Arcadia

by L. J. Higgins

  By lunchtime thick clouds had drifted above us and a light drizzle of rain had set in. How the morning could start out so clear and the day turn so miserable I had no idea. Richy said it was common in these parts and all we could do was hope the sun trying to peek through the clouds would chase the rain away.

  Huddled under trees to avoid the rain we all took a moment to rest and have a bite to eat. Fletcher was talking to Braven, Richy and Baxter about our journey, giving Seth a chance to seek me out for the first time since our ordeal with Slitter and Cronk.

  He sat beside me. “How are you feeling?”

  “My legs much better today.”

  “Good. And everything else?” he pressed.

  “I'm good,” I replied with a curious glance. “Why?”

  “Everything we went through in the city… What Slitter did… I'm sorry if I'd known my plan would lead to…”

  I hated the way the memory sent a shiver down my spine. “Forget it. We're safe now and you freed us all. That's what matters.”

  “Ebony said she told you we were born in the city.” He picked at a piece of grass.

  I relaxed at the change of subject. “Yeah, she did. I guess the city is where our lives started down completely different paths.” And now brought us a little closer together.

  “They sure did. You got to escape to the floating cities and we had to fight for our lives,” he said.

  I tightened my jaw. “It's not like I had a choice. I didn't know I had another family until a few months ago.”

  He raised his palms in defence. “I didn't mean to offend you. For a long time I was angry at you. Angry at the strangers who'd taken my sister but left my family behind to die. But seeing your reaction in your dad's hut when he revealed you had a twin…”

  “I guess our parents thought they were doing the right thing. I can't say if they did or didn't. I may have had a mother who didn't want me, but dad did, despite all of the time he spent away.”

  “It's kind of weird how I grew up knowing about you but you didn't know mum, dad and I existed. Did you have any idea something wasn't right?”

  “I didn't fit in if that's what you mean.”

  “I'm sorry about everything I put you through at the Freedom Camp.” He hung his head, staring at the ground.

  “I can't speak for Braven, but I think I can forgive you. I didn't realise the control Brent had over you.”

  “Control? He doesn't control me.” His nostrils flared as he lifted his head.

  “Oh, I didn't mean…”

  “But it's what you think isn't it. You think he makes me do all this stuff like I'm some mindless zombie. Well, he might ask, but I do it to thank him and to serve God. They were the two people who were there for me when I was completely alone in the world. He gave me strength, safety and a purpose. Everything he does is for the good of God.”

  We'd finally been getting somewhere but there was Brent, getting in the way again. “How old were you when Brent found you?” I asked in an attempt to calm him.

  He took a deep breath before answering. “Nine. I'd stumbled across one of his safe houses and was discovered by scouts a few days later. They took me back to camp and Brent took me in as his own.”

  “You okay?” asked Fletcher, interrupting our conversation.

  “I better get my stuff together,” said Seth, rising from the ground and dusting off his backside.

  We exchanged a quick glance before he left and Fletcher dropped beside me.

  “What was that about?” he asked, looking after Seth.

  “Nothing much, just talking,” annoyance crept into my voice.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Can you stop?” I snapped at him.

  “What?” he jerked his head back.

  “Asking me if I'm okay whenever Seth is around. He's my brother and I'm trying to get to know him. Having you hovering around the whole time makes it harder and awkward. He can't get two words in without you checking on me and scaring him off.”

  “I'm looking out for you.” He looked over to where Seth sat beside Ebony. “I don't trust the guy.”

  “Well, stop.” I rose to my feet. “I'm not a child Fletch, I don't need you to look after me. If whatever this is between us means you start treating me like I'm fragile, I'm done.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  Fletcher got to his feet and stepped towards me. “I don't think you need to be looked after, I don't want your blood connection with this guy to cloud your judgement.”

  I narrowed my eyes, turned abruptly and stalked off, grabbing my bag.

  “Are you guys ready to move?” I asked Braven and Richy.

