Everything she’d ever learned about the Collodius Process made it clear that it was one of the worst ideas ever to be unleashed on the world. The Flood had drowned cities, changed coastlines, killed millions of people, and destroyed ecosystems. It had been one of the worst ecological disasters to hit the planet since the extinction of the dinosaurs. And the Admiralty—the Admiralty!—were considering unleashing it again?
‘At first, Spinner thought they were trying to find ways to stop it. But gradually he realised the Admiralty actually wanted their own device. And that’s when he started to get worried. The original device had been destroyed; did we really want to create another one? The scientists questioned the direction of the research and recommended the program be shut down.’
‘The Admiralty said no, right?’ Will said dryly.
‘You got it. Then the scientists heard a rumour the top brass were going to shut them down and replace them with a new team. That’s what made Spinner decide to do it.’
‘Do what?’ Annalie asked.
‘What they said he did: steal the research.’
Annalie’s mouth fell open.
‘Spinner believed the research they were doing was making the world a more dangerous place. He didn’t trust the Admiralty to use that research responsibly. So he and his colleagues took the key elements of it and disappeared.’
He paused. ‘I didn’t know about any of this Collodius stuff at the time. All I knew was my mate Spinner worked at the Ministry of Science. Then one day I woke up and found out he’d gone away to work on a research project that was so secret he couldn’t even tell me his address, and all his communications were censored. I didn’t see him for a year. Then suddenly he popped up again. He was on the run and he needed my help to go off-grid. So I helped. It was only later that he told me about what had actually been going on.’
The children sat there for a while, stunned.
‘So he really is a thief,’ Annalie murmured.
‘No he isn’t,’ Will protested. ‘Not really.’
‘To use an old-fashioned term,’ Art said, ‘he’s a conscientious objector. He did something that he believed was right, for the greater good of humanity. Only problem is, the Admiralty doesn’t see it in quite the same light.’
The children all fell silent, considering this.
‘So Spinner really is in terrible trouble, isn’t he?’ Annalie said.
‘Yes, he is,’ Art said gravely.
‘Is there any way out of this?’
‘For you, or for him?’
‘Both.’
Art sighed. ‘I wish I knew. All I can think is, maybe, just maybe, if Spinner gave up that research, they might be satisfied. After all, it’s the research they really want.’
‘You reckon?’ Will said sceptically. ‘You haven’t met the guy who’s after us. It seems pretty personal with him. I reckon he wants to hang Spinner out to dry for making them look like idiots.’
‘And why would Spinner change his mind and give them back the research, after all this time?’ Annalie asked. ‘If it was a bad idea to let them have it then, surely it’s still a bad idea now?’
Art shrugged. ‘Look, I don’t know what’s in Spinner’s mind. Maybe it is a bad idea and it’s better if the research stays hidden. But I’ll tell you what I see. Your old life, that’s gone. Your home’s wrecked, Spinner’s business is wrecked. He’s been separated from the two of you. Annalie, you’ve run away from school, after everything he did to get you into that place. And you all could have been killed or kidnapped twenty times over just getting here.’
‘Or eaten,’ murmured Pod.
‘And for what?’ Art continued. ‘Some piece of research, which may not even mean anything without the rest of it. Is that research really worth all this trouble? Is it worth risking the lives of his kids for?’
Annalie was silent, troubled. She didn’t like the light that this shone on her father.
Neither did Will. ‘He didn’t ask us to come,’ he protested, in defence of Spinner. ‘It was our choice. And we didn’t die, and we didn’t get kidnapped. We made it here safe and sound.’
‘You were lucky,’ Art said flatly. He paused. ‘When you do see Spinner again, I reckon you should ask him. Is all this really worth it?’
Destinations
That night, the children gathered in the spare room, which had been set up for Pod and Will. (Annalie and Essie were to sleep in Daisy’s room, and Daisy had been moved in with Alice.)
‘I never really thought it might be true,’ Annalie said.
