Blood Ties

by Sophie McKenzie

  I shuddered. He really believed what he was saying. He thought he was in the right over killing me. A cold, hard weight settled miserably in my stomach. I was alone. I was completely alone.

  ‘That’s bullshit,’ Rachel shouted. ‘We’re not experiments. We’re people. You told me that.’

  Elijah’s face clenched. ‘You’re missing the point.’ He raised his gun and steadied his gaze. His eyes grew hard, like dark stones. ‘If you think about it, Rachel, it’s only fair,’ he said. ‘I gave you life. Now it’s your turn to give it back to me.’ He straightened his arm and levelled the gun at her heart.

  Rachel gasped, her eyes round with shock.

  It was going to happen. He was going to shoot her.

  In that moment every terrible emotion I’d ever felt swept through me. A tornado of feeling.

  Hate. Anger. Betrayal. Pain. Shame. Fear.

  Especially fear.

  They whirled through me as I stared at the gun. And then they whipped away and I was left with one thought.

  One feeling.

  I would rather be dead, than watch her die.

  I stepped in front of Rachel.

  ‘Go ahead,’ I said. ‘Shoot.’

  80

  Rachel

  ‘Get out of the way, Theodore,’ Elijah growled.

  ‘No.’ Theo’s voice was calm and steady.

  I peered round him. Elijah’s face screwed up with anger. He had his gun in one hand, a shaking Daniel in the other.

  ‘I want to go home,’ Daniel whimpered.

  I put my hand on Theo’s back. It was the only way I had of letting him know how I felt. How much I felt.

  Shouts nearby. My heart leaped. The police. Getting closer. I could feel Theo’s back stiffening under my hand. He’d heard them too.

  ‘Theo.’ A note of panic had crept into Elijah’s voice.

  I couldn’t see Theo’s face.

  ‘Okay. We’ll leave Rachel,’ Elijah said. ‘But you must come with me.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then I’ll kill Daniel.’

  My heart thudded.

  Theo answered straight back.

  ‘No you won’t. You need him. He’s as valuable to you as I am.’

  ‘No he’s not,’ Elijah insisted. ‘His heart is not mature enough.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Theo sounded triumphant. ‘You need to keep him alive until he’s useful.’

  More shouting in the distance. I could see Elijah’s eyes darting everywhere.

  Please let the police be coming. Please.

  Suddenly he turned and ran, dragging Daniel after him.

  Behind us, dogs barked. People yelled.

  Elijah – hauling Daniel – weaved in and out of the trees.

  Shouts. More dogs barking. People thundering past.

  And Theo. He turned round and stared down at me. There was so much feeling in his eyes that I couldn’t breathe.

  Of course it didn’t shut me up.

  ‘I thought you didn’t care about anybody?’ I whispered.

  He put his arms on my shoulders and leaned his forehead down onto mine.

  ‘I care about—’

  ‘BACK AWAY FROM HER WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!’

  I jumped. Theo sprang away from me, his hands raised.

  I looked around. We were surrounded by police officers in flak jackets and helmets. Five or six were in a semi-circle on the ground in front of us.

  Someone laid a hand on my shoulder. ‘Please spread your arms and legs so I can search you.’ It was a female voice. Polite. It reminded me of Mel’s. I stared at her lifeless body on the ground and all the energy drained out of me. My whole body shook as I stood with my legs apart and my arms raised.

  The woman who had spoken patted up and down my arms and legs, then walked round in front of me. She was young, not much older than Mel had been.

  ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘It’s over now. Nothing to be scared of any more.’

  But I couldn’t stop shaking. I lowered my arms as the tears started flowing. Then the woman drew me into a hug and I wept and wept on her shoulder.

  I must’ve wailed, full on, for about a minute. It was a relief to get it all out. When I looked up, the scene around me had changed dramatically. Someone had set up a cordon several metres away. People were crowding against it, more flooding towards us all the time. Two ambulances were parked nearby. The whole area was crowded with police officers. Someone had lain a sheet over Mel’s body. I glanced over at Lewis. He was being carried onto a stretcher. His eyes were open.