  “Sure are. Are you okay?” asked Braven.

  I released a loud groan. “Yes, I'm fine. Now can everyone please stop asking me?”

  After a few seconds of vacant stares the other's got back on their feet and we began following Baxter to his airship.

  Baxter was right, and it wasn't long before we spotted the airship in a small clearing through the trees. It was about the size of the one we'd left Utopia on. The one we'd crash landed on earth in.

  “That's the airship?” Maya asked nervously.

  “That's her. There are two crew members inside. You'll have to keep quiet about your mission for now,” said Baxter.

  “How do you know they won't tell anyone about us?” asked Braven.

  “They get paid well for their silence,” he explained.

  “I don't know if I can do this,” Maya paused, her hands trembling.

  “It's going to be okay Maya, it won't be like last time,” I reassured her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

  “Just the sight of it brings it all back, doesn't it. Falling, Alber,” she whispered.

  “We were being shot at and chased. And none of us had ever flown an airship before. We'll be much safer this time around,” I reassured her despite, the fear nestling into my own heart.

  I kept reminding myself I'd hung from the bottom of a helicopter, but it still didn't stop the fear and memories of dropping out of the sky creeping in.

  “You'll have to forgive us, Baxter. We escaped Utopia in an airship and it crash landed on Earth. We survived, but we lost a dear friend,” I explained.

  “I had no idea. If you'd prefer to walk it'll take longer but…” Baxter began.

  “We'll be fine. Take it easy on us okay?” said Vega.

  “Of course, you have my word, we'll get to the military camp safe and sound.” He'd approached Maya and me and was trying to reassure her.

  Maya's shoulders relaxed a little as she resigned herself to having to board the airship.

  She gripped my arm tight, helping me stay strong myself as Baxter called through a panel for the captain to open the hatch. Stepping inside, the cockpit was to our far right and bench seats lined either side of the craft.

  A tall thin lady with short-cropped platinum blonde hair stood to greet us followed by a younger male with his mousey hair twisted into a bun.

  “We didn't think you were coming back,” she said as she approached Baxter and shook his hand.

  “Things went a little different than planned but we're all here and ready to go. I trust you both had a good night's sleep.”

  “A bit rough, but nothing I'm not used to,” she answered.

  “A bit rough? I slept like crap,” said her friend.

  The woman turned towards our group. “I'm Captain Sandy, and this is my co-pilot, Jack. Welcome aboard the Star Rebel.” She shook each of our hands as did her co-pilot.

  “Richy, what a surprise,” she said looking Richy over. “Who did you piss off?”

  Richy's eye had darkened overnight leaving it black and blue.

  “Uhum,” Baxter cleared his throat.

  “Oh right, no questions. It's good to see you, Richy,” she said.

  “You too Sandy. It's been a while.” Richy and Sandy exchanged a smirk and a glance before he ma
de his way to a seat.

  “These guys have had a rough ride on an airship before Sandy, they'd appreciate it if you could make today as smooth as possible,” said Baxter.

  “Of course,” she replied. “Fasten your seatbelts for take-off. You'll be able to remove them once we're in the air.”

  Sandy returned to the cockpit with Jack and began flicking switches and buttons as the aircraft rumbled to life. Waiting for the others to sit, I watched as Fletcher sat beside Maya, and she wrapped her arms around his bicep. On the other side, Ebony sat with Seth, and I decided to take the seat beside him. Disappointment shone in Fletcher's eyes, but he turned his attention back to his sister as I pulled my belt over my shoulder and fastened it. Both Seth and Ebony turned to give me a grin making me feel better about ditching Fletcher. I wasn't angry at him anymore, but I needed some space to think. He didn't trust Seth, and I couldn't blame him. But I wasn't going to find out about him or my parents if I kept him at arm's length.

