20 Years Later

by Emma Newman

  Titus strained his eyes looking into the darkness in the direction Radley said they would approach from. When two figures came into view, one being half carried, half dragged by the other, he took a step forward.

  “It’s Lyssa!” he said to Callum after only a moment.

  Callum nodded and watched their approach.

  Lyssa looked barely conscious. The figure supporting her seemed to be male and one of the Guardians, judging by his black clothing that did indeed camouflage him almost perfectly in the darkness. He too appeared to be wearing some kind of helmet, but much less cumbersome than Radley’s.

  “Go now,” Callum whispered to Titus.

  Titus reluctantly backed off before forcing himself to turn away from his sister and run down the road to Zane and Jay. As soon as he reached them, the three of them increased their pace, Jay leading them back to safer territory.

  When they reached the first crossroads, Titus paused to look behind him, noting that Radley was walking away from Callum who was now holding Lyssa and moving slowly backwards towards the door of the building. Just as Titus was about to continue, there was a yell from up on the roof, and then a volley of arrows loosed in the direction of the Guardian whom Titus could no longer see.

  The night was illuminated by three arcs of lightning ripping through the air towards the roof. Titus cried out in despair as chaos erupted, blinking rapidly to try to see past the glowing afterimages left by the lightning. Jay grabbed his collar and yanked Titus round the corner, pulling him along roughly.

  “C’mon, c’mon!” he was yelling, Zane sprinting alongside him.

  At first Titus was dragged, but then he regained his senses and ran too, the three of them hurtling through alleyways and shadowy side streets lit by sporadic blue flashes in the distance.

  Sometimes they heard shouting but it quickly faded, the loudest noise becoming that of their panting breaths. Soon they were back at Jay’s territory, a line of Boys armed with makeshift weapons and knives waiting for them. When Jay was sighted a loud cheer went up and they closed around their returned hero.

  “Stay smart-sharp, lads,” Jay panted, bracing his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath. “May be more from the Unders comin’ our way. And watch out for Callum. He’ll be carrying someone–make sure he gets here safe.”

  The Boys dispersed to pre-arranged positions along the edge of the territory. Jay turned to Zane, who was shaking violently, and clapped him on the back. “Safe now, Zane, s’alright now.”

  Zane only nodded, also panting hard, and then noticed Titus’ face, wracked with worry as he stared out in the direction they’d just run from, desperate for any sign of Callum. Zane went over and put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Callum will bring her, Titus, he will,” he said softly but Titus didn’t answer.

  When they had caught their breath, Jay insisted that they moved away from the border, but Titus would only move to the end of the street they were on, eyes still scanning the darkness.

  Like a distant storm, the sky was lit intermittently by flashes of bright blue, but gradually it became less frequent and didn’t seem to move much closer to where they waited.

  The minutes ticked by and Titus started to pace. Zane sat on the edge of the kerb whilst Jay stayed nearby to direct wayward Boys to places where they could form a more useful defence. But none of the Guardians were sighted, and Jay began to relax.

  “I reckon they’ve given up,” he said and Zane nodded.

  A familiar figure emerged from the end of a row of houses across the street and Titus ran over calling “Lyssa!” to the person cradled in Callum’s arms.

  Lyssa appeared to have the fragility of china, her face gaunt and white, her body painfully thin, making her skull seem larger, especially with her hair now cut very short. She was unconscious, and it was hard to make out her shallow breaths through the pale blue pyjamas that she wore. Titus took in her image wide-eyed. Even though he’d seen her in the dream, it hadn’t fully prepared him for how she looked now.

  “Let’s get her into the warm,” Callum said softly and Titus merely nodded.

  Lyssa was soon laid on Miri’s sofa with the fire built up and candles lit around the room. Jay hovered near the door, dividing his attention between looking out onto the garden cautiously and seeing how Lyssa fared.

  Miri was boiling water for tea, leaving Zane to inspect the patient whilst Titus held his sister’s hand as if it were a delicate piece of fine crystal. Callum watched from the corner near the window, also keeping an eye outside.

  “Is any of that stuff in her?” Titus asked nervously.

