Perfect Summer

by Karen King

  “And when he gets too old for them to look after? As he will. Or your parents die? Will you take on the burden? I think not.” Dr Francis shook her head. “This may be difficult for you to accept, dear, because you are emotionally involved, but being a scientist means having to occasionally make tough decisions. And it makes economic, and moral, sense to exchange one damaged life in order to save the life of many normal children and give them the opportunity to contribute their skills and knowledge to society.”

  “You’re murdering little children!” Jamie yelled. “You can’t disguise it as a ‘scientific choice’!”

  “Does the Ministry know you’re doing this?” I demanded. “Are they in on this murder too?”

  The doctor sighed. “Murder is such a strong word, dear. Surely you understand that sometimes it’s necessary to make sacrifices to push the boundaries of science? We provide hospitals with much-needed organs and in return the Ministry allows us to use any other parts of the body for research. Thanks to this research, we’re in the process of perfecting transplantation of brain tissue. This is important, ground-breaking work.” Her eyes had a sort of glazed, faraway look in them, and she was talking passionately like the preachers we saw on the E-screen. Only she wasn’t talking about God, or how to live a spiritual life. She was talking about killing children to fulfil her dream of a perfect world.

  “Imagine a future where people not only don’t age physically, but keep all their faculties too,” she continued in the same evangelical tone. “Where people of seventy, eighty, maybe even older, look and act the same as they did when they were middle-aged. No longer will great minds be lost to dementia and other cruel aging diseases.”

  She’s mad, I thought. Totally insane. She was capable of anything.

  “Where’s my sister?” Jamie demanded, his voice low. “What have you done with Holly?”

  “Holly?” Dr Francis frowned.

  “My kid sister. She was kidnapped two months ago. Dark hair, hazel eyes, age five, a smile that lights up her face. Suffers from cerebral palsy.”

  I saw the swift look the doctor exchanged with Crina. So did Jamie.

  “You’ve killed her, haven’t you?” He spoke so softly that I could only just hear him, yet it was as if the words were three metres high printed boldly in the air.

  “I’m afraid I had to....dispose of her,” Dr Francis’s face was expressionless. “It was quick and painless, I assure you. Surely you can see that she is better off? That I’ve released her from her suffering. Your sister only had a lifetime of pain in front of her. Now she is free and has saved at least a dozen lives…”

  She backed away, holding her palms up, as Jamie flew at her, fists flying. He knocked her to the ground, and flung his hands around her like a demon possessed. “I’ll kill you, you cold-hearted witch!” he screamed, squeezing so tight the doctor thrashed about, gasping for breath. I’m sure he would have killed her if Crina hadn’t hit him on the back of the head with the butt of her gun and knocked him out cold.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Jamie!” I screamed as he lay lifeless on the floor. Frantic, I dashed over to him, bent down and felt for a pulse, terrified that she’d killed him. To my relief, his heart beat steadily.

  I turned around as I heard a chilling click behind me. Crina was aiming the gun at Jamie’s head. “These brats are nothing but trouble. Let’s kill them now and get it over with.”

  Dr. Francis rubbed her throat, where the imprint of Jamie’s fingers were clearly visible. “No,” she said hoarsely. “We stand to lose too much money. Their organs will be of no use to us if we kill them now.”

  “I’ll put a bullet in their legs then, that’ll stop them getting up to any tricks.” Crina lowered the gun to Jamie’s legs, and clicked the trigger. My heart pounded a death beat in my chest.

  “No!” The doctor gasped. “There could be complications that could affect the brain tissue.”

  The door opened and Sergiu came in carrying Josh over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, followed by Marku carrying Emma in the same manner. “Where do you want them?” Marku asked.

  “On the beds,” Dr Francis said. “We’ll lock them all in this room. They can’t get out. I’ll switch the gas on, they’ll soon feel too drowsy to do anything.”

  She went back into the adjoining room as the two men plonked Josh and Emma down on a bed. The woman came out of the room again, locking the door behind her.

