by Linda McNabb
“I’m not a baby!” Reco folded his arms across his chest and pulled away out of her reach.
“We were at the amusement park and he fell from one of the rides...” Damon started again but Fona cut him off again.
“Why didn’t you tell me last night when you rang to tell me he was staying the night at your place?” Fona demanded. She tried to match her son’s stance of arms folded across her chest, but her arms weren’t long enough and she resorted to putting them where her hips should be.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” Damon tried to placate her with one of his winning smiles. It almost worked but then she noticed Reco’s missing shoe.
“Reco, where is your other shoe?” she said only slightly less demanding than she had been of Damon.
“I... “ Reco faltered and looked at Damon for help.
“Well,” Fona leaned down so that her eyes were level with his, causing her triple chins to wobble freely.
Reco swallowed hard and Kala’s heart sank. He wasn’t a good liar and the fact that there was more to how he got the bruise was plainly obvious on Reco’s face. Two tears trickled slowly down his cheeks as he tried as hard as he could not to tell what had happened.
“It’s okay Reco,” Damon put his hand on Reco’s shoulder. “We don’t expect you to lie.”
“We were kidnapped and then shut up in this dark warehouse,” Reco blurted out as the tears began to spring from his eyes.
“Good grief!” Fona looked as if she was about to faint.
“But we don’t have to discuss it here,” Damon added quickly as he pointed to the library and then ushered them in.
He closed the door firmly behind him and then pressed Fona down into a chair. He waited until everyone was sitting down before he sat down as well. Kala was pleased that she wasn’t the one trying to explain the situation. Fona wasn’t going to take it well.
“Well, it started when Kala and I took Alissa and Reco to see one of Alissa’s old friends,” he began and Kala was pleased he wasn’t going to tell absolutely everything. There was no need to get everyone into trouble. “They went off to play in an abandoned warehouse and they were taken away by mistake. We went to find them and everybody was fine after that.”
Kala couldn’t believe that the entire evening and night could be reduced to such a simple explanation. She dared a quick look at Fona’s face to see if she was going to swallow it and knew in a second that she hadn’t.
“Rubbish, now what’s the real story?” Fona demanded. “I wish Miles was here but he had to go out late last night. There was some sort of trouble down at the Dock and he hasn’t come home yet.”
Kala felt the blood drain from her face as Fona spoke. Unfortunately, Fona noticed her sudden pallor and turned her icy stare on her.
“Were you down at the Dock?” she asked sharply. “Did you cause the trouble that dragged Miles from his bed?”
“No, these men took us away, down to the Docks,” Reco jumped in.
“Why? Who punched you?” Fona had lost the edge of anger from her voice and now sounded confused.
“One of the guards,” Reco answered.
“What proof have you got of all of this? Are you just making it all up to make a fool out of me?” Fona had lost her patience completely.
Damon stood up and nodded to Kala pointing to her jacket pocket. Kala slowly pulled out the folded photo that her father had let her take with her and stared at it briefly before handing it to Fona. Fona snatched it from Kala’s hand and looked closely at it. Her eyes almost bulged and her mouth dropped open.
“Miles!”
The photo dropped from her fingers and slid to the floor. Kala quickly picked it up, took a longer look and saw what Fona had meant. Near the back of the line, giving one of the children an unnecessary push, was the oversized figure of Miles Fortnes.
“And what are they doing with these children?” Fona’s voice was so quiet that Kala had to strain to hear what she was saying. Fona was staring at a painting of her husband that hung on the wall as if she had never seen it before.
“We don’t know,” Damon replied softly, as he too saw the photo from over Kala’s shoulder. “But it seems a lot of people, old and young, go missing from Sector Four all the time.”
“Sector Four?” Fona looked over at Damon and Kala with a frown.
“Where I lived before you employed me,” Kala knew there was no point in keeping any secrets now.
“Sector Four?” Fona repeated. “Where all the deviants and social misfits are sent?”
“They are all just normal people like you and I,” Damon helped out. “They just don’t fit in with societies rules and ideals. Kala’s father was framed, probably because of this photo, and they were all sent there.”
“Your husband wanted my father sent to Belgara,” Kala decided there would never be a more appropriate time to add this piece of information. “He was at father’s trial and he looked furious that I had managed to reduce the sentence with my life savings.”
“Miles?” Fona didn’t look shocked this time, just sad.
The front door slammed and made everyone jump. Kala’s heart began to pound wildly when she heard who it was.
“I’m home, where is everyone?” Miles Fortnes opened the library door and took in the unusual scene with only the briefest glance.
“We decided to have breakfast in the library dear,” Fona said with a straight face that showed no hint of the shock she had just received. “Will you be joining us?”
“No, I’m off to bed. Wake me for lunch.”
Miles left the room and shut the door behind him, leaving a heavy silence hanging over them all. Fona put her head in her hands and began to weep silently. Kala knew they had one more person on their side now.
**
Johan, Roma and Katee had walked quickly from the Shuttle Station and within two minutes they were on Roma’s street. Johan looked at the impressive looking apartments and couldn’t help but compare it to Clover Downs. His attention was still wandering when he felt Roma’s arm bar his way.
