger that rises up inside me. Chale’s right. They’re all scum, using us like we’re subhuman but they’re just messengers – we need them to take us to the monster at the top.

  Luckily it’s shaded where we’re sitting because the sun is so hot we’d be baked up here. Still it’s a good job Ida bought some water. We pass it round, gasping as we break our thirst. The meeting drags on and the next thing to go are Carl’s macadamia cookies, already melting in the sun. After we finish those off we look down and see everyone shuffling their chairs away from the table. I catch my breath. Toby’s one of them. He must’ve lied about the phone call. It was Edelia calling him about the meeting.

  “Now we just need them all to leave,” says Chale.

  “All except Edelia,” I say.

  “What if she goes with them?” says Ida.

  “We cause a diversion. Make a noise or something,” I say.

  We’re able to look over a balcony towards the back of the house where we see the trainees trickling out the door saying goodbye to Edelia. I feel a twinge in my heart when Toby walks out, head bowed and hands stuffed in his pockets. Just like Johnny. He doesn’t look too happy and when Edelia grabs his shoulders and whispers in his ear he shrugs and walks away down the street. As she watches him she takes out a phone and starts talking, stopping for a while to sit on the back porch. That’s when we spring into action.

  First Sileas reaches into his amazing backpack and takes out a small silver hammer. He takes careful aim and hits the centre of one of the glass panes, shattering it just enough so he’s able to reach the catch that opens the whole window. One by one we climb through onto a high ledge then squat, focus and leap to the floor below, landing in a crouched position. Chale looks totally confused at his newly discovered powers. “Unbelievable,” he says, straightening up his legs and smiling. We arrange ourselves along the wall by the door so we’re ready to greet her when she comes in.

  I can only hear the sound of our breathing when the door creaks open and Edelia strides in. “What the hell…,” she screams as we surround her, grab her arms and sit her down on a chair. Sileas takes out rope and handcuffs and soon she’s tied down securely, her face white with fury. She looks at Chale and I. “So you were the ones who escaped,” she says. “I knew you were troublemakers from the start.”

  Chale’s eyes blaze. “Where’s Jolyon – and Yul?” he says, staring down at her.

  She looks up and tilts her head. “I was just obeying orders with Jolyon – you’re all gonna end up where he is some day. So you might as well accept it.”

  Trying to calm the anger that fizzing inside of me I plant myself in front of her. “That’s according to you,” I say, “but we’ve decided not to cooperate with your disgusting plans - all we need is some information.”

  She starts to struggle as if she could untie herself but Sileas just pulls the rope tighter. She grimaces in pain. “I never saw Yul. I don’t know where he is.”

  “Don’t struggle and you won’t get hurt,” I say. “Your recruiting days are over so you might as well tell us who you report to?”

  “You’ll never get away with this,” she hisses. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

  “That’s exactly what we need to find out,” I say. “Who are you dealing with?”

  “You guys are done for,” she says. “When they find you they’ll give you to the Crime Lords and then you’ll wish you were a feeder living up in the hills.”

  “Who are the Crime Lords?” asks Chale.

  “Monsters - worse than wild animals,” she says. “They’d rip out every organ in your body and eat them for breakfast just so they can stick around forever.”

  “That’s the line the CEO gives us,” I say. “It’s a lie.”

  She throws back her head and does a snorty laugh. “Believe what you want but you’ll remember what I said one day when you’re facing a machete blade in the hands of some psychopathic brute.”

  “It’s just a story made up to scare us into staying in the compound,” says Ida.

  “You guys are idiots,” says Edelia. “We’ve spent years protecting you from them.”

  “And then delivering us to rich old people that want to suck out our stem cells so they can stay young,” I say. “What do they do with us when we’re finished?”

  “Bury you – just like the rest of the miserable human race,” says Edelia. “What’re you complaining about? You get a good long life – no pressure – all fun. Everyone else has to die.”

  “Yeah but they’re not murdered slowly,” says Sileas.

  “And deliberately,” says Chale.

  “I’m gonna ask you again,” I say, leaning in close. “Who’s running this whole operation?”

  Her face cracks into such a wide grin I could slap her but I curl my hands into fists. “I told you. I don’t know so you’re just gonna have to find that out for yourself I guess,” she says.

  I straighten up. “Okay, I’m not wasting any more time here,” I say. “We’ll take her back to the warehouse and move into phase two of the plan.”

  “What about Junius?” asks Ida.

  I have a sudden sick feeling in my stomach. “We have time to go and look for him before my meeting tonight.”

  We send Chale ahead with Edelia on her scooter. She’s sits sideways in front, handcuffed and ankles tied. He sits behind, his arms around her. They look like a couple in love the way he’s holding onto her except her eyes are furious. “Imagine we’ve had just a typical lovers’ tiff,” he jokes when he plunks her down on the scooter seat. She’s livid.

  “Make sure there’s no way she can escape then we’ll meet you back there in an hour.”

  He heads off with Sileas following close behind to help him while Ida and I search her place for more information.

