‘Will Artie let him help?’ I asked, hoping that he would.
‘I doubt it, Noland killed Artie’s parents.’
Chapter Seventeen
‘Stay back, Hope,’ Purple whispered.
‘Let’s just get this over and done with, shall we?’ I ran around him and sprinted through the centre of the high street. We were in Upper Side a few days after I met Noland.
I was fed up of being treated like a child. I knew nothing about what was going on and it was time I found out. I needed answers and I was going to get them tonight.
We kept silent as our boots hit the concrete. The compound wall was at the end of the street. It was the middle of the night and the Perfects were all tucked up in their beds.
As I got nearer, I pushed out my wings. I didn’t want to fly far, but I needed to get over the wall. Purple drew level with me and we both jumped at the same time. Soaring over, we landed in a crouch on the other side. There was grass below our feet. I paused, taking a moment to pull my wings in. Kneeling on the ground, I sniffed. We didn’t have grass in Lower Side and I loved the feel of it under my fingers.
‘Come on.’ Purple grabbed my waist and hauled me up.
He never did understand my fascination with nature. Stroking my hand where it had touched the grass, I left my good arm out. I was going to need it to escape if we were seen. Keeping my steps light, I followed Purple through the gardens. Up ahead, I eyed the various concrete buildings. Security cameras would be everywhere.
‘Pull your sleeve down.’ Purple stopped me behind a tree.
I brushed my hand over its rough bark, revelling in the texture. Purple’s tut made me stop. Looking down, I tugged my black jacket sleeve down over my cast. The white of it would attract the cameras.
‘Remember what I said. His bedroom is over there.’ Purple pointed to the nearest building. The windows were big. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. I couldn’t wait to get a closer look inside the luxury bedrooms. I nodded at him and we started forward. We crept slowly, our boots silent on the grass. I gasped when I kicked something and it crunched under my boot. Purple looked back at me, but it was too dark to see his face. I had stepped on a snail.
We stayed still for a moment, listening for sounds. There were none. Starting again, we tiptoed forward. I eyed the bedroom window of the room we headed towards. It was in darkness.
A buzzing noise made us freeze.
‘Camera,’ Purple breathed.
I only just heard him as I looked around to find it. Artie had given us the layout of the compound. It surprised me that he had never used it to his advantage before. Clenching my teeth, I remembered that I actually knew nothing about all this.
A low growl leapt out of my throat.
‘What?’ Purple whispered.
‘Nothing. The camera is on the corner of the building to the left. We’re going to have to make a run for it as it swings away.’ I tried not to make too much noise as I spoke.
‘Okay, it’s swinging away now, let’s go.’
I didn’t realise he was going to go that quickly, so I almost tripped over myself. Luckily, I just about managed to stay on my feet as we ran silently over the grass, onto the concrete and onto an outside patio. The windows were French apparently. That’s what Purple had told me. We pressed our backs against the wall on either side of the doors. They were painted white with glass in them. There were two that opened from the middle and out.
There wasn’t much glass on Lower Side. It was too dangerous. Everything was made from plastic. I wanted to touch the glass, but Purple saw me reach out and grabbed my hand. I looked over at him, just making out his frustrated glare in the dark. Waiting until the camera had swung again, I crossed my fingers when Purple pulled the handle of the door. It slid open instantly, making us pause. This was too easy.
‘You can come in,’ a voice from inside said.
I recognised William’s tone and sighed as we walked in. It seemed ages since we had last seen the angel from the Perfect government.
‘How did you know?’ Purple asked once the door was closed behind me.
I didn’t move as I stared around the room. There was a huge soft looking bed with a red duvet cover over it. The curtains were long and thick. A massive television hung on the wall with a dressing table below it. William sat in an armchair in the corner.
‘My good friend, Artie, managed to get a message to me,’ he replied, gesturing for us to sit.
There was another chair near him so Purple took it. I went over to the bed and let the softness of it envelope me as I leaned back against it.