  I sat up. ‘Lewis?’ It came out all croaky.

  He tried to look round at me, but his head was in some kind of neck brace. The paramedic bending over him looked up at me. ‘He’s alive. The bullet lodged in his flak jacket. He was knocked out by the fall against the tree. We’ll run some tests at the hospital.’

  I stared, my heart pounding as the paramedics loaded Lewis into the nearest ambulance. He was alive. A huge grin spread across my face. Where the hell had Lewis got a flak jacket?

  Of course. From the RAGE guys he and Mel had brought down. But then why hadn’t Mel . . .? My mind flashed back to how Elijah had shot her – in the throat.

  She’d had no chance.

  The grin fell from my face. I suddenly, desperately, wanted to be with Theo.

  ‘Where’s Theo?’ I grabbed the woman police officer’s rough jacket. My eyes darted round the clearing. There was no sign of him.

  ‘The boy?’ she said. ‘Already gone in the first ambulance.’ She put her arm round my shoulders and guided me to the remaining vehicle. ‘We’ll get you checked over too, then after your interview I expect you’ll be able to see him.’

  I stumbled into the back of the ambulance. As I sat down on the narrow bed, tiredness consumed me. I laid my head on the pillow and slid my legs along the mattress. I wanted to ask how long the interview would take, but before I could even open my mouth, I was asleep.

  81

  Theo

  I told them everything.

  The nurse cleaned up my arm and the doctor sutured it.

  Then the police came in and I told them everything. At first I could see they didn’t believe me. I don’t know what they thought. Maybe that I was some weirded-out kid into cutting himself with bits of blunt wood for kicks.

  Then the results of my DNA test came back, and they went to their records and realised Elijah and I were this perfect match.

  After that they talked to me again – this time with open mouths and wide eyes. Then the FBI turned up and I had to go over it all again.

  It was dark before they left me in peace. I was tired but, even though my arm didn’t hurt any more, I couldn’t sleep. Elijah was still out there somewhere with Daniel. The doctors confirmed that Daniel was too small for Elijah to be able to use his heart, so at least he was safe for the time being. But then there was RAGE. It was a big organisation. Simpson and his outfit might be gone, but there would still be people who would make it their life’s work to hunt me down. Me and Daniel and Rachel.

  I had no idea how much of what I’d said the FBI believed.

  Despite what Elijah had told me about the government paying for the compound, no one was prepared to come right out and admit it existed.

  Elijah had told the truth about that. The government didn’t know about his cloning work. Or at least that was what the FBI said to me. I explained what little I knew about the Hermes Project – the comparisons between Daniel and the other kids. The men I was speaking to looked as if they didn’t believe a word I was saying. I couldn’t blame them. I could barely believe it myself. And so the questions went on and on. Who I’d seen. What I’d done. Anything and everything Elijah had ever said to me.

  I noticed nobody asked me what I wanted. I mean, they kept saying stuff like: Rest. Tomorrow we’ll have you speak to our psychiatrist. Tomorrow we’ll start planning what happens next.

  But no one said, ‘Hey, Theo. Ready to go home?’

  The tru
th was, of course, that I wasn’t ready to go home, even if it had been an option. I was pretty sure the FBI was going to relocate me. That meant a new home, a new name. A whole new life with Mum.

  I still wasn’t sure I ever wanted to see her again. They told me she was on her way – that I could speak to her if I liked. But I said no. Not now. Not yet.

  They told me Lewis was okay, but I kept seeing Simpson falling to the ground. And Mel, bleeding from her throat.

  Nightmares when I closed my eyes.

  It hurt me more than I would have believed possible that she was dead.

  I wondered how Rachel was coping with it all. I’d asked to see her but they said she was sleeping.

  It was now ten o’clock. The city lights outside my tenth-floor hospital room window shone like tiny candles. I wanted to be out there, lost in the sprawl of the city, somewhere where no one knew who I was, where no one cared about me and I cared about no one.

  Except that I wanted to see Rachel more. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. How she looked. How she’d felt when I held her. How much I wanted to be with her. Talk to her. How much I wanted to do all sorts of stuff.

