Take Back the Skies

by Lucy Saxon

  ‘Cat, dear, really, it’s not proper for a young man and a young woman to sleep in the same room,’ she began.

  ‘I don’t care,’ Cat cut her off fiercely. ‘It’s safer for us to stick together. I stay with Fox, no arguments.’

  ‘I have to agree with Cat,’ Fox added. ‘We would have slept in the same place had we not found you. We can sleep on the sofas – it’s not like we’ll be sharing a bed.’

  Cat blushed lightly at the mention of sharing a bed with Fox, but stood her ground. Fox’s hand rested on her shoulder in a show of solidarity, and Mary sighed.

  ‘If you’re on the separate sofas, then I suppose that’s acceptable,’ she said sternly.

  Fox raised a copper-coloured eyebrow, but Cat placed a hand on his arm before he could say anything. The last thing they needed was him picking a fight.

  ‘The guards come at eight with breakfast. We’ll wake you if you’re not up already. Goodnight,’ Mary muttered in resignation, turning down the lamp and turning to go to her own bedroom.

  ‘She didn’t seem too happy about being told no,’ Fox mused when she was gone.

  ‘I’m not letting you out of my sight,’ Cat declared stubbornly.

  Fox smiled at her, squeezing her shoulder.

  ‘Me neither,’ he agreed.

  Cat sat down to unbuckle her boots while Fox gathered the blankets folded on the coffee table, tossing one to Cat and keeping one himself. Carefully removing both her audio and video recorders and leaving them on the coffee table, Cat removed layers until she was just in her undershirt, shirt and trousers. Normally she would sleep with the shirt off, but she didn’t dare with Fox there. He, however, had no problems, stripping down to his trousers and undershirt. Cat couldn’t resist stealing glances at his muscular arms as she crawled under her blanket. Fox collapsed wearily on to the other sofa. He tilted his chin back, meeting her eyes in the near-darkness.

  ‘I’m scared,’ Cat whispered. ‘What if … what if this isn’t good enough? What if we get caught, or we can’t convince people?’

  There was a pause, before Fox smiled.

  ‘Cat, we’ve got video and audio proof of what those bastards are doing. Once we go public, they’re going down. And as for getting caught, well … don’t you trust me?’ He flashed her a cheeky grin, and she smiled back timidly. Fox’s arm slipped out from under his blanket, reaching across to grab her hand. He squeezed strongly, and Cat held on, closing her eyes. It was far, far easier to get to sleep.

  When Cat woke, it was to a pair of bright blue eyes staring her in the face – and definitely not the pair she’d been expecting. She nearly screamed, seeing James standing beside the coffee table, eyeing her silently.

  ‘What in storms are you doing?’ she muttered sleepily.

  He didn’t answer, and she noticed that he was no longer staring at her. She looked at where his eyes were fixed, and coughed awkwardly. Her hand was still twined with Fox’s.

  ‘Is he your boyfriend?’ James asked, his voice slightly higher than it had been the night before.

  ‘No,’ she answered quickly, trying to disentangle her hand. Unfortunately, she underestimated both Fox’s grip and how light a sleeper he was. His eyes flickered open, and he looked at her with a small half-smile, squeezing her hand.

  ‘G’morning,’ he greeted, voice husky with sleep. Looking around, he spotted James, the smile immediately dropping from his face. ‘Don’t you have better things to do than watch us sleep? How long have you been there, anyway?’

  James flushed, shaking his head.

  ‘N-not long!’ he insisted, stuttering slightly, the guilt on his face giving him away. ‘I just thought I’d wake you both up before the guards bring breakfast in. Also, before Mother comes in and catches you holding hands.’

  Fox glanced away at that, letting go of Cat’s hand, and she felt somewhat bereft. Sitting up with a stretch, she yawned, running a hand through her sleep-mussed hair.

  ‘What’s the plan for today, then?’ she asked Fox, once they were back in James’s wardrobe.

  ‘More evidence. We need names and faces so they can’t worm their way out of punishment, and we need to try and find out who the boss is, even get him on film if we’re lucky,’ Fox replied softly.