‘It’s not true, because he’s not a thief. He’s a hero,’ Will said.
‘That does sort of depend on your point of view, though, doesn’t it?’ Essie said cautiously. ‘Whatever his reasons were, it was a top-secret project. And he did know what he was getting into.’
‘What should he have done then?’ Will said fiercely. ‘Let them go on with research that could have destroyed the world for the second time?’
‘For all we know, they found a different bunch of scientists and finished the research,’ Annalie sighed. ‘The real question now is what do we do?’
‘We go on,’ Will said unhesitatingly. ‘We’ve got those addresses. And now we know what they are.’
‘What are they?’ Essie asked.
‘They’re where the other scientists live, obviously,’ Will said. ‘Maybe one of them will know where Spinner is.’
‘No, wait,’ Annalie said. ‘We can’t just keep sailing on around the world indefinitely. What about Pod and Essie?’
Will looked at her and frowned, then turned to look at Essie and Pod. ‘What about them?’
‘We’ve dragged them far enough,’ Annalie said. ‘Uncle Art’s right about one thing. We were lucky to get this far without anything too terrible happening. We can’t keep pushing our luck.’
‘I got no home,’ Pod said, his face closing down into ferocity.
‘You don’t know that for sure. If we asked Flood Relief to start looking, they might be able to find your family again.’ Annalie turned to Essie. ‘And what about you? If you could go home now, would you?’
Essie didn’t answer, but her silence had a conflicted look about it that made Annalie think she possibly did want to go home.
‘You signed up to come this far,’ Annalie said to her, ‘and we made it. But maybe it’s time to go back now.’
‘Would you come with me?’ Essie asked.
All eyes were on Annalie now.
‘I’d have to think about that,’ she said.
It was strange to spend a night sleeping on beds that didn’t move with the swell. In the morning, Rene put everything they owned into the wash, while Annalie and Art sailed the Sunfish around to the marine repairer in the town.
‘How soon do you think you can have her fixed?’ she asked, when the man had finished looking at the damage.
‘Day after tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Three days at the latest.’
‘Are you in a hurry?’ Art said, not quite joking.
‘Course not,’ Annalie said lightly.
They left the marine repair shop and walked back towards the slip where Art’s dinghy was berthed. ‘Suppose Essie wanted to go back to school,’ Annalie said casually. ‘How would she go about it?’
Art raised his eyebrows at this, but all he said was, ‘There’s a passenger service that leaves for Dux every Wednesday,’ he said. ‘It’s not glamorous, and it’s a bit slow, but it’s usually safe. I think it stops in both Southaven and Port Fine, and she could take a train the rest of the way. You both could.’ He stopped walking, turning towards the town. ‘We could go and ask about tickets if you want.’
‘No,’ Annalie said. ‘I was just wondering. Thanks.’
Back at the house, Will watched Pod sitting up a tree, talking grumpily to Graham and refusing to come down. He was clearly ill at ease in the house, and eventually Will decided he’d better find out why.
He limped out and stood at the foot of the tre
e. ‘Are you planning to come down any time soon?’ he called.
Pod peered down at him through the leaves. ‘Why?’
‘You’ve been lurking up there for ages,’ Will said.
‘I’m not lurking,’ Pod said, scowling.
‘Then come down here.’
Will waited while Pod swung down from the tree, and said, ‘Is something the matter?’
Pod said nothing.
‘Why are you being so weird?’
There was another long silence, then Pod said. ‘I don’t want to go to no camp.’
‘Camping good!’ Graham said. ‘Tent. Guitar. Trees.’ Graham had been on their family camping trips. Spinner used to bring a guitar with him and they’d sing old songs around the campfire, Graham squawking along.
‘It’s not that kind of camp,’ Will explained, for Graham’s benefit. ‘Why do you think we’re going to send you to a camp?’
‘People with no papers get sent to a camp,’ Pod said stubbornly.
‘No one’s trying to get rid of you,’ Will said.