  Zane nodded, staring intently at Lyssa’s left arm. “Not much, though. And it’s in her arm, not her lungs.”

  Titus swallowed hard. “Is she going to die?”

  The timorous quality of his friend’s normally calm voice made Zane look at him and smile. “No, Titus, but she needs lots of looking after. She’s not very well.”

  Titus allowed himself to relax just a fraction, watching as Zane moved the sleeve up Lyssa’s arm, revealing a cluster of pinpricks and bruising at the inside of her elbow. He quickly lowered the sleeve again.

  “There’s Erin!” Jay cried and opened the front door as Erin stumbled in, immediately followed by Luthor, who had barely broken into a sweat.

  “We did it!” she cried, seeing Titus holding Lyssa’s hand. She punched the air triumphantly. “Yes! Oh Titus, you should’ve seen us. They sent loads more of those people, and there was lightning all over the place, and I got one of them right in the face, didn’t I, Dad?”

  Luthor nodded, patting her shoulder. “You did well,” he said and she looked as if she might burst.

  It was only then that Erin detected the sombre atmosphere in the room. “Will she be alright?” she asked quietly, trying to contain her exuberance.

  Zane nodded. “Yes,” he replied, but didn’t elaborate.

  When he looked back at Lyssa, his strange perception revealed the extent of her trauma. All over her body, patches of the blue aura around her were barely visible; there was extensive scarring over parts of her abdomen and evidence of healing after surgery of some kind. Zane didn’t dare lift the fabric to see with his normal sight, as he didn’t want Titus to see it. But of most concern to Zane were the black veins running through her arm. They seemed dormant, less aggressive than those that had been in the new boy’s lungs, but it still disturbed him.

  Zane resolved to deal with this when people had calmed down and when Titus finally went to sleep, whenever that would be, not wanting to upset him anymore.

  “I will patrol the square, at least until dawn,” Luthor said to Erin. “Stay here, in case the worst happens.”

  “Could they have followed you back?” Miri asked.

  “Unlikely, but possible,” he replied. “Best to be cautious. Erin, keep an eye out at the window. When David is rested he’ll relieve you.”

  Erin went straight to the window and positioned herself to watch through the gap between the curtain and the wall as Luthor left the house.

  “I’d better get back to the Boys,” Jay told them and slipped out quietly as Miri brewed tea, filling the room with its reassuring aroma. She handed steaming mugs to Callum and Erin, placed one next to Titus who still hadn’t looked away from his sister, and then put one into her son’s hands. After draping a blanket around Titus’ shoulders she went into the kitchen, Callum following her out of the room silently.

  The three friends were left in the room with Lyssa, but no-one spoke. Erin didn’t let her attention drop from the window and Titus studied Lyssa’s features for any sign of consciousness. Zane sat in the armchair, watching Titus’ vigil. He wondered how Dr Radley was, whether she had recovered from her ordeal. Guilt twisted his stomach when he thought about how terrified she’d been. As he regarded Titus now, he tried to decide whether his actions had been right or wrong. At the time, he’d been horrified at how he spoke to Radley, how brutal his threats were. But it had worke
d: Lyssa was with them now, he couldn’t deny that. Did that make it alright?

  Erin shifted position and sighed quietly, stealing Zane’s attention away from Titus. He still hadn’t quite come to terms with what Erin had done to that Gardner. It felt like it happened months before, but it had only been a couple of days. Luthor didn’t seem to know about Doug’s death, nor Erin’s role in it. Zane wondered how he would react if he knew his daughter had killed a Gardner. He’d probably be pleased, he realised. Jay and the Boys were pleased and Titus didn’t seem bothered by it at all, so why did it upset him so? He thought about the moment when she killed him and shuddered.

  Callum’s voice was so deep that its resonance carried sound without words through the kitchen door. He wondered what he was saying to his mother, reminding him of what Doug had said to Erin that made her lose control. If someone was hurting his mum, would he kill, even though he’d sworn always to save lives?

  Chapter 28

  DEATH OF A HERO

  Several hours later, long after Callum had left and Miri had fallen asleep in front of the fire, Lyssa woke with a start.