‘Hope,’ Purple snapped.
I stood up and came over, where I sat on the arm of the chair and smiled at William. I couldn’t help it. His charm was just as strong as ever.
‘What can I do for you?’ He looked directly at me.
‘I wanted to talk to you. Purple is only here because he didn’t trust me. He always thinks I’m going to get caught.’
‘That’s because you always do,’ Purple butt in.
‘No, I don’t. Well, not so much anymore, anyway.’
‘Yes, you do. Who had to rescue you when Jason got you caught?’
‘I could’ve got out of…’
William cleared his throat and we both hung our heads. It had been a while since Purple and I had bickered. It was good to almost be back to how we were before Jason.
‘Sorry. That was childish. William, I’m here because I need to know more. Everyone seems to know what’s going on, but I’m clueless.’ I sounded whiny. I hated that.
William sat forward and grinned at me. His flirtatious charm melted away and his angel personality came through. I stared at the light shining in his eyes. Purple could obviously see it, too. He was staring just as hard.
‘I’ve been waiting for this day. You see, Jason and I have been working together since he found you. Being human is a completely different experience from being at home.’ He paused when our eyebrows rose. ‘Up there.’ He pointed towards the ceiling before he cleared his throat. ‘Anyway, it’s a lot harder down here. We have to fight and process all sorts of emotions. You both still have huge amounts of growth to go through.’
I nodded, waiting for him to tell me everything.
‘The thing is, Hope, you’re not supposed to know it all yet. You’ve got to find out for yourself, otherwise you won’t grow. If I tell you the plan, it won’t help the mission. In fact, it may even hinder it.’ He sat back in the chair.
I blinked a few times and frowned.
‘Okay, then tell me about the connections. Artie and my mother. Jason and Artie. What’s going on there?’
A kind smile landed on his lips as he glanced at Purple. I looked over at my friend, tempted to hit out when he shook his head. They were treating me like a child.
‘Don’t you see? This is the plan. Do you think these connections are all just coincidences? Nothing is ever a coincidence, but a planned synchronicity. Everything happens for a reason.’ He shrugged and started to get to his feet.
‘Wait!’
William froze and sat back down.
‘You’re not going to tell me anything? What about me? What can I do to find out about it all?’ A heated surge rushed through me.
Why was he being such hard work? Why did everyone seem to know everything, but I was always left in the dark?
‘Have you asked anyone?’ William said quietly. ‘It’s not my story to tell but maybe the people you are talking about will tell you if you just ask them.’
I went still. His words were like an arrow into the centre of my eyebrows. Purple laughed. I looked at him. William was smiling. I had been so caught up in everything that was going on, I hadn’t even thought about directly asking the people involved. I shook my head and got up to leave. William wasn’t going to give me anything more and I needed to sleep.
‘Will we be seeing you soon?’ I stood with my hands on my hips.
‘Yes. Artie will tell you when you’re needed for t
he trial. It will be in a few days.’ William got to his feet and offered his hand.
I took it, almost stumbling when he pulled me into his arms. The hug was warm as a weird vibration soared through me. I relaxed against him as a soft emotion enveloped my whole being. This was what a true angel felt like.
‘You’re a true angel too, Hope, you’re just not there yet,’ William whispered in my ear. ‘More information will be revealed as you grow into who you are. Be kind to yourself. It’s time to take it slow. Your angel self will start to show more, embrace her. And, embrace the Avoidable part of you too.’
I smiled. William obviously had the same ability of hearing thoughts as Purple. It was really annoying, but I couldn’t get angry.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered back.
Stepping out of his embrace, I followed Purple out of the door. It was time to go back to Lower Side to find out who I really was.
Chapter Eighteen
Opening my eyes, I froze. I was blind. It was pitch black. Why couldn’t I see?