  They both went quiet when they heard voices from the next room – voices that didn’t belong to either James or Mary. Cat didn’t know how long they sat there, but eventually the wardrobe opened, and a sullen-faced James beckoned them back into the living room. Breakfast was tasteless porridge, but Cat and Fox ate their share without complaint.

  ‘What time are you leaving?’ Mary asked.

  ‘As soon as we can,’ Fox answered. ‘We need to find out who’s in charge of this whole thing. Unless you can tell us …?’ Fox trailed off expectantly.

  ‘I don’t know enough to tell you about anything,’ Mary insisted.

  ‘Fine.’ The redhead stood, grabbing his bag from the corner. ‘Cat, if you want to get washed and changed, go and do it now.’

  She nodded, jumping to her feet and taking her bag with her into the washroom. When she returned to the living room, Fox was waiting for her, also fully dressed.

  ‘Let’s get moving, then,’ Cat urged, clapping her hands together impatiently. They replaced their devices, Fox making Cat’s skin tingle when he leaned in close to adjust her audio recorder, his fingers brushing her throat.

  Ignoring James’s glare and Mary’s worried frown, the two left, letting the door shut and lock behind them.

  ‘Where to?’ she asked in a whisper, mentally cataloguing which floors they hadn’t yet explored.

  ‘Three floors from the top, where we left off?’ Fox suggested. ‘We’ll get some more footage, then take what we’ve got to the rest of the crew and see what they say about it. We need to check in with them, anyway, and see how things are going from their end. If we get there in time we can be over to the ship at lunch, and back in here at evening shift change.’

  Cat nodded and followed him up the stairs. They reached the level and stepped out into the corridor – and immediately backtracked around the corner, flattening themselves against the wall. The corridor was buzzing with activity, and Cat and Fox shared a dismayed look. No way were they going to be able to slip undetected through all of that. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, Fox removed his video recorder from his waistcoat, turning it to face the corridor in the hope of catching some faces for Cat to later identify. At this point the more proof they could get the better. They moved to an alcove containing a long oak desk and hid underneath it, preparing to wait out the flood of people.

  Within about ten minutes the corridor began to clear, and Fox suggested they attempt to have a look around some more of the workshops. Several of them contained experiments in mid-process, and while it made them both queasy to watch, they knew they needed to get footage of it. Fox dug a scrap of paper and a pencil from his satchel to write down door numbers of labs that still had children in them, so they knew where to find them when they began to evacuate. There was an encouraging amount of unharmed children; around fifty, by Cat’s count. She just hoped that the mechanics wouldn’t move them in the meantime.

  As the morning dragged on into afternoon, Fox began obsessively checking his pocket watch, waiting for the clock to tick over to one o’clock when lunch break began and the guard would be minimal. Finally, he deemed it safe for them to leave, and led the way back to the outer door they’d entered through the day before, then paused.

  ‘There could be security guards on the other side,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Not a risk I’m willing to take. Come on.’

  He grabbed her hand, practically dragging her down the right-hand corridor, pulling her into an alcove with a small window just above Fox’s head height.

  ‘Keep an eye out and hit me if someone comes our way.’

  Without waiting for a response, Fox reached up to grab the window sill, spreading his legs far apart, jamming the toes of his boots in the grooves betwe
en the wood panels on either side of the alcove. Cat alternated between observing the corridor and watching Fox as he awkwardly walked his way up the wall, holding on to the window sill until he was high enough to sit on it. He flicked the latch on the window, pushing it open. There barely looked enough room for her to fit through, let alone Fox.

  ‘Are you sure that’s going to work?’ she hissed, and he flashed her a roguish grin, stretching right down to hold out his hand.

  ‘Trust me, girlie. Now, let me pull you up.’

  Eyeing him apprehensively, she gripped his hand tightly in hers, jumping as he pulled. There was a brief moment of panic as Fox nearly overbalanced, but he leaned back into the open window, bracing himself against the frame as Cat gripped the sill, hoisting herself up ungracefully to sit beside him. It was a tight fit, and Cat found herself pressed against him, their faces about half a foot apart.

  He winked at her.

  ‘Told you it would work. You go first.’

