As Lucy continued to inflict pain on the men, a fire extinguisher came smashing through the ice wall from inside the shop. Scarlett hadn’t realised there was someone in there, she’d assumed all the criminals were on the outside.
“What’s all this?” a man said with an icily calm tone as he strode through the hole he’d created. He was well dressed in a smart black jacket, shirt, tie, trousers and utility belt. He was also wearing a cross between a balaclava and a mime’s mask, which covered the whole of his head and face. On his feet were swish shoes with toes so pointed they could do some serious damage.
He had an intimidating and important air about him as he coolly stepped outside carrying four briefcases. He also appeared to be the boss of this bunch.
“Can’t I trust you goons to do anything right?” He stared at his defeated men in disgust, then at the teenagers. “And who do you think you lot are? Batman and his merry men?”
He laughed even though he didn’t look too impressed with the scene before him. He glowered at each one of them, then turned his gaze to a large grey van that came screeching around the corner. The side door flung open as it stopped in front of the gang.
“Come on,” the boss man said. “Time to get out of here. Don’t think I won’t be punishing you lot for this later.”
“We’re sorry, Echidna,” one robber said as he limped into the truck. “I don’t know what happened.”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
The man turned towards the teenagers with a cold, steely look in his blue-grey eyes, which could just be seen through his mask. “And you vigilante kids stay out of my way or you’ll regret it. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Then he leapt into the van and ordered his henchman to drive away.
“So I guess that was The Echidna,” Scarlett said as they watched the van speed off down the street. She remembered how Rachel had mentioned the villain the day before. “He didn’t seem so scary to me.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s gone,” Lucy said. “I have a feeling he wouldn’t have fled so quickly had he not been carrying four briefcases full of expensive jewellery.”
She looked at the shop, then up and down the street and shot a few blasts out to scramble the CCTV. That should destroy any record of them having ever been here.
“Thank you! Thank you,” the woman they’d rescued said as she ran up the street towards them. “You got rid of them.”
“Don’t mention it,” Dylan said. “They still got away with some of your jewellery though. I’m sorry.”
“At least they didn’t take everything or hurt me. You were so amazing. I don’t know how you did those incredible things…”
Dylan turned to Neelam and gave her the nod. It was time for her to work her mind magic.
“I’m sorry,” Neelam said as she placed her hand on the woman’s forehead. “But we can’t allow you to remember this.” Then she wiped her memory and replaced it with a slightly censored version; one that didn’t involve them using superpowers.
“Thank you,” the woman muttered again. She seemed a little confused and wandered over to her store to check out the damage.
“We’d better get out of here before the police arrive,” Scarlett said.
“If you ask me, we should be leaving fighting crime to the police in the first place, we’re increasing our chances of exposing ourselves acting like this.” Dylan narrowed his eyes at Scarlett. “And you put yourself in danger by racing off on your own again.”
“Oh, shut up, Dylan,” she snapped as she walked off down the street.
Why did he have to keep having a go at her? Couldn’t he see that she was rattled by the revelation that she might die one day soon too? For some reason, it made her more reckless rather than cautious. Becoming more aware of her mortality made her want to help as many people as possible while she still could. If she was going to die soon anyway, she’d might as well stop others getting hurt in the meantime.
Dylan didn’t see it that way though. He thought she should wrap herself up in cotton wool, so he didn’t understand that her fear of death was motivating her to be so daring. To be fair to him, she’d only just realised why she was acting this way herself. Sometimes self-awareness had a funny way of hitting you over the head like that.
“I won’t always be there to save you,” he said, running after her.
“I know, I’m sorry, let’s drop it.”
Scarlett didn’t want to discuss it anymore, so she walked on in silence as she wandered aimlessly through the city. She wasn’t heading in any particular direction as she stomped off, but before she knew it, she was walking across a bridge over the River Irwell towards Salford. And that’s when she had the idea to look for a new hideout in that part of town.
“Where are you going?” Dylan asked.
“Checking out what’s this way. We need to find a new place to stay and I don’t fancy looking in the Northern Quarter again, the posh parts are too heavily guarded and north of the city is a no-go area.”
“So you want to try Salford?” Alex said, running to catch them up. “Are you mad?” The area didn’t have the best reputation.
“This bit’s not so bad, well it didn’t used to be, and there might be some disused buildings we can scope out. Where else can we go?”
“Fair point and I guess the police will be less likely to look for us this side of the river too. As usual, you’re crazy but right. Why don’t we try Chapel Street down here?”
Lucy and Neelam caught up with the group as they took a left turn onto a road full of deserted buildings. The sun was coming up and making everything look more beautiful with its orangey glow, but this still didn’t seem like the safest place to be. They walked past a few redbrick buildings before Neelam pointed at one with tall, boarded-up windows on a corner.
“That one’s empty; let’s check it out.”
They crossed the strangely quiet road and took a closer look at the building. It seemed OK to Scarlett, so she telekinetically opened the door and crept inside. She kept her wits about her as she did so in case there were any nasty surprises waiting for them. The rest of the group followed, then they scouted out the two rooms downstairs before making their way up the creaky, wooden staircase and having a look around the upper floor.