Swallowing, I listened hard. When silence was the only sound, I surveyed my body. My back was pressed against a cold hard surface, my knees curled to the side. I wasn’t where I had fallen asleep the night before. Coughing, I tried to shake my head to clear it. A gritty substance grazed my cheek. The last I remembered, I had fallen asleep in my little room at the theatre.
Clearing my throat, I tried to pull myself up. My head hit something hard above me. Swearing, I ignored the tears that came to my eyes. I had to remain calm. Reaching out, I traced what felt like rock under my fingers. My stomach rolled as my hands moved around the small space. I was in a hole or cave of some sort. The thumping of my heart vibrated in my chest as the air grew heavier. If I wasn’t careful, I would suck all the air out of the hole and kill myself.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on slowing my breath. Once I had a better control of my senses, I opened my eyes again. There was no point in panicking. It would only make things worse.
Spotting a tiny bit of light, I shuffled forward, placing my hand on the rock near the gap. Heaving, I gasped when the slab gave way slightly.
‘Ah, she must be awake,’ came a very deep voice from outside.
I recognised the sexy voice. It was Noland, the man who had worked for Artie. The rock shifted and I blinked as the sunlight hit me. A big hand grabbed my cast and pulled me out of the hole.
‘Ouch! What are you doing?’ I cried as I was plonked on the floor.
My hair flung forward as I landed on my butt.
‘She’s quite attractive if you ignore the lack of arm,’ another voice said.
I looked up to see the rebel, Leon, looking down at me.
‘You…’ I started.
He cut me off by bending down and placing his hand over my mouth.
‘Don’t say anything, lovely,’ he whispered against my ear. I cringed as his hot breath hit my skin.
‘Leave her alone.’ Noland grabbed hold of Leon’s arm and tugged him away.
I still sat on the ground, cradling my arm to my chest. Noland crouched down in front of me. His blue eyes were actually almost grey as he assessed me. He looked straight through me or maybe it was straight into me. His facial hair was a bit longer than I normally liked, but somehow, with his long plaited braid and the sides of his head shaved, he looked all man.
I wiped my palms on my trousers and cleared my throat. Our eyes were locked and although I wanted to look away, I couldn’t. There was something about the way he looked at me.
‘Noland is a true warrior, Hope, have you ever met one before? They’re from ancient times. There are only a few descendants left. He has the ability to look into your soul and see your truth,’ Leon said.
I tore my eyes away from the true warrior. It may have been too late, but I didn’t want him to see my truth. I didn’t even know my own truth yet. A rough callused hand grabbed my chin as Noland pulled my face back to look at him. He was frowning.
‘Don’t like what you see?’ I sneered, looking everywhere but into his eyes. He laughed and let me go, standing to tower over me.
‘Get up,’ Leon ordered.
Huffing, I glanced around. Great, we were out in the wilderness. The hole I had been in was at the base of a mountain. Lower Side was in the distance. We had to be at the rebel camp.
‘How did you get me here?’
‘I escaped and then injected you.’ Leon started to walk away, holding up his hand and waving for me to follow. I glanced at Noland. His face was now clear of expression.
‘What about the others?’ I followed him as Noland followed me.
His presence was right behind my back. If I stopped, he would walk straight into me. The thought was tempting for a moment. I shook my head and focused on my surroundings. The ground was dirty and desert-like. We were walking around the base of the red mountain.
‘They’re fine. I left them alone,’ Leon called, not looking back.
‘Why did you take me?’ My whole body leaked sweat. I had to swallow a few times. What did they want from me?
The muscles in my back started to vibrate. Gritting my teeth, I was able to stop my wings from popping out. I had no idea what they would do to me if they saw my wings.
‘Because you’re a good bargaining tool. I saw the way that Perfect and the dragon defended you.’
‘Purple?’ Noland said from behind me.
‘Yes.’ Leon threw a glare over his shoulder towards his partner in crime.
We wandered around the corner to a small gap in the red rock. Walking through it, we came into the hollowed out mountain. The walls rose above us, stopping quite low on one side so plenty of light could get in. There were make-shift tents littered about.