  “Don’t worry, your young man will come around soon. Long enough for you to say your goodbyes before you all fall asleep.” I was sure I saw a hint of admiration in her eyes as she looked at us. “You’re a plucky pair. It’s a shame you didn’t keep out of this.” She shook her head. “Why can’t you youngsters ever do as you’re told?”

  “Because you kidnapped my brother and his sister and are planning to murder them,” I screamed.

  But she’d already gone.

  Sergiu and Marku followed her. Then I heard the key turn in the lock.

  “Maw!”

  Josh! I looked over at my little brother, his eyes wide with fear. Emma had her right arm protectively around his shoulder. “Is Jamie dead?” she asked.

  Jamie’s legs twitched and he started to moan.

  “Are you okay?” I bent over him.

  He opened his eyes and groaned. “My head.”

  He lifted himself up onto his elbows and looked around. “What’s happened?” Then he sniffed. “What’s that smell?”

  Crap, the gas! How long did we have?

  “Crina knocked you out and that mad doctor has locked us in here so she can slowly gas us,” I said. “That way she can keep our organs fresh for the morning delivery.”

  I saw anger flare in his eyes, then pain flood them and knew he was remembering Holly. I reached out and touched his hand. “I’m so sorry about Holly.”

  He looked at me, his eyes like pebbles of steel. “I’m going to make them pay, Morgan. They’re not going to get away with this. No way.” He swallowed. “The LEF should be looking for us now. If they put a trace on Summer’s phone line they could track us here in time.”

  I bit my lip. Jamie was right. Summer alerting the law was our only hope. But what if her dad was involved in the business? He’d heard me on the phone to her. He could pretend he’d called the Superintendent but not bother. I shook the thought from my head. Leo wouldn’t let anything happen to me or Josh. I knew he wouldn’t.

  “What’s up?” Jamie asked, scrutinising my face.

  “It’s just that, well, Fernbrook Clinic — where the organs are being delivered to — is where Summer’s dad works,” I confessed.

  “And you think he might be involved?” Jamie asked.

  “No.” I shook my head, but I couldn’t hide the doubt in my voice. “He wouldn’t do anything like that. He’s a nice man and seems so kind.”

  “Well, some surgeons are involved in this, Morgan, and I expect they all seem ‘nice’. It’s amazing what people will do for money.” Jamie sounded bitter. “So we can’t rely on Summer alerting the authorities then, not if her dad has anything to do with it. We’ll have to think of a plan ourselves.”

  The smell of gas was getting stronger.

  “We need some air in here or we’ll soon be too drowsy to do anything,” I said.

  Jamie scrambled to his feet, and we both ran over to the windows. They were locked. Jamie picked up a chair and threw it at one of them. It bounced back off.

  “Drat. Toughened glass!” he cursed.

  “Maw!” Josh whimpered.

  I looked over at him, still huddled up to Emma. “Hang on, Joshie.”

  “Can we get out?” Emma asked. “Are we going to die?”

  “No we’re not!” I told her. “We’re going to find a way out of here.”

  I had no intention of just sitting there and waiting for those sickos to come back to kill us all. I was going to get out and bring them to justice, make them pay for what they’d done. Okay, it looked hopeless. We were s
lowly being gassed and we were just two teenagers and two children against three men and three women (if you counted the other two people we’d seen), one of them armed with a gun. But I was determined to find a way.

  Jamie rummaged in the cupboard. Picking up a paper clip he turned to me. “I reckon I could pick the lock,” he said. “I’ll need your hair grip and this paper clip.”

  I took a grip out of my hair and handed it to him. He bent down and started fiddling with the lock. “I noticed a car parked over by the side of the building, near the fire escape. Maybe we could get away in that?” Then I realized how stupid that was Jamie would need the activator to start it. “Sorry, dumb idea. They’re hardly likely to leave the activator around, are they?”

  “It’s a good idea. And I don’t need the activator. I can bypass it.”

  “What?”

  “Start it without the activator,” Jamie said with a hint of a smug smile.

  I wondered not for the first time how, and why, Jamie had learned to do things like hacking into computers, picking locks and bypass car locking systems. Did he have criminal tendencies or just an enquiring mind? Whatever the reason his ‘skills’ sure came in handy right now.