  “Lyssa, I’m here, you’re safe,” Titus said rapidly, stirring Zane from his dozing. Even though his muscles ached and various parts of his body had gone numb, Titus hadn’t moved from her side.

  Lyssa blinked at her brother with the same violet eyes as his. They looked large in their sunken hollows, her cheeks drawn and as bleached as her lips. After a brief hint of relief, her expression contorted with pain and she clutched her left arm.

  “Titus,” she croaked with a thin voice. “How …? Where …? Oh God, my arm hurts so much.”

  She drew it into her body, curling around the limb and losing herself in obvious agony as Zane hurried over, staring at the arm, the same one in which he’d seen the black matter. At the sound of his movement, Lyssa’s eyes opened again and she stared at Zane with open suspicion.

  “I’m Zane,” he said gently, “Titus is my friend. I know why your arm is hurting, so will you let me help you?”

  She shook her head, shrinking away from him. “No, no, stay back,” she gasped and looked at Titus with terrified eyes. “He’s in with them, Titus! He looks like one of them … keep him away!”

  Titus shook his head and put his hands on her shoulders. “He isn’t the one that hurt you,” he began. After a pause, he glanced at Miri and then turned back to Lyssa. “I’ll explain some other time. For now, just trust me. Zane can help–he’s my friend.”

  Lyssa searched Titus’ face with desperation. It was clear that what he’d said hadn’t convinced her, but the pain was such that she relented and nodded to Zane.

  Titus moved aside for his friend to take his place. Carefully, and with movements that were deliberately slow, Zane placed his hands on Lyssa’s arm and stared at it, into it.

  “Mum, can you get me a pot with a lid and give it to Titus? Lyssa, you need to keep still and maybe shut your eyes.”

  Lyssa watched Miri return with a small lidded saucepan and hand it to Titus, who removed the lid. Zane coaxed Lyssa into extending her left arm towards him with a gentle pull. “I’m watching you,” she said, her jaw tight. “Titus, don’t let him stick any needles in me.”

  “Shhh,” Titus whispered and moved the pot underneath Lyssa’s elbow at Zane’s mumbled instruction.

  Within moments, the pinpricks in the inside of Lyssa’s elbow began to bulge slightly, eliciting a horrified gasp from both Miri and Lyssa.

  “What’s happening!” Lyssa shrieked and tried to pull back, but Zane’s grip was firm and his concentration intense.

  “He’s getting some bad stuff out of you,” Titus replied, “Let him do it.”

  Lyssa stopped struggling and watched aghast, as thick black liquid oozed from the holes in her skin, each black thread joining with the others to form creeping rivulets that slithered down her arm towards the pan held underneath. The substance poured like treacle into the pot as Zane trembled with effort.

  It didn’t take long before the last of it was out and Titus slammed the lid onto the pot at Zane’s nod. Miri, having seen the substance before, had found some thick twine and tied the lid onto the pot tightly as Zane slumped against the sofa.

  Lyssa was staring at him as she experimentally moved her arm. “It feels better,” she said quietly and Zane smiled sleepily.

  When Miri had finished, Titus put the pot on the floor in front of him and rested a knee on top as he knelt forward to embrace his sister. They held each other tightly, silently, long enough for Miri to build up the fire and put a kettle of water on the trivet to boil.

  Titus finally pulled away and kissed Lyssa on the cheek. “I’ll take this outside, then we need to talk,” he said. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here.” He pointed at Miri. “This is Miri. She’s Zane’s mum and she’ll take care of you.” He then pointed at Erin. “That’s Erin by the window–she helped you escape. Zane did too.”

  Erin nodded briefly, keen to stay focused on her task. Despite Miri’s warm smile, Lyssa’s suspicion was still apparent. Titus picked up the pan and hurried out of the house.

  Miri was pouring tea when he returned, Lyssa now sitting up and wrapped in a blanket, watching her every movement. Zane hadn’t moved but he was still awake. Titus returned to his sister’s side and she scooped his hand into her own.