  He let a hand rest securely on her shoulder as she twisted to lower herself out of the window. Forcing her thoughts away from the warmth she could feel through her coat – now really wasn’t the time – she gripped the window sill tightly, not wanting to drop suddenly and make a lot of noise. She felt her toes brush the ground, and let go, landing on the damp concrete with a muffled thump. Looking up at Fox, she beckoned him, moving aside so he could lower himself down. When his feet touched the ground, he quickly darted round the corner to hide by the protrusion of building stretching towards the back of East Gate, followed by Cat.

  ‘You all right?’ he checked, and she nodded, taking a few moments to slow her breathing.

  There was a gallery running along the wall, thick stone columns supporting decorated arches in the self-important government fashion. But the heavily shadowed walkway would be just as useful to them as the alcoves inside the building had been – it made perfect cover. Fox seemed to fade into the shadows as he slunk across to the other side, ready to dart out and pick the lock of the exposed East Gate.

  Cat stepped out of her hiding place to join him, only to scurry back at the sound of footsteps. Her eyes widened as she caught Fox’s alarmed expression, and suddenly she felt a hand grabbing the back of her collar, lifting her clean off her feet. ‘What in storms do you think you’re doing here, brat?’ a voice hissed in her ear, the guard’s breath hot on her neck. All she could do was let out a whimper, feeling herself tremble as she was forcibly turned around. She didn’t recognise the man holding her, but his rumpled uniform had just one stud on the collar, and the putrid scent of alcohol was dizzying. ‘Where did you come from, then?’

  ‘Let – let go of me,’ Cat mumbled, struggling feebly. She could see Fox hiding in the walkway, watching her, aghast.

  ‘What would I do that for?’ the guard said, chuckling darkly. He was swaying on his feet as he held her, and Cat stretched down to stand on solid ground once more. ‘Bet you’ve escaped from one of them holding cells inside, hmm? Boss’ll be awfully mad if a brat gets away. Don’t know what they need them for, anyway.’ The man’s tone turned scathing as he muttered to himself, but his grip stayed tight. Cat struck a solid blow between his legs, making him howl in pain. His grip loosened just enough for Cat to squirm free and run off, but as she turned to see if he was following, a tall form blocked her vision and a sharp crack filled the air, followed by the heavy thump of a body falling to the floor. She swallowed her scream, frantic eyes landing on Fox, who had emerged from the shadows and held one of his heavy steel-toed boots in his hand. There was a smudge of dark blood staining the leather, and her gaze flicked to the crumpled form of the guard, who was unconscious and bleeding from a cut on his forehead.

  ‘Is he … dead?’ she asked, still trembling.

  ‘No, just unconscious. But we need to get going before he wakes up,’ Fox replied quietly.

  She looked up at him warily. ‘We can’t just leave him here! He’ll tell someone he saw me!’

  Fox snorted, rolling his eyes. ‘Cat, he smells like he took a bath in a distillery. No one will believe anything he says,’ he said, tugging her away.

  He didn’t speak again until they were a good distance away from the unconscious man, hiding deep in the shadows of the empty walkway. Cat clasped her hands together, willing her fingers to stop shaking. ‘You’re OK,’ Fox murmured, leaning his head against hers for the briefest moment. ‘You’re safe, you’re fine. That was a good shot, actually. Good luck to him if he ever wants kids.’ There was a grin on his face, and Cat giggled.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly, earning a raised eyebrow. ‘That could’ve blown everything.’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault, it could’ve just as easily been me,’ he said quietly. ‘And you dealt with it well.’ Cat bit her lip, but didn’t argue. Her fault or not, it had been far too close for comfort.

  Fox got the gate open with ease, and Cat was surprised to see it unguarded on the other side.

  ‘Psst! Cat! Fox!’ Her head snapped up, and she couldn’t stop grinning when she saw Ben lurking in the shadows nearby. Racing towards him, she let him envelop her in a tight hug as he pulled her back into his hiding place, Fox following close behind. ‘Oh, thank the gods you’re both OK. We were so worried,’ he breathed, dropping a kiss to her head before releasing her, bringing Fox into a brief hug as well.

  ‘Where’s the guard?’ the redhead asked, and Ben smirked.