  We root around the conference room. Cups and glasses are still scattered around the table. I take a look at the blank screen. “I wish I knew how to get this thing working,” I say, looking around for a remote or something, then I touch the screen and a picture flashes up. All the blood rushes to my head when I see an inside view of the compound in full colour. I flip through pictures of Beachside and Tropikis. She’s been telling them how to worm their way into the party scene so they can scout out the next victim. Next is a map of Realtown that shows the marketplace, the nightclub strip and the warehouses. A series of red x’s dotted around the warehouse area draws my attention.

  “Ida – come look,” I say. “I think these are entrances to the compound.”

  Ida scoots over from the other side of the room where she’s been rifling through the cupboards. She peers at the diagram. “You’re right. There’s at least one on every warehouse street.” She takes a small camera from her backpack and snaps a picture of the diagram. “Just in case we need to get back there for anything,” she says.

  “I hope not, I never want to set foot in there again.”

  The next image is the one I’ve been looking for. “Here it is,” I say, standing back to get a good look at the tall, blank faced men and women dressed entirely in black except for a bright gold necklace with a cluster of tiny golden apples glinting against the dark shirt. The heading on the slide says Get to know your contacts.

  “These are the dealers,” I say as Ida
takes a picture. “We’re gonna meet them tonight.”

  There are names underneath each of the dealers so Ida and I memorize as many as we can. It’s strange though, as I’m trying to imprint their faces on my brain I can’t help feeling that I’ve met some of them before. But how could that be? I put it down to my tired, hungry state and flip to the next picture which shows a line of moody looking young people wearing red and black.

  “They’re the ones who took Junius,” says Ida, her eyes wide and terrified. The picture is labeled ARP Security Guards. They’re standing in front of a large armoured truck and carrying some heavy steel weapons. Plumes of fire are shooting into the sky behind them. There’s a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and I wonder how on earth we’re going to get Junius back.

  “There’s gotta be a way,” I say, feeling the familiar rush of tears but I stifle them and flip to the next slide. First is a simple message emblazoned across the screen in red which says Know your Enemies. We both hold our breath when we see the picture entitled The Crime Lords. Edelia was right. I wouldn’t want to run into any of these men. They stare out from the picture, their heads shaved bare except for a narrow strip of hair running across the centre of their scalp, their muscular arms and chests bare and tattooed with flowers and skulls and dragons, their ears and eyebrows pierced with spikes and rings and their faces smooth and youthful in a hungry vicious way.

  I feel dizzy – as if the floor is moving. “So many enemies,” I say.

  Ida nods her head. “I wish we could run away somewhere quiet and just live in peace.”

  “Some day we will,” I say. “Some day.”

  Suddenly there’s a loud knock at the door. Instinctively we press our backs against the wall and try to peer outside. There’s a tall, slim guy wearing black. His gold necklace glints in the sunshine. He knocks on the door again and when there’s no answer, smashes it really hard with his fist and shouts, “Dammit Edelia – open up – we’re finished if you don’t get this message.”

  I look at Ida. “Should we open it?” I say. “We could pretend to be trainees.”

  Ida nods silently as I touch the lock and slowly flick it open.

  19

  “Who the hell are you?” the guy asks as we stand there trying to look like we belong.

  “Take it easy,” I say, wiping the imaginary sweat from my forehead. “We were just tidying up the mess those animals made during the training session.”

  He has one hand resting high up on the door frame while the other’s on his phone. “Don’t bullshit me. Where’s Ed?”

  I see the small cluster of golden apples glinting on the end of his necklace. “Stepped out and left me with the garbage,” I say, turning to go back in.

  “Stop right there,” he says. “I’ve never met you before and Ed’s not in the habit of leaving strangers in her house. I’m calling her.”

  “Go ahead,” I say. “She’ll just tell you exactly the same thing.”

  He punches in a number and then waits. A buzzing sound comes from the conference room. She left her phone behind. He steps inside. “I knew there was something up,” he says walking towards me. Then the next events happen so quickly I can barely register them. There’s a soft thudding sound as Ida runs across the conference room, does a handspring and lands with her legs around his neck, squeezing the breath out of him. He struggles and tries to claw at her legs but his arms just flap like bird wings.

  “Check his pocket for weapons,” she gasps and I rush to him and thrust my hands into the side pockets ripping out a phone, money and a small silvery remote type gadget. By now he’s turning in a wild circle trying to throw Ida off. I look around and spy a heavy black plant pot which I grab and, raising it high above my head, bring it crashing down onto his. He stands eerily still for a moment then suddenly crumples to the floor. Ida falls with him and then rolls away, her chest heaving with exertion.

  “You’re one crazy animal,” I say, holding a hand out to her.

  “Just takes some practice,” she gulps. “Is he still alive?”

  I check the pulse in his neck and feel its weak throb. My whole body breathes a sigh of relief. “I didn’t want to kill him,” I say. “Just put him out of action for a while.”

  We tie him up so he’ll be here for a good long time.

  “Let’s take both phones and get out of here,” says Ida.