‘Will not get rid of Pod!’ Graham shouted.
‘Isn’t that what I just said?’ Will said, frustrated. ‘I want you to stick around. Annalie probably does too, she just thinks we should give you an escape clause.’
‘A what?’
‘A way out.’
‘Graham wants escape clause!’
Will ignored Graham. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening, then said, ‘Look, don’t tell Art and Rene, but as soon as we get the boat back, I’m out of here. Annalie and Essie can stay or go, it’s up to them, but I’m going on.’ He paused. ‘I really hope you’ll come with me.’
‘We find Spinner?’ Graham asked hopefully.
‘Yes,’ Will said. ‘But Graham, not a word about this to anyone, okay? It’s a big secret.’
‘Big secret,’ Graham repeated, bobbing up and down.
‘You with me?’ Will asked Pod.
A smile spread across Pod’s face. He nodded.
Annalie and Essie sat on one of the wide verandas, swinging gently backwards and forwards on an old porch swing. ‘You could go back, you know,’ Annalie said. ‘There’s a passenger ship that goes once a week. We could book you a passage under a false name and we could let your dad’s lawyers know you were coming so they could make sure you get picked up safely at the other end.’
Essie looked at her in surprise. ‘You’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?’
Annalie looked embarrassed. ‘I just feel bad about what I put you through. Anything could have happened to us. We’ve finally got a chance to send you home, and I think we should take it.’
Essie was silent for a long moment, then said, in a slightly wobbly voice, ‘Don’t you want me here any more?’
‘Of course I want you!’ Annalie said. ‘Haven’t you been listening? You’re my best friend, of course I want you around. But I don’t want to put you in any more danger. You’ve got a family back home, you should go to them.’
Essie ducked her head, full of troubles. ‘I don’t even know what I’d be going back to,’ she mumbled. ‘Dad’s out for now on bail, but what if he gets convicted? And there’s no way I’m going to live with mum and her new boyfriend. Even if she wanted me, which I doubt.’
‘They’re still your parents,’ Annalie said. ‘They’ll work something out. They have to.’
‘Why don’t you come with me?’ Essie suggested.
‘I can’t,’ Annalie said.
‘But if we ask the lawyers to help, maybe they can protect you—’
‘I can’t go back. I’ve got nowhere to go. Even if Triumph wanted me back, I wouldn’t be safe there. As long as Beckett’s hunting Dad, I’m always going to be a pawn in the game.’
‘So now what? What are you going to do next?’
‘I don’t know,’ Annalie sighed. ‘Wait. Hope that Spinner turns up. Because I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t.’
Two days passed. Will was anxious to go into town and check on the Sunfish. ‘They said it might be ready today, right?’
‘They did,’ Art said, ‘but I can’t take you today. I’ve got to go and check my instruments. It’ll probably take me most of the day.’
‘But—’
‘This is my work, Will. I can’t neglect it because you want to go to town.’
‘And besides,’ Rene said, more conciliatory, ‘what difference will a day make really?’
‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ Art said. ‘Like I said, you and your boat are perfectly safe here.’
The four of them spent a restless day, waiting. Essie, in particular, had a lot to think about. She went back through all the messages she’d received from both her parents, reading between the lines, worrying about what she should do. On the one hand she knew her parents missed her—she missed them, too—and the only sensible thing to do was to jump on the very next boat and head straight for home. She thought about all the things she’d missed, like hair conditioner and hot showers, chocolate and new clothes.
But then she thought about everything she’d seen and done with Annalie and the others. Even though it had often been frightening and dangerous, it had also been exhilarating. She’d done things she’d never imagined she was capable of until she joined the crew of the Sunfish: had adventures, taken risks, experienced true, dizzying, terrifying freedom. The next boat doesn’t go until Wednesday, she reminded herself, torn. I’ve still got time before I have to decide.