  ‘Mattie’s taking care of it. We’re getting rather good at drawing guards away for twenty minutes or so, just in case you turn up. Oh, Alice is going to be ecstatic, she’s hardly slept.’ They all froze at the sound of footsteps, but relaxed when it turned out to be Matt, a faint purple bruise on his cheek and his hair mussed.

  ‘Storms, you’re back!’ he exclaimed in a whisper. ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘We’re fine,’ Fox assured quickly. ‘We’ve got so much to tell you, but we need to get back to the ship.’

  ‘Of course,’ Matt agreed, already setting off towards the shipyard. Cat followed, feeling safe for the first time since she’d stepped into the government compound. Storms, she just wanted it all to be over.

  Chapter 18

  ‘So what did you find out, then?’ Matt asked Fox and Cat once they were all settled around the table in the galley, Alice brewing tea for each of them. Cat grimaced, sharing a look with Fox, who looked equally sombre.

  ‘It’s bad,’ he started, taking out their video and audio recorders and setting them on the table. ‘What they’re doing to those children … it’s despicable.’

  ‘You – you actually saw some of them?’ Ben asked tentatively, his face pale. Cat’s heart went out to him, and she braced herself for what she was about to tell him, aware his mind was on his sister; she would’ve been nineteen now, but there was no way she was still alive. Cat wished he could’ve stayed oblivious.

  ‘They’re creating an army,’ she said quietly. ‘That much is true, at least. But it’s not any kind of army you’ve seen before. They’re mutilating the children, giving them mechanical limbs with guns on them, trying to create a half-human, half-mecha soldier. It … it doesn’t seem to be going very well. There are more failures than successes from what we can see.’

  The entire crew had gone chalk-white at her words, and Ben looked like he was about to pass out. Matt’s arm was around him, squeezing his shoulders tightly.

  ‘We gather Collected kids are being stored out in the country,’ Fox continued, and Cat jumped as his hand slid over hers on the bench, entwining her fingers and holding her with a vice-like grip. ‘Fed to put some weight on, then groups are brought back by train to undergo experiments. We don’t know what happens to the successful cases.’ He paused. ‘There is some good news in all of this, though. Queen Mary Latham and her son are alive.’

  You could have heard a pin drop in the galley.

  ‘They’re being held captive in a room right at the bottom of the government compound. Have been there since they disappeared. The king was
killed, but his wife and son live,’ Cat explained.

  ‘Bless my soul,’ Harry murmured, running a hand over his beard. ‘I suppose that solves the problem of who will run the country once the government is gone. If they’re up to the task.’

  ‘Do you really think they’ll be given a choice?’ Alice pointed out. ‘After all the government has done, people will want the monarchy back in place, whether the monarchs themselves like it or not.’

  ‘We need to act quickly,’ Fox said, sipping at his tea. ‘The longer we’re in there, the more likely we are to get caught. We need to find out who’s in charge, film some conclusive evidence, then evacuate the children and the royals before we bring the place to the ground.’

  ‘We’re ready for that when you are,’ Matt assured him, his arm still around Ben. The blond man seemed to be shell-shocked by the news of what had probably happened to his sister. Cat didn’t blame him; she would have been sobbing if it had been her.

  ‘I’ll go back in tonight, and evacuate everyone who needs to get out. We’re quite sure we know where all the kids are, but I’ll look around for more when I’m planting canisters,’ Fox declared. Cat froze, abruptly tearing her hand from his.

  ‘What do you mean, you’re going back in tonight? You talk as if you’re going in alone.’

  He nodded.

  ‘That’s because I am,’ he replied slowly.

  She glared.

  ‘You most definitely are not! You’re mad if you think I’m letting you go in without me! You need someone to watch your back!’

  She couldn’t believe they were having the same argument twice. Had she not managed to get it into his thick head the first time?

  ‘It’s too dangerous for you,’ Fox insisted vehemently. ‘We won’t be able to keep sticking to the shadows.’ Cat rolled her eyes.

  ‘Like it’s any less dangerous for you?’ she snapped.

  ‘Now, kids, calm down,’ Alice attempted quietly, and both teens whipped around to face her.

  ‘You agree with me, though, don’t you, Alice?’ Fox demanded. ‘It’s far too dangerous for Cat to go in. I can handle it on my own.’