  I don’t let people in.

  That was a lie. Face it. I had let Rachel in. She was under my skin and inside my head. Not like other girls who were just smiles and bodies. Not like girls in magazines or on the internet. Not like Jake’s girls – the friends of the ones he was constantly chatting up, who’d look at me shyly but who never seemed real.

  You can snog girls like that, then walk away from them, no problem. But with Rachel it was different.

  I hoped she’d wake up soon.

  Morning. So early it was still dark outside.

  A soft rap on the door, then a nurse ushered Mum into my room. I was standing by the window, staring out. I could see her reflection in the glass – her long hair and her dangly earrings.

  ‘Theodore?’ Her voice was fearful and hesitant.

  I didn’t turn round.

  She took a step closer. Her face was a pink smudge in the glass. I couldn’t make out her expression. ‘They said . . . they said you didn’t want to see me, but . . .’ I could hear the tears bubbling up in her voice. ‘I came as soon as they called, sweetheart. I’ve been so worried about you. Since Elijah rang and told me about RAGE coming after you and that I had to get out of the house straight away. I mean, I thought . . . I hoped he’d keep you safe, but . . .’

  Her voice tailed off.

  I said nothing.

  ‘You’re angry with me,’ she said.

  No shit, Mum.

  ‘I didn’t know Elijah had got like he is. I never dreamed he would hurt you. He wasn’t like that when I met him. He was young. Idealistic. He wanted to help people. He—’

  ‘It’s not that,’ I said.

  Mum moved closer. In the window’s reflection I could see her hand reaching out to my shoulder, then dropping away.

  ‘Oh, Theodore,’ she whispered. ‘Is it because I didn’t tell you the truth about . . . about your father?’

  ‘Theo,’ I snapped. ‘And yes.’

  There was a long pause. ‘I only made up things because I was trying to protect you, Theo.’ She sighed.

  I remembered the photograph of the man I’d thought for years was my dad. Nothing would ever stop that lie hurting.

  Nothing. Ever.

  ‘If you’d told me more of the truth from the beginning then none of this would have happened.’ My voice shook with anger. ‘I wouldn’t have tried to find out about Elijah. I wouldn’t have gone blundering into RAGE . . .’

  I wouldn’t have met Rachel.

  ‘I know it seems hard now,’ Mum sniffed, ‘but when we’re settled and all this is behind us maybe you’ll be able to see how I was only trying to protect you. They’re going to give us new identities, Theo. The Foreign Office at home and the people here, I’ve been talking with them. They want to monitor you, but also to keep you secret. We’ll be able to leave all this behind, make a fresh start, just you and me.’

  I nodded. I knew this was good news. It meant I would be as safe as I could from RAGE and Elijah. Still . . .

  I turned round at last. Mum tried to smile at me, but her lips were trembling. I felt a pang of guilt at the look of utter misery on her face. I looked away.

  ‘What about my friends?’ I said. ‘What about Jake? And Max?’

  What about Rachel?

  Mum shook her head. ‘Maybe you could talk to them on the phone. I think there’s a safe line.’

  We talked for a little longer. Mum told me how Roy had been discovered bound and gagged but unhurt in the toilets at Rachel’s school disco. Unsurprisingly, he’d resigned on the spot. Then she told me things she’d never told me before. How in love she’d been with Elijah when she’d agreed to carry me. How young she was then. How she’d have done anything for him.

  After a bit, we were okay with each other. Sort of.

  She was still my mum. And I knew I’d been selfish, the way I’d behaved, running off before. And she’d always done what she thought was best for me.

  Anyway, pretty soon she’d be all I had.

  She started asking questions about Rachel. How I felt. Stupid stuff like that. She told me she had no idea there was another clone. That Elijah had kept Rachel a total secret. I guess I believed her. To be honest I didn’t really care any more.

  I pretended I was tired after about half an hour. So she left. Then I just lay there, thinking about Rachel again. The next time the nurse came in I asked her if Rachel was awake.

  ‘I’ll find out,’ she smiled. ‘Is there a message?’