  Jamie was still looking up at me. “It’s our only chance.”

  Could we make it? Crina had a gun and maybe the others did too. And then there were the dogs. Would they be patrolling the grounds in the dark?

  I nodded. “Let’s go for it!”

  The room was already filling with gas, making my head heavy and drowsy. I rubbed my forehead. “If we don’t get out of here soon this gas will knock us out.”

  “It’ll only take me a couple of minutes to undo this lock,” Jamie said. “Go and get the kids. We’ll need to run.”

  I turned around and was horrified to see Josh and Emma lying down on the bed with their eyes closed. “Oh no, they’ve fallen asleep!” I cried. Why hadn’t I kept an eye on them? They were young. The gas was bound to affect them quicker than it did us.

  “Shake them awake,” Jamie shouted, over his shoulder. “If they go into a deep sleep they’ll be goners.”

  “Josh!” I grabbed my little brother’s arm and shook it as hard as I could. “Wake up, Josh!” He lay still and floppy, like a little rag doll.

  Please don’t let me be too late.

  I lifted him up onto my lap and bounced him up and down on my knee as I shook Emma’s shoulders with the other hand. “Emma! Wake up!”

  Her eyelids fluttered open then closed again. “Emma!” I yelled. “Wake up!”

  Her eyes snapped open.

  “Get up, quick!” I said. “You mustn’t fall asleep!”

  “I’ve done it!” Jamie shouted, standing up. A blast of air wafted in as he opened the door, clearing my head. “How are the kids?”

  “Josh won’t wake up,” I yelled in panic.

  “Carry him. He hasn’t been out for long. The fresh air might bring him around.”

  I heaved Josh onto my shoulder, and stood up. “Come on, Emma,” I said.

  She wriggled to the end of the bed. “I can’t run fast,” she apologized.

  Jamie came over and took her hand. “I’ll help you.”

  We went out into the corridor. It was dark and eerily quiet. If I hadn’t known that there were at least six people in the building, I’d have thought it was deserted. A single light burned at the far end, bright enough to allow us to see our way to the fire escape, a few metres to our right.

  We hurried to it as quickly as we dared, knowing that any heavy steps would resound on the tiles, alerting the kidnappers to our escape and bringing them running. It was especially difficult for Emma because of the calliper and heavy shoe on her left leg. But Jamie supported her so she could lean on him and keep her weight off her weak foot. He was so gentle with her. He seemed to know exactly what help she needed.

  I reached the fire doors, pushed them open and stepped out in the night. Josh murmured in my arms as the cold air bit into us. He was coming around. I looked down at him as he opened his eyes, still sleepy.

  “’Ome Maw,” he mumbled.

  I kissed him on the forehead. “We’re going home, Joshie. Won’t be long now.”

  I moved over on the platform to make room for Jamie and Emma. We all paused for a moment at the top of the steps and looked around. Like the corridor, it was dark and silent. No sign or sound of the dogs or any of the kidnappers. A few stars twinkled in the not-quite-black sky and a half-moon shone overhead, illuminating the shape of the silver car parked over by the wall. Probably belonging to Dr. Francis. On our own, Jamie and I would have been able to run down the steps and over to the car in five minutes flat. With Emma and Josh, it might take us ten, maybe longer. Then Jamie had to get the engine started. We were so close to freedom.

  Could we make it?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Josh shivered in my arms. His t-shirt and shorts provided little protection against the cold night air. I wished I had my jacket to wrap around him but it was still in the saddlebag of Jamie’s K7. If only I’d worn a warmer top. The flimsy green one I wore was little more than a vest. But then I hadn’t expected to be kidnapped. Thank goodness I’d at least had the sense to wear trainers instead of boots. There was no way I could have tackled the fire escape, with Josh in my arms, wearing heels.

  Josh was heavy and I was weak with hunger and thirst. Slowly, carefully, I led the way down the metal steps knowing that any sound would give us away. It was harder for Emma, even with Jamie’s support. And once she came down on a step with such a heavy thud we all jumped and looked around in panic, fearing someone would have heard and came running out. Luckily no one did, and we reached the bottom safely.