  The ship rumbled a little louder as it started lifting. I watched the trees and grass disappear through the cockpit window until we could see mountains in the distance. Once we were high enough, the ship lurched forward and we began our journey towards the military camp. Looking at the hills in the distance I was thankful Baxter had found us. My legs were sick of walking and my shoulders were sick of the weight of my backpack now sitting at my feet.

  Ebony sat with a gleam in her eyes as we flew, while Seth white-knuckled the edge of his seat.

  “I'm guessing you guys haven't done this before?” I asked them.

  “No, but it's amazing,” said Ebony.

  “Amazing? It's ridiculous. If God wanted us to fly he would've given us wings,” grumbled Seth.

  I looked at Fletcher who averted his eyes as my gaze met his. I hated I'd upset him, but he needed to trust me.

  “You can take your seatbelts off if you wish. But try not to move around too much okay?” called the pilot.

  I pulled my harness from my shoulders and rested it against the side before leaning back. Everyone else followed suit except for Seth and Maya.

  “I'm leaving mine firmly on. Last time I wasn't wearing it, and, well, you all know what happened.” Maya cringed at the thought.

  “What happened?” asked Ebony.

  “I don't want to know,” groaned Seth.

  Fletcher took it as his opportunity to get back at me. “We crashed to Earth and Maya was thrown a good twenty strides from the airship. I was buried in rubble, Aurora's shoulder popped out and one of our friends didn't make it.” Pleased with himself, Fletcher leant back against the wall crossing his arms until he realised he'd made his sister's fear worse.

  “You're such an ass,” she punched him in the arm and pulled her knees up to her chest.

  “Harsh Fletch,” called Vega.

  “Yeah, what did you say it like that for?” added Braven.

  Fletcher muttered a quiet sorry and hugged his sister tight to his side. I understood exactly why he'd said it, to freak Seth out. And he'd been successful because Seth's hands gripped tighter around the edge of the seat.

  “I'd like to hear more about your life growing up,” I said to him.

  “With mum and dad or at the Freedom Camp?” he asked, his grip relaxing a little.

  “Whichever. I'm curious.”

  “I don't remember anything until I was about four or five. Mum and dad had escaped into the mountains where they found more people who'd fled the floods. I remember spending a lot of time running around on its grassy sides, climbing trees and finding new places to explore. But people grew restless, and one of the families got angry at another for stealing. Anyway, Mum and Dad decided it was time to leave the mountains and return to the city. Only the city wasn't even close to the same place as it was before. It was where the misfits and the low lifes lived and was a dangerous place.”

  I could see he'd reached a part in his story he'd rather not share, especially with the way the rest of the group listened intently. As desperately as I wanted to know what happened to our parents it wasn't the time or place for me to push for more.

  “You told me Brent found you at nine. What was it like growing up in the Freedom Camp?” I asked.

  He looked at me in thanks before speaking. “After being on my own for weeks, possibly months I had a roof over my head again, food on the table and clean water. Brent and Lula took me in as their son but after everything I'd been through he understood what I wanted was solitude, my own space. When I was healthier he set me up in a small hut on my own. I'd train every day in stealth and combat, I learnt about trading, hunting and gathering, and of course about God.”

  Vega rolled her eyes, exchanging a glance with Braven, but Seth didn't appear to notice.

  “You've had quite the life,” said Maya, her feet now back on the floor and more colour in her cheeks.

  “It's been a bit crazy,” he agreed.

  “Almost there, seatbelts on,” called Sandy.

  I pulled my seatbelt back over my shoulder and swallowed hard as a sinking sensation started in my stomach and the ship began its descent.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Through the cockpit window, the camp came into view, we'd landed inside the tall chain-link fences of the compound. Tents were crammed together in front of us much like the camp beneath Eden. The aircraft shuddered as it hit the ground and my limbs relaxed knowing we were safe back on the ground.

  “All clear, we've landed safe and sound. You can take off your seatbelts now. Welcome to the Arcadia Compound,” announced Sandy.

  “Thank you, Sandy,” Baxter replied.