  I shook my head. ‘Just . . . just if it’s okay for me to visit her.’

  82

  Rachel

  I swam up from a deep, deep sleep.

  I was so warm and comfortable I couldn’t tell where I ended and the bed began. I lay there listening to the low murmur of voices around me.

  Mum? Dad?

  I forced my eyes open. They were standing beside the bed, talking to a guy in a suit. I tried to hear what they were saying, but the whispers were too hissy and soft.

  Then Mum glanced across and saw I was awake.

  ‘Oh sweetie.’ She bent down and clawed at my hand. ‘You’ve been asleep for hours.’

  Dad leaned over me. His eyes were full of tears. ‘Hey, Ro,’ he said. ‘We were starting to think you had some kind of sleeping sickness.’

  I blinked blearily at him. ‘What time is it?’

  ‘Ten o’clock,’ Mum said briskly. ‘Tuesday morning.’

  I frowned. Everything that had happened at the memorial and in the park had been in the morning too. Had I lost a whole day?

  I struggled onto my elbows. ‘Is Lewis all right? Where’s Theo? Have they found Daniel?’

  Mum and Dad exchanged glances. The man in the suit cleared his throat.

  ‘Lewis and Theo are both fine,’ he said. ‘We have an APB out on Elijah Lazio and the little boy. They won’t get far.’

  He turned to Mum. ‘We can continue with this later.’

  She nodded. The man left the room.

  ‘Continue with what?’ I said. My heart thudded.

  ‘The relocation plans, sweetie,’ Mum said. ‘But we can go over it later. Right now I think—’

  ‘I want to know now.’ My voice rose angrily.

  Mum’s eyes widened.

  Dad patted my arm. ‘There’s nothing definite to know yet,’ he said. ‘Just that the US and UK governments are going to resettle us. They’ll want to keep an eye on you and you’ll have to go in for tests and research every few months, but they’ll help set us up in a new life where you’ll be safe.’

  ‘Where?’

  Will Theo be there?

  Dad shrugged. ‘Somewhere far away, where no one knows us. Where there’ll be no connection with Elijah or anyone from the past. They’ll move us to a safe house tomorrow.’

  I stared at him.

  No Theo. No Theo. Forever.
>
  ‘Oh, Ro, what possessed you to go to Elijah’s compound? We’ve talked to Lewis. He should never have—’

  ‘It wasn’t Lewis’s fault.’ I sat back. ‘It was my idea.’

  ‘We know.’ Mum shook her head. ‘How could you, Rachel? Going behind our backs like that? Provoking Elijah. Don’t you realise how powerful he—’

  ‘How could I know about him, Mum?’ My heart pounded. ‘You never told me anything about him. Remember?’

  Stony silence.

  Dad cleared his throat. ‘I know it’ll be hard to leave school and all your friends, but we don’t have a choice, Ro.’

  ‘I don’t want you to call me that.’ I glared at him. ‘I’m not her. I’m not Rebecca.’

  Dad looked startled. ‘What d’you mean?’

  ‘Well that’s why you call me “Ro”, isn’t it?’ I snapped. ‘It’s what you called Rebecca.’

  ‘No.’ Dad frowned. ‘It’s because you were such a fat, roly-poly little baby.’ He glanced at Mum, then back at me.

  I stared at them.

  ‘Not that you’re fat now, Rachel,’ Mum said smoothly. ‘Not if you go easy on the ice cream and biscuits, anyway.’

  A nurse poked her head round the door. ‘Theo was wondering if he could visit,’ she said.

  Dad shook his head. ‘I don’t think . . .’

  I sat upright, my heart beating fast. ‘Tell him ten minutes. Mum, where are my clothes?’

  83

  Theo

  She was sitting at the end of her hospital bed. Alone, thankfully.

  My heart pounded.

  Oh, man.

  Now I was here I didn’t know what to say. At least, I knew there was a word for how I was feeling – a short word beginning with L. But I had no idea how to say it.

  I shut the door and leaned against it.

  ‘Hi.’

  ‘Hi.’ Her eyes shone as she smiled at me.

  I smiled back. ‘You okay?’