All in all, there were about ten little camps and then a big space in the centre where people could sit around. A huge fire was unlit in the middle. Wooden benches were spread out around the fire.
‘That’s where we all gather to talk and sing. The bathroom is over there.’ Leon pointed to another gap in the rock.
It led into a cave, and as we watched, a woman came out. She had wet hair and a smile on her face.
‘Everyone works together here. We cook on our own fires, but sometimes we have huge feasts.’
‘Where do you get the food?’ I asked as we stood and watched the hundred or so people going about their day.
Some of them glanced over and waved at Leon. I looked at him when he didn’t answer. He was watching me. He smiled slightly and tapped his nose. Of course, why would he tell me?
‘You can sleep in my tent if you like,’ Noland whispered into my ear. This time the breath that hit my sensitive lobe made me shiver. It felt good.
‘Don’t be silly, Noland, she’ll have her own tent…and a guard,’ Leon replied, walking off again.
I started after him, fascinated by the way the rebels lived. Washing lines held wet hanging clothes. They were pinned from one corner of a tent to another. Lower Side lacked all the luxuries of Upper Side, but they truly lived like cavemen here.
‘Hope, have you ever seen this many Avoidables live so peacefully, side by side?’ Leon led us to the centre of the camp and gestured for me to sit.
I was so fascinated by my surroundings that the thought of escaping hadn’t even crossed my mind. Looking around me again, I took it all in.
All of them were Avoidables. Some people had missing limbs; some had scars and skin trouble. Some were out of proportion and some even looked normal.
‘No, I haven’t,’ I admitted, noticing how everyone helped one another. Not one Avoidable that I could see looked defensive or aggressive.
‘This is how it should be…but there is one thing missing.’ Leon sat next to me and looked into my eyes. I could sense the passion he felt for his cause.
‘Perfects,’ I said.
Maybe we had more in common than I first thought.
‘Yes, we need to be treated as equal.’ Leon grabbed my hand and squeezed.
Something
in his gaze told me that he knew something about me. I thought back to the scene in the theatre when Jason’s dad had come and threatened me. Instead of sticking up for me and hanging around, Jason had dragged his dad out of there. I knew it was his way of protecting me, but a lump came to my throat. This man understood me.
‘Why did you bomb the compound?’ It totally went against what he was preaching.
‘It got the reaction I hoped for. I had heard whispers that the government had some good guys on their team and planned to push them into negotiation. This worked even better.’ Leon stood up as a cross-breed, who I didn’t recognise, came over to us. He looked normal apart from the thin see-through wings on his back. They looked like insect wings.
‘He’s a fly breed, but we have no idea what kind or how,’ Noland whispered into my ear.
I heard laughter and turned to see a bunch of kids with the same type of wings staring at me. They ranged from the ages of three to ten and each one of them smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back. Children on Lower Side were kept indoors as much as possible to keep them out of danger.
They all squealed and ran off, playing with each other as they went. It was so good to see them so carefree.
‘They breed a lot,’ Noland whispered again, chuckling in my ear.
I turned and looked into those blue/grey eyes. He wore that half grin, where one corner of his lip went into his cheek. Catching me studying him, he looked away from me. His eyes were heavy lidded but watchful. That’s why they were so attractive. He saw right through you, yet looked uninterested at the same time. He kept an eye on Leon and the winged man as they spoke.
‘Like what you see?’ he said quietly as Leon excused the man and he walked away. I swallowed and shook my head. Noland stood and laughed out loud.
‘Noland, we need to…’ Leon started.
‘Noland!’ a woman called.
He turned and looked over at her. She had long blonde hair down to her waist and a flowy dress down to her feet. She exuded femininity. Frowning, I looked down at my plain masculine trousers and top. They were black as usual. When I looked at everyone’s clothes, I noticed that they all wore lighter colours. Khaki, cream and orange.
Avoidables Page 9