“This is empty too,” Neelam said. She wiped her finger over some dust on the window frame. “I don’t think anyone’s been here for a long time.”
“So, are we staying?” Alex asked.
“Can’t we go back to Kerridges?” Lucy said. At least she wasn’t harping on about London anymore.
“I think this will do for now,” Dylan said. “We can’t hide in a department store forever, we’re not in a 1980s teen movie.”
He tried his best to force a laugh, but Scarlett could tell he wasn’t feeling cheerful. She didn’t fancy hanging around while he was in this mood, so she quickly made an excuse to get out of there, even though they’d just arrived.
“The whole house needs a good clean,” she said. “Neelam and I could pop out and get some cleaning products while the rest of you start making this place a home.”
“Sounds good to me,” Neelam said. “We can get some food too.”
“You’re going out on your own?” Dylan didn’t look impressed.
“Just to the shop. We won’t be long.” Scarlett glared at him defiantly to show the matter wasn’t open for debate. She knew she was being mean to Dylan, but she was too fed-up to put up with his nagging right now. She needed some space.
“OK, whatever. Be careful to stay out of trouble and Neelam, don’t let her run off on any one-woman missions.”
Scarlett glowered at Dylan, while Neelam gave him an agreeable nod, then the two of them descended the rickety stairs and headed back outside.
Chapter 13
As she and Neelam made their way back down Chapel Street, Scarlett noticed there were still no cars in sight, which was weird for such a usually busy road. Another sign of how run-down the city had become,
she guessed. Less people could afford cars and there was a lot less cause for anyone to commute into the city with so many shops and offices closed down.
She sensed Neelam staring at her as they walked along, but she chose to ignore it. Even without her telepathy, Neelam was naturally astute, so she must have noticed the atmosphere between her and Dylan. Scarlett didn’t feel like talking about it though.
“You’re avoiding Dylan, aren’t you?” Neelam said. “Have you two had a fight or something?”
“No and no. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re being a bit weird with each other at the moment.”
“We’re fine. He’s grumpy because he thinks I’m being too reckless and I wish he’d lay off, but our relationship itself is fine.”
“You’re being so hostile to each other, I wouldn’t call that fine, whatever the reason may be.”
“Shut up, Neelam.”
“Scarlett, what’s wrong with you lately? You’ve been snappy since we got here and I happen to agree with Dylan; you are being too reckless. You should be more careful after what Mason saw happening to you.”
Scarlett stopped in her tracks, looked up to the heavens and sighed.
“Mason saw me die in London when Goulden’s men came for us, right? Well, guess what? They came, we escaped and now we’re here, so it looks like I’m going to be OK. Do I feel like I might be cheating death and due to die anyway? Of course I do, but I also think that’s a good reason to try to make the most of every second and help as many people as I can while I can and if I have to be reckless in the process then so be it.”
She carried on walking again, more quickly this time. So quickly that Neelam struggled keep up with her.
“So, you’re being reckless because you’re afraid of death.”
“I think so. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking at first, but today I realised that’s how I feel. Sometimes it takes me a while to understand why I’m doing what I’m doing. Does that seem dumb?”
“No, we’re teenagers and we’re still trying to figure out life, emotions and motivations along with saving the world.” Neelam tapped Scarlett on the shoulder gently. “If you’re ever confused, you can always talk to me you know. You have been acting strangely…”
“I’m fine!” Scarlett wished Neelam would drop it now. She appreciated her concern, but she didn’t want to discuss this any further.
“Have you spoken to Dylan about how you’re feeling?”
“No!” Scarlett sighed again. “Do you have any money? We’re going to need some if we want to buy anything.”
“Sure, I’ve still got a few hundred left.”
Scarlett knew £300 was about the equivalent of £30 in the world she knew, so that should just about buy enough to keep them going for a few days.
“Great. Nice one, Neelam. If we head right here, there should be a supermarket a little further down the road, or at least I hope it’s still there.”
Neelam took the hint to stop quizzing Scarlett and walked along in silence until they found the store, where they set about grabbing some shopping. Scarlett was surprised to find that, unlike much of the city, Deansgate and the shop were still pretty much the same as she remembered them. There were a few less people milling around than she was used to, but the ones they did come across were smartly dressed office workers who appeared content and happy with their lives; very different to the miserable faces you saw in the workhouses and across most of the city.
“It’s like nothing’s changed,” she whispered to Neelam as they filled their basket with food.
“I guess these are the lucky, rich few who work for successful businesses. All the developments being built down the road in Spinningfields indicate that times are good for some people while they’re awful for the rest of us.”
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Scarlett said, quoting a Charles Dickens line she’d learned at school.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Anyway, we’ve got loads of bread, hams, salad, butter and crisps. Is that enough?”
“It’ll do for now, it’s not like we can make hot meals when we don’t have an oven. I’ve got some cleaning stuff too, so let’s pay and get out of here.”