After dinner that night, Annalie and Pod helped with the dishes, and when the work was done, they walked into the living room where Art was sitting with the younger children. Alice was playing with something; it took Annalie a moment to realise what it was.
‘Where did you get that?’ she said, her voice louder than she intended.
Alice looked up guiltily and burst into tears.
She was playing with Lolly. Annalie had brought the doll all the way from school, stuffed in the bottom of her backpack.
‘Alice, give it back!’ roared one of the brothers.
‘No!’ Alice shouted.
The boy tried to grab it from her, Alice resisted, there was a brief but intense tussle as they tried to drag it from each other, Art remonstrating unsuccessfully—and then Lolly separated.
Lolly’s legs were in the boy’s hand.
Lolly’s head was in Alice’s fist.
Lolly’s torso, ripped open, dangled.
And something fell out.
For a moment they all stared at the object that had fallen to the floor. Annalie was the first to scoop it up.
It was a memory chip.
‘What’s that?’ Art asked, trying to sound casual.
‘It’s mine,’ Annalie said.
‘Are you sure?’ Art said. ‘It looks old. They haven’t looked like that for years. Since before you were born.’
The noise had brought the others into the room: Rene, Will, Essie.
Will was the first to say it. ‘That’s it, isn’t it? It’s what they’ve been looking for.’
Art got up from the couch. ‘Annalie, give it to me.’
‘No!’ Annalie said.
Instinctively, the other three drew closer to her, forming a protective pack around her.
‘They’re not interested in you. They only want the research,’ Art said.
‘How do you know?’ Annalie said.
‘Because I already know everything. They warned me you were coming here. They’ve known for weeks this was where you’d come.’
Will and Annalie looked at each other, eyes wide.
‘It’s going to be all right,’ Art said. ‘They only want the research. If they can get that, they’re not interested in you.’
‘But they think we can lead them to Spinner!’ Annalie said.
‘They hoped you would, but you can’t. You don’t have any more idea of where he is than I do,’ Art said.
‘We have to get out of here,’ Will said.
‘There’s no point,’ Art said. ‘They’re coming for you. They’re already on their way.’
‘You sold us out?’ Annalie cried, appalled.
Art looked wretched. ‘They already knew!’ he said. ‘Don’t you understand? I work for them!’
‘You work for the Weather Bureau!’ Annalie objected.
‘And who do you think controls the Weather Bureau?’ Art said. ‘If I didn’t tell them you’d arrived I would have lost my job, the house—’
‘I thought we could trust you,’ Annalie said.
‘Forget him,’ Will said. ‘Get your stuff. We’re leaving.’
Annalie scooped up the pieces of Lolly, and she and Essie ran to their room to collect their things.
‘You can’t go,’ Art said. ‘It’s too late.’
‘We’ve outrun them before, we can do it again,’ Will said. ‘Come on Pod.’
Will and Pod hurried out the front door and went careering through the moonlit garden, down the path and out to the jetty where Art’s little motorboat waited. Soon, Annalie and Essie followed, breathless, carrying bags and bundles. It was all they had in the world, and it wasn’t much.
Art and Rene ran after them, in a last desperate attempt to talk them into staying. As the children climbed into the dinghy and began to manoeuvre away, Art and Rene called to them from the end of the jetty.
‘We can protect you!’ Rene called. ‘Please come back!’
‘How could we ever trust you again?’ Annalie cried.
‘They’re going to come after you,’ Art called. ‘They’ll never stop looking for you. The Admiralty will find you wherever you go.’
But their voices were blown away by the wind, drowned by the roar of the engine.
‘Let them try!’ Will shouted.
The four of them looked out at the silky dark water lit by a wide ribbon of moonlight, half-expecting to see an Admiralty ship come sliding towards them. But the sea was quiet and empty.
They roared up the coast and around the headland towards the town. They sailed directly into the marine repair slip. It was closed for the night, of course, but the moonlight was bright enough to see by.
Escape to the Moon Islands: Quest of the Sunfish 1 Page 23