“What’s the problem?” Johan queried.
“That,” Roma’s voice was shaking.
Johan looked where Roma was staring and saw what he meant. Two black clothed guards were coming down the steps of an apartment with a very surprised looking Petari held tightly between them. Roma made a step forward as if he was going to try to stop them but Johan pulled him back and behind one of the few small trees on the street.
“There’s nothing you could do right now, except get yourself arrested along with her,” he pointed out.
“I know,” Roma agreed in a flat and lifeless voice, but he still pulled against Johan’s grip, wanting to go to his wife’s aid.
They watched as the guards put her into their Hoverpod and went back into the apartment. This time they came out with all of Roma’s photo developing equipment and put that in the Hoverpod as well. One guard took off in the Hoverpod but the other stayed on the footpath. He looked up and down the street and, seeing nobody around, concealed himself behind the neighbours fence. Obviously waiting for the rest of the family to return home. If Johan and Roma had been a minute or two later they would have had no idea the guard was there and they too would have been caught.
“What now?” Roma no longer pulled against Johan’s hold on him.
“We have to warn Kala and Alissa,” Johan replied.
“Well go to Reco’s house and find her,” Roma said and began to walk off towards the station.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Johan fell into step with him.
“Why not?” Roma slowed down, looking confused.
“If they’re looking for you then they’re looking for me too. How are we going to get on the shuttle? As soon as either of us uses the scanner to open the door they will know exactly where we are,” Johan explained, their situation seemed to be getting worse all the time.
“So why didn’t they catch us at the station just before?”
Johan rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered how they had gotten this far.
“Who opened the shuttle door back at the market?” Johan asked suddenly.
“Damon, I think.”
“That’s it then. They don’t know Damon is involved in any of this,” Johan felt a surge of hope that they would still be able to find a way out of the mess they were in.
“Let’s just hope that Damon comes back with her on the Shuttle then, or she won’t make it back,” Roma looked distant as he glanced up at the sky and Johan knew he was hoping Petari was okay.
“Somehow I get the feeling that he will insist on seeing her home,” Johan said, feeling a twinge of jealousy creep into his mind. He knew Kala was important to him now and he made a promise to himself to tell her the next time he had the opportunity.
They waited at the station for almost an hour. Johan had almost given up hope when Kala stepped off the shuttle with Alissa and Damon. He resisted the urge to rush up and tell her how he felt about her. Now wasn't the right time.
“You made it,” Johan said with relief evident in his voice. “We were beginning to worry.”
“Why?” Damon didn't look like his normal happy-go-luck self and he looked as if he had just had terrible news.
“The State is looking for us,” Johan replied.
“And they've already taken your mother,” Roma added quietly.
Alissa immediately burst into tears and wrapped her arms around her father. Kala looked shocked and began to sway as if she was about to fall over. Johan automatically put his arm around her waist to steady her and she gave no resistance.
“So it's over?” Damon queried looking around as if he expected guards to jump out from the bushes.
“No, we still have a chance,” Johan replied, as an idea suddenly formed in his head. Why hadn't he thought about it before? “They aren't looking for you Damon, so I need you to get me onto the shuttle so I can get back to Sector Four.”
“What are we going to do there?” Kala asked.
“I'm going back to Clover Downs. The rest of you should get as far away as you can for a few hours,” he decided against telling anyone the finer details of his plan as it was a dangerous one, but if it worked it would start a major revolution. “How did you get on with taking Reco back? Did they suspect anything?”
“We had to tell Mrs Fortnes everything in the end,” Kala admitted and Johan frowned. “It turns out that she is on our side now. Mr Fortnes is mixed up in all this and she doesn't like it.”
Kala had brought out the photo again and handed it to Johan and Roma who quickly saw what she meant when she pointed out Mr Fortnes. The shuttle arrived just then and they all boarded after Damon had opened the door. When they arrived at the station not far from the market Johan still insisted that he go alone to Sector Four.
“The market won't be a very safe place to be for a while. Convince as many people as you can to leave it,” Johan stressed as he left them at the station. He didn't wait around to answer any questions about what he was going to do.
He headed straight for Clover Downs with a determination that he hadn't felt in a long time. He was going to bring the State to their knees even if he had to do it all by himself. He didn't need Charat or Gil or anyone. He would bring the people of Sector One here instead, and they would see first-hand what he had been trying to tell them for so long.
He slowed his pace as he approached Clover Downs and paused at the last Warehouse. There was nobody on the Black Lands and he ran as fast as he could to his old home. The great doors were open but nobody was in The Square as it was still early. He walked quickly through The Square and down to the tunnel that led down into the basement where the Hand Cars were. He followed the tunnel carefully downwards until he reached the cavern. He removed several bricks from one of the walls and took out a well wrapped package from the small hole he had exposed.
With great care, he carried the package back up the way he had come and slipped back out of Clover Downs. He briefly wondered if he should wait for nightfall before continuing with his plan so that he wasn't seen. No, it wouldn't have the same effect.