  “I’m going to pick you up now, Emma. We need to run,” Jamie told the young girl. He scooped her up in his arms, one arm under her knees to keep her calliper straight. She wrapped her right arm around his neck and held tight while he ran over to the silver car, with me and Josh close on his heels.

  So far so good. Jamie gently sat Emma down on the wall by the car. It was low enough for her feet to touch the ground, and she placed her right hand on it to balance herself. Jamie reached over and tried the car door. It was locked. He thrust his hand in his pocket, pulled out what looked like a little black box and pointed it at the car. There was a click and the locks sprang open.

  “How did you do that?” I asked in astonishment. “What’s in that black box?”

  He shrugged and shoved it back in his pocket. “Just a little gadget I knocked together. It comes in handy for bypassing electronics.” He opened the driver’s door. “Quick. Get the kids in while I start it up.”

  I opened the back doors and gently lifted Josh--who was almost asleep--onto the back seat, then helped Emma down off the wall and into the seat beside him, quickly fastening both their seat belts. I spotted a white coat folded up in the corner of the seat across the front seat and reached over for it, placing it over Josh and Emma’s shoulders to keep them warm.

  “Can Jamie drive?” Emma asked, sounding nervous.

  I had no idea but knowing Jamie, he could. “’Course he can,” I reassured her. “Now keep still and get down if we tell you to. Okay?”

  She nodded solemnly. “I’ll look after Josh for you,” she said.

  “Thank you, Emma.” I kissed her on the forehead.

  As I shut the back door, the engine started up. Jamie did it! I had to hand it to him, that guy was sure handy to have around in a crisis.

  I jumped in and Jamie sped off before I had time to shut the door. It blew right open, forcing me to hang half out as I grappled to pull it back. For one gut-wrenching moment, I thought I was going to fall out. But I managed to grab hold of the side of the car and held on tight as I yanked the door shut, slamming it louder than I’d have liked. Blast it. I hope no one heard.

  “Great. Let everyone know we’re making a getaway,” Jamie snapped.

  Worried, I glanced over at the research centre as I fastened my seatbelt. To
my relief no one came out. “Sorry! I was too busy trying not to fall out and kill myself to worry about the noise,” I retorted then regretted my harsh tone. The pressure was getting to us.

  As we sped around to the front of the building I saw, almost too late, the Mila van parked on the drive. “Watch out!” I shrieked.

  Jamie swerved, narrowly missing it. Then, to my horror, the front door flung open and Marku ran out, followed by Sergiu and Crina. Marku pointed at us, shouted something then bolted over to the van, the other two hot on his heels.

  Jamie cursed and hit the accelerator. Hard. I jerked back hitting my head on the seat. “Hang on tight. We’re going to have to outrun them!”

  I craned around in my seat, gnawing my lip anxiously as I saw Marku and the others all pile into the Mila van and speed after us. It didn’t take them long to catch up.

  “They’re gaining on us,” I yelled.

  Jamie slammed down on the accelerator with such force as he turned that I was almost thrown against the side window. Josh whimpered softly and Emma talked quietly to him, comforting him, despite the fact that she must have been terrified herself. She was a gutsy kid.

  “It’ll be okay, Joshie. We’ll be home soon.” I turned around to look at him. Hot rage billowed up inside me at the look of sheer terror on his face. Beside him, Emma looked equally petrified, although she had her right arm around Josh’s shoulder and was holding him close. Little kids like them shouldn’t have to go through that.

  “Just sit tight, Em,” I said. “Those creeps are chasing after us but we’re going to try and get away from them.”

  She nodded, her eyes saucers of fear.

  I shifted back around in my seat so I could see where we were going, using the wing mirrors to keep an eye on the Mila van’s progress. I was relieved to see that it had dropped behind a bit. Maybe we would outrun them after all.

  As we sped down the long drive, a huge pair of iron gates came into view. Closed iron gates. I groaned. So much for our great escape. Even if they weren’t locked, there was no way I had time to get out and open them before the van caught up with us.