  “This is Miri’s house,” Titus told her. Lyssa nodded, staring at the steaming mug that Miri had placed into her free hand. Titus smiled. “That’s tea. It’s nice–you should try it.”

  Lyssa blinked at him, dazed, and then out of nowhere, the shakes began. Titus took the mug away and then wrapped his arms around her as she shivered uncontrollably. Less than a minute later, she pulled away from him, wiping at her eyes with trembling hands as she apologised.

  “It’s okay,” Zane said softly. “Something horrible happened to you. It’s probably shock.”

  Lyssa shook her head. “It isn’t that,” she said, her voice wavering. She looked at Titus. “It’s the others, the ones that are still there … I can’t stop thinking about them, about Eve and …” She covered her face with her hands and shook violently as Titus looked on helplessly. He wasn’t used to this; after everything that had happened that night, this was the most frightening: his sister so weak and vulnerable. He breathed in and out, moving his emotions to one side as he focused on her and her needs. Keeping that worry inside wasn’t going to help.

  “Tell us about them,” he said. “Tell us what happened to you. We … I need to know.” He watched Lyssa look at the others in the room uncomfortably and so he added, “They looked after me … and they helped get you back, so they should know too.”

  Lyssa dropped her hands into her lap. “I don’t know where to start. How long have I been gone?”

  “Nearly two months,” Titus replied and Lyssa’s mouth fell open. Titus quickly realised something was wrong. “You didn’t know it was that long?”

  She shook her head. “No. I thought … a couple of weeks, maybe. I don’t remember … maybe it was because I was asleep a lot.”

  Zane couldn’t help but look at her stomach, remembering the scarring, but he said nothing.

  Lyssa’s eyes glazed over as she stared at the floor ahead of her. “Tell us about Eve,” Titus prompted, putting the warm cup back into her hands.

  “Eve … Eve was wonderful. She visited me in the room they kept me in. She could unlock the door. I don’t know how– she didn’t know either.” Titus noted how just mentioning Eve’s name seemed to calm her.

  Erin turned her attention back into the room at hearing this. “You were kept locked in a room?” she asked and Lyssa nodded. “If this Eve could unlock the door, why didn’t you escape?”

  “I was too sick a lot of the time,” Lyssa replied.

  “Was she sick?” Erin asked.

  “Sometimes,” Lyssa replied. “Not as much as me.”

  “So why didn’t she escape?” Titus asked.

  Lyssa smiled to herself
. “I told her to lots of times. I begged her to. But she wouldn’t leave us all behind. She told me that there were lots of children there, all prisoners like me.”

  “That’s terrible!” Miri cried. “Why on earth would anyone do that?”

  “Eve said that we were being experimented on. She’d heard some of the ones in the yellow suits talking about trials on the ‘Compound’ but we couldn’t figure out what that meant. Oh, and she told me they talked about It too. They said everyone died because of something in the air, some kind of disease, and some people were immune or something. And the thing that killed everyone was still in the air, and that’s why they have to wear those funny suits when they go outside and when they came to see us.” Her voice trailed off and she started shivering again.

  Titus barely seemed to take this in. “If she knew all that and could go in and out of locked doors, she must have been in the Unders’ gang.”

  “Unders?” Lyssa shook her head. “I don’t know who they are but she wasn’t in any gang. She hated them and was just as scared of them as I was.”

  “The Unders is the name of the gang that took you,” Zane explained.

  “They might be called Hex,” Titus added.

  Lyssa shuddered. “Yes, Hex, that’s the name of the place, I think, or maybe the people that run it. I heard it a lot when … when they came.”

  “Who?” Titus asked, but he knew as soon as Lyssa’s eyes flicked to Zane.

  “The ones in the suits and … the one that looks like him.” She pointed at Zane.

  Miri, who had been sitting on the arm of Erin’s chair, stood up. “What?”

  Seeing Zane’s panic, Titus hurriedly said, “Tell us about the ones in the suits,” in a futile attempt to deflect Miri’s attention, but it was too late.

  Lyssa looked at Zane, then at Miri and back at her son again. “Oh hell …” she muttered. “He’s your father, isn’t he?”