Johan, with his package under one arm, made a dash across the Black Lands beyond Clover Downs and towards the Dividing wall. The area was scattered with derelict remains of houses and Johan dodged from one to the other. Once he felt he was being watched and he turned but couldn't see anyone. He told himself not to be so silly, nobody had seen him.
When he reached the wall he put the package down and carefully opened it. It contained seven very old looking sticks of dynamite and Johan carefully picked one up placed it against the great wall. He picked up the remaining six and moved along the wall, placing them about twenty feet apart. When he had laid the last one he gathered a handful of large stones and moved back from the wall.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you.”
Johan spun round to see Charat standing by one of the old buildings and he looked very irritated.
“What does it take to make you give up and go away quietly. First I took away your position and then your best friend. I even turned your whole Level against you but still you don't give up. Most men would have taken the hint and stopped this nonsense about defeating the State,” Charat sneered.
“So I was right,” Johan kept hold of the rocks, wondering if his aim was good enough to take Charat down with one of them.
“Yes, you were one of the reasons I was sent to this stinking place at all. I was sent here to follow Roma so that I could find a photo he had. You were causing far too much trouble so they said I had to sort you out while I was here,” Charat leaned down and picked up a rock as well. He tossed it in the air as he continued to explain. “The theory was to get everyone against you and when you had stopped fighting against the State I was to disappear and leave you all to the fate you all should have had years ago. Starvation. Your father was stubborn too, but in the end he was no match for me. Although, I must admit he wasn't as hard to get rid of as you.”
Johan immediately saw red. This man was responsible for the disappearance of his mother and father. He weighed one of the rocks carefully in his hand and raised his hand to throw it. At the last second he had to duck as Charat threw his rock first. Charat leaned down to pick up another one and Johan suddenly turned away from Charat. He threw a rock as hard as he could at the nearest stick of dynamite. He knew he could defeat Charat in a fight but it was the State he had to defeat. There would be time to deal with Charat after he had done what he came to do.
The rock struck its target and a huge blast ripped the metal wall right to the top. With a loud crashing sound the wall folded on itself and began to tumble down. Some of the metal pieces fell onto the next stick of dynamite and it too exploded. The chain reaction carried on right down the wall and Johan turned back to see the shocked look on Charat's face. His feeling of victory however, turned to horror as he saw the reason for the look on Charat's face. A large piece of the wall was heading straight for them and there was no way that either of them would be able to get out of its path in time.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
There was only one stall open at the market and it hadn't been hard to convince the man to leave. Damon had simply bought his entire stand of processed artificial fruit leathers and the man had left with a huge smile, his work was finished for the day. Damon pushed the stand into an empty alley. Several people wandered into the market but upon seeing nothing to buy they left again.
Half an hour had passed since Johan had left and it wasn't going to be easy to stop the market filling up soon. Kala's thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang that made her and her companions all jump. With horror they watched as the wall at the far end of the marketplace began to tumble down. Several more bangs followed quickly before Kala realised what was happening.
“Johan,” Kala shouted her sudden realisation with a look of horror on her face.
“Grief, he's blown the wall apart,” Damon looked astonished yet
delighted. “Why didn't anyone think of it before?”
“Quick, we must go and see if he's okay,” Kala felt a cold sweat on her forehead as she raced off without waiting for anyone else. She couldn't bear the thought of him being hurt, or worse. She banished such thoughts from her mind as she raced across the empty market, jumping over several pieces of the wall that had fallen there. She couldn't help but notice how thin the wall really was. It wouldn't have taken much to bring it down at all. It had seemed like such an immovable barrier but it was so easily destroyed.
When she reached where the wall had been she didn't even stop to see if it was safe. She leapt into Sector four and scanned the area looking for Johan. With a gasp she finally saw him, trapped under a large section of the wall with only his feet sticking out. There was another pair of legs sticking out the other side of the metal wreckage but Kala didn't recognise them.
“Over here,” Kala turned and motioned Roma and Damon to where Johan lay motionless. “He's stuck.”
She helped push the metal off him and saw the other pair of legs belonged to Charat. Charat immediately jumped up, brushed himself off and with an angry glare at all of them he began to limp back towards Clover Downs.
“Is he okay?” Kala felt her heart would explode if it went any faster. Johan hadn't moved and Damon was leaning over him.
“He's out cold,” Damon told her and then looked up at the sky. “And we'd better get him out of here quickly.”
Kala followed his gaze and shivered as she saw three State Hoverpods heading their way. Kala grabbed hold of Alissa and Katee as Damon and Roma picked up the unconscious Johan and they all hurried back into Sector One. They propped Johan up against a wall in a back alley and listened as the Hoverpod landed. The noise of the explosion had brought people down to the marketplace to see what was happening and they could hear the shocked comments from people when they saw what the wall had been hiding.
From their hiding place they could also hear that half of Clover Downs had come over as well. Kala left Johan being watched by Damon and went to see what was going on. The scene was one she had never though would happen. Level One and Two's stood face to face with Level Ten's and clearly many were shocked.