  “My pleasure.” Sandy looked towards Richy as she spoke, who was busy collecting his things.

  Baxter turned to face us. “Grab your things. You'll need to be debriefed by Captain Kormak, then we can get you all settled in before we decide what to do next.”

  “Here we go again,” said Braven.

  “We'll be fine. At least we know these guys are on our side right?” said Vega, giving him a nudge.

  “Let's hope so,” I added.

  After lifting our backpacks onto our shoulders we filed out of the airship thanking Sandy and her co-pilot.

  “See you around Richy?” she called out.

  Richy's face grew redder, but he didn't turn to look at her as he replied. “Sure.”

  Braven wriggled his eyebrows towards him and Richy shook his head with a smirk.

  “Well? What's going on there?” asked Braven.

  “None of your business. Come on, we have a debriefing to attend.” Richy picked up his pace towards a group of military personnel who waited for us at a gate.

  “Richy has a girlfriend,” singsonged Vega.

  Shielding my face against the glare of the sun with my arm I drew in a deep breath, peering up at the cloudless sky. Before I could take in any more of my surroundings a woman was offering to take my bag. I passed it to her before she ushered me towards the gate, keeping us out of the main part of the tent city.

  “Arms up please,” she asked.

  I raised my arms shooting Seth a puzzled look and she reached out to touch me. Visions of Slitter running his filthy hands over my body made me flinch and I instinctively slapped her hand away. She jumped back reaching for her belt.

  “Aurora!” Baxter's voice pitched with panic. “She's searching you. To make sure you don't have anything you shouldn't.”

  “Why didn't she ask?” I snapped before turning to face the lady. “You could've asked you know.”

  “I'm sorry, do you have any contraband?” she asked relaxing her hand from her side.

  “Yes, I have plenty. Will I get it back?” I asked.

  The woman looked at Baxter who answered for her. “When the time comes you can have it back.”

  “They didn't take our stuff off us at the other compound,” groaned Braven.

  “The checkpoint isn't this strict at the Eden camp,” added Richy.

  “It's just a safety precaution
right?” asked Maya.

  “Exactly. A routine check for anyone coming in by airship. It didn't use to be policy, but with everything going on up on those floating cities it's an extra precaution we need to take,” the lady replied.

  Shaking the last remnants of Slitter from my mind, I unclipped my utility belt and handed it to her. “That's all I've got.”

  “But I just got it back,” moaned Braven as he handed over his stun gun. “I'll miss you, my friend.”

  “You are way too attached to that thing,” said Vega.

  Turning, I watched Fletcher raise his arms to be looked over. He didn't say a word. Part of me wanted to apologise for arguing with him and move on, but I was still angry he was treating me as though I was made of glass. I was a big girl and was quite capable of deciding if I could trust my brother or not.

  He looked up, his gaze meeting mine and I narrowed my eyes before turning toward the camp. I'd sort whatever was going on with us out later. Right now we had to debrief the Captain.

  We found it easy to navigate our way through the compound as it was laid out much like the compound under Eden. Soon we arrived at the Captain's large tent and Baxter announced our arrival.

  The door opened and a soldier stepped through. “State your business.”

  “Let Captain Kormak know Baxter has who he was looking for,” replied Baxter.

  The soldier stepped back through the doorway and disappeared.

  “This is much more formal than last time,” Vega whispered into my ear.

  Baxter overheard her with our close proximity. “Like I said, things up on the floating cities are fragile. Extra security measures have been implemented not only here, but at the Eden camp too.”

  At least my dad and the other's would be kept safe. I looked at Maya and I could see she was as thankful as I was.

  The door opened again and the officer reappeared. “Captain Kormak will see you now.”

  We each stepped past, following Baxter into a large room with a wooden desk, behind which sat a short, wide man with black and grey-flecked hair.

  “Baxter, I was getting worried about you,” said the Captain with a booming voice. He rose from his seat and shook Baxter's hand a little too hard.