Scarlett was surprised to find there were no cashiers at the checkouts because they were all self-service machines. She’d seen a mix of staffed and customer-operated tills in the past, but there was usually someone around to help you in case things went wrong. Today she couldn’t see a single person; it was weird not to encounter any human contact at all.
The two girls joined a queue of shoppers and waited their turn.
“Hurry up!” a woman ahead of them said as she folded her arms and tapped the toe of her shoe on the floor impatiently. “You’re taking ages.”
“Shut up! The till’s broken and it won’t take my money,” a man snapped back.
The moody woman didn’t care. She huffed and stamped her feet. “Oh forget this.” She ripped a few carrier bags from the checkout area, stuffed her items in them and went to walk out without paying, but when she got to the exit, a cacophony of alarms went off and a policeman appeared from nowhere.
“I didn’t do anything!” she protested as he slapped the cuffs on her. “The till was broken. It’s not my fault.” But the officer wasn’t listening as he dragged her away. You didn’t get much chance to defend yourself with Goulden’s justice system.
Scarlett and Neelam looked at each other in disbelief, then noticed a till become available. They quickly scanned, bagged and paid for their items, then ventured onto the street outside. However, Scarlett spotted a Detectobot floating past and pushed Neelam back into the shop to avoid it.
She nodded her head in its direction so her friend understood why she’d forced her back indoors, then they waited with bated breath as the machine paused for a second and made a whirring sound before continuing on its way up the road.
“That was close,” Scarlett said.
They left the shop and glanced around for more of the spherical surveillance bots. The coast was clear, but they could see that a large crowd had gathered further down the road.
“I wonder what’s going on over there,” Scarlett said to Neelam.
“I don’t know and we’re not going to find out. Come on, we need to get back to the others.”
“We could take a quick look.”
“Or we could get this food home and forget about it.”
“I’m going to take a quick look.”
“Scarlett, no!”
But it was too late, Scarlett was already marching towards the crowd, keen to see what was happening. As she walked, it was heart-warming to see this part of town looking exactly as she remembered. It was like she’d stepped back in time to the days when she came here with her family, but at the same time, she felt a huge sense of loneliness because those days were nothing but memories. She didn’t even know if she’d see her parents and brother again.
Scarlett soon realised that the crowd had gathered outside the magistrates’ court, but she had no idea why. She glanced up and down the street for clues, then a grey van came hurtling round the corner before screeching to a halt right in front of the mass of people. Scarlett and Neelam tried to hide amongst the throng of people as The Echidna and his masked henchmen leapt out of the van and ran towards the court. The crowd jumped back in fear to let them past.
One of the men ran by, firing bullets in the air. “We’re here for Jonny. Let him go!”
“Release him or we start shooting this lot,” another said. The people gasped in horror and many motioned to run away. “Stay where you are.”
A third man spun around, pointing his gun threateningly at the crowd. “You’re going nowhere.”
Ten policemen charged down Deansgate and raced over to the men. They were wearing helmets and carrying guns and riot shields. For once, Scarlett was relieved to see the police, mainly because they were here to confront the criminals instead of
hunting her down for a change.
“We have to get out of here,” Neelam said in her head.
“What? Why?”
“Because the police are here and I don’t want them to see us.”
“They won’t notice us, they’re far too busy trying to deal with The Echidna and his men.”
“I don’t care, it’s too risky to stay and we can’t help out anyway because we can’t use our powers near these cops. Let’s go.”
“Hand over your weapons,” a policeman shouted at the gang, interrupting the girls’ conversation. He was running towards the criminals with his gun pointed right at them.
The Echidna laughed calmly.
“No.”
He pulled a short weighted rope from his utility belt and threw it at the policemen’s legs, where it whipped round his ankles and tied them together so he fell to the ground. The Echidna then gave his men the nod to open fire on the police and the scene descended into chaos as the cops engaged in a shoot-out with the gang. Bullets were flying freely, the gathered public were desperately trying to flee the scene and people were getting hurt amidst the panic.
“Still think we shouldn’t help?” Scarlett said as she ran towards the action.
She would have preferred to fly, but she knew Neelam was right; it was a bad idea to show off their powers in front of the police. However, that didn’t mean she couldn’t subtly use her telekinesis to intervene. Her main aim was to make sure no one got hurt, so she focussed on every stray bullet she could see, aiming to force them all to the ground so they didn’t hit any innocent bystanders. Next, she used her mind to reach into the guns, warp the mechanism and shut them down one by one until every member of the gang and police was unarmed.
“It’s not working!” a surly gang member said as he pumped on the trigger. “What happened?”
“The cops musta done sumthin,” another muttered. “Run!”
The henchmen scattered in all directions as the police gave chase after them. Some disappeared into Spinningfields, some towards the city centre and others into any side street they could find. Scarlett was amazed by how useless and cowardly these men could be the second they encountered a bit of trouble and she wasn’t the only one to be unimpressed. The Echidna shook his head as he coolly strutted back towards the van with one accomplice in tow. Scarlett ducked behind a young couple as the men passed by so they didn’t see her.
Out Of Time (Book 2): Heroes and Villains Page 10