  “Not before I get this,” I say, bending down to unclasp the gold necklace. “It could be very useful to us.”

  After checking to see if everything’s clear we head out back to find a shiny silver scooter sitting there, its engine still throbbing. “Wanna go for a ride,” I say to Ida.

  “Let’s floor it before he come to,” she says.

  I hop on the seat and she climbs up behind. “I’ve only driven the go-Karts at the compound,” I say, searching for the gas pedal.

  “I think it’s on the handlebar,” says Ida. “One lever’s the gas and the other slows it down.

  “Hold on,” I say, revving the engine and soon we’re scudding along with the wind in our hair.

  Strangely the streets are quiet and the once bustling marketplace is littered with cabbage leaves, bruised apples and a few overturned chairs. It looks as if someone said the carnival’s over and everyone packed up as quickly as possible. A few stragglers are left but they look either confused or worried.

  I feel Ida lean forward against me. “What’s going on?” she says, her voice blown back by the wind. I slow down beside a guy who’s frantically trying to collapse his market table.

  “Where’s everyone?” I yell to him.

  He looks up, his face red with exertion. “Cleared out,” he says, struggling with a lever.

  Ida and I pull up and give him a hand. “Hey isn’t it kind of early to be packing up?” I say. He stops and straightens up.

  “You haven’t heard?” he says.

  “Heard what?”

  “Crime Lords are coming to town. They should hit sometime in the next couple of days.”

  “So where is everyone?” I ask.

  “Packing up and heading for the mountains,” he says, frowning at us. “You’re not from here are you?”

  “No – we came in from the country.”

  “You mean somewhere past the mountains?” he says, fastening up the last bag.

  “I guess,” I say, gambling that Minnie-Apolis is far away.

  He tucks the table and some bags under his arm. “I don’t know how you got here,” he says. “Nobody’s ever gone past the mountains – but you need to get outta here. Once the Crime Lords hit town it’s trouble.” He looks around in a panic then grabs his bike. “Sorry - gotta go,” he says, wobbling away on the bike and balancing all his gear on his lap.

  “We need to let the others know,” says Ida. “They’ll be waiting for us.”

  “There has to be a way to get Junius before the trouble starts.” I say, feeling that sick, sinking sensation in my stomach. I can’t lose Junius. He was the one who inspired me to leave the compound. He’s the reason I’m free. There’s no way I’ll turn my back on him now. I’ve already lost Lynette. I can’t lose anyone else. And now I have to worry about Toby. Is his meeting still on tonight? Is he in danger? My head spins with it all and I can’t tell anyone.

  When we reach the Shoshu the street is like a ghost town and all the other clubs and shops are closed. It feels so weird. I’m not used to being anywhere deserted. The compound was always bustling with people and it’s been crowded ever since we came here. Now silence hangs eerily in the air, as if we’re all waiting for something to happen.

  “I don’t see anyone heading out of town,” says Ida.

  “Maybe when it gets darker,” I say. “Probably safer then.”

  My stomach lurches when we hit the warehouse street. If I see one of those black limos it’ll remind me of being trapped again. I’ve decided even though there’s danger up here it’s better to be free than live in a prison underground. Luckily we make it t
o our hideout without anyone showing up. I park the scooter next to the other one we stole from Edelia and realize we’re fully mobile now. Chale peeks out the grimy window and opens the door for us.

  “We were getting worried,” he says, wrapping me in a huge bear hug which feels really good except there’s so much to worry about I can’t give myself up to it. I pull away.

  “Okay – so you’re not glad to see me,” he says putting his hands on his hips and pouting.

  “Where’s Edelia?” I ask, ignoring his antics.

  He nods over to the other side of the room where she’s tied to a chair and gagged. “She kept trying to scream so we had to do something.”

  “Get Sileas and Carl,” I say. “Ida and I have a lot to tell you.”

  After we fill the guys in on everything Sileas takes a close look at the phones and the silver gadget I took from the dealer.

  “It looks like some kind of weapon,” he says, holding it up and twirling it around. “Maybe she can tell us what it is.” He points it towards Edelia and suddenly her eyes open wide and she starts writhing so hard she almost knocks the chair over. We can hear a muffled screaming sound as he approaches her. “Can I paralyze someone with this? Or maybe burn them? Or perhaps kill them?”

  I’ve never seen Sileas like this but it’s working. Edelia’s whole body is turned so far to the side it’s like she wants to disappear. Sileas rips the gag off and we all gasp. She’s chewed her lip so hard it’s bleeding.

  “What is this?” he hisses. “Tell me or I’ll press the button.”

  “It’s a laser knife,” she sobs. “It’ll burn its way right through you.”

  “Hmmh,” he says. “Let’s see if she’s telling the truth.”

  We all jump back as he points the gadget at a steel ladder. One flick of a switch and a brilliant knife edge of light sizzles through the heavy iron. “Incredible,” he says turning to me. I shrink back but catch sight of the beads of sweat on his brow. He winks. “Now I think Paige has some questions for you. Paige, I’m sure our guest is ready to cooperate.”