‘Okay.’
‘The peacekeeping arm of the UN is made up of troops from dozens of different countries. Still, it’s a big planet, and it barely has enough troops for normal peacekeeping missions.’ She let this information set in. ‘How could it possibly invade a country like Canada? Or China, for that matter.’
‘I’m sure they were taken by surprise.’
‘Taken by—’
This kid is cuckoo.
‘Jason,’ Brodie tried again. ‘It must have been one big surprise. China has nuclear weapons and one of the largest armies on Earth. How could it be taken by surprise?’
Jason shook his head. ‘I don’t know the details—’
‘There are no details to know,’ Brodie said. ‘Your father is lying to you.’
‘You mustn’t say such things.’ Jason’s face turned white with anger. ‘My father was chosen by God! Are you so stupid you can’t see that?’
This was getting waaay out of hand. Jason was getting so loud that people were starting to stare.
‘I don’t want to offend your father,’ Brodie said, smoothly. ‘I know you must love him very much.’
‘I do!’ Jason snapped. ‘We all do.’
He looked down in despair. For almost an entire minute, he didn’t speak as he stared down at the floor. Brodie wondered if he might be praying. Finally, he turned back to her. At least now, the color had returned to his cheeks.
‘I’m sorry I lost my temper,’ he said.
Brodie nodded.
‘I know you’re ignorant,’ Jason said. ‘Like all the others out there. You need to be educated.’
You’re the one who needs education.
‘What sort of education are you thinking of?’ Brodie asked.
‘We have books, videos—’
‘It might help if I could see the whole compound,’ Brodie said, glancing about. She could pretend to show a romantic interest in Jason, but that might be taking things too far. ‘I’ve hardly seen any of it.’
‘I can give you a tour,’ Jason offered.
His good humor seemed to have recovered.
‘Can we make a time?’ Brodie asked.
‘How about after lunch?’
‘That would be fine.’ Brodie stood. ‘I better go and check on my friend Dan. I want to make certain he’s feeling better.’
Jason nodded and gave her a wave as she left.
Brodie gave a long sigh as soon as she was out of sight. That didn’t go well. Not well at all. If Jason was any indication of the way people here thought, then changing their minds would be almost impossible. When she arrived back at their room on one of the lower levels, she found Ebony sitting in the chamber alone.
‘Where’s Dan?’ Brodie asked.
‘Gone.’
‘Where?’
‘I have no idea. The room was empty when I arrived.’
Brodie left and found Susan.
‘That’s right,’ Susan confirmed. ‘He has been moved.’
‘Where is he?’
‘I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Jeremiah or Jason.’
Brodie went storming through the complex searching for them. By the time she found Jeremiah, she’d reminded herself how important it was to remain calm. She and Ebony had the run of the complex so far. It would be a mistake to jeopardize all that by flying off the handle.
The compound leader and Donna were in deep discussion as she approached.
‘Jeremiah!’ she called.
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘It’s one of our newest members.’
‘Where is Dan? It looks like he’s been moved.’
‘He has,’ Jeremiah confirmed. ‘Now that we’re in the final days, it’s important to plan for the future.’
Which means…?
‘He’s now sharing a dormitory with some of our members who are closer in age,’ Jeremiah said. ‘It’s more appropriate.’
‘Can I see him?’
‘That wouldn’t be a good idea.’
A hundred responses went through Brodie’s head. She felt like punching the man in the head and turning every room upside down until she found Dan. But where would that get them? They still had to find Ferdy, and he could be anywhere. She had to do the hardest thing now, and that was to remain silent. Try to gain their trust. Wait for the right moment to arrive.
‘All right,’ Brodie said.
‘Jason tells me he’s showing you around the compound after lunch.’
‘Yes, he is.’
Brodie expected him to forbid the tour, but simply wished her a good day. Brodie turned to leave.
‘Just one thing,’ Jeremiah continued.
‘Yes?’
‘Welcome to the family.’
Chapter Twenty-Three
Although I didn’t expect to sleep, I was dead to the world until the lights flickered on. It was impossible to determine the time, and we’d handed in our watches before embarking on the mission.
Chad made some inarticulate sounds as he struggled into wakefulness. Drink was off the bench immediately and warily crouched near the entrance to the chamber, peering out into the main area.
I stood nearby.
‘What are you waiting for?’ I asked.
He looked like he didn’t want to answer me. ‘You see those enclosures in the ceiling?’ he finally said.
They were at regular intervals about ten feet apart.
‘Food drops out of them,’ Drink said.
I could see the immediate problem. ‘How do you know which one?’
‘You don’t know. The guards place bets on who isn’t going to make it and then draw lots on where to drop the food. If it lands near us, we’re lucky. If it doesn’t…’
He looked over to the darkened alcoves on the opposite side of the enclosure.
‘Are they dangerous?’ I asked.
‘Everyone’s dangerous,’ he answered. ‘If they’re hungry enough.’
A sound came from behind us.
‘What’s up, people?’ Chad asked.
I grabbed his arm. ‘Wake up, you idiot. Food’s on its way.’
‘Food? Great, I’ll start with bacon and eggs, then some pancakes—’
Three slots opened up in the ceiling. They were all close to the middle of the room. A pile of food fell through. They looked more like food scraps than actual food. No sooner had they hit the floor than Drink leaped toward it. At the same time, a creature that looked like a cross between a man and a cat appeared from one of the alcoves.
‘What the—’ Chad started.
‘We need to get some of this,’ I told him.
‘Are you mad?’
I activated my powers, using it to drag some of the scraps toward us. Drink tried fighting with the cat man over a loaf of bread. Mods appeared from everywhere. Fistfights started. A man, about three times the width of an average person, started punching into a very tall, thin man who was firing electricity from his hands. Another guy seemed to be fighting with thin air; then, I realized I could faintly see a mist. Obviously, his assailant could transform himself into a porous gas.
Becker tried mesmerizing another inmate—a well built, black man with extra arms—but the man simply punched him in the face, smashing him to the ground.
I had a loaf of bread in my hands, but Chad was already heading off. At first, I thought he was going for more food, but then I realized he was going to help Drink. The water man was fighting a losing battle. His ability to change into water was also his weakness. He couldn’t grasp any of the food without reverting back to human. Every time he tried, the cat man took another swipe at him.
Finally, Drink’s head hit the ground. Momentarily dazed, the cat man pulled a clawed hand back to deliver the fatal blow.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Three icy rocks hit the creature in the head, and he went flying. Chad followed up with a blast of fire that singed his hairs. Cat man leaped clear. I wondered if I should try for more food, but Drink used the opportunity to rouse himself and grab some pi
eces of fruit. He staggered back to the enclosure.
‘This is easy,’ Chad said, turning to me. ‘Once I’ve had my bacon—’
A blast of energy struck Chad across the back of the head and sent him flying. Another blast flew at him, but this time I threw up a shield and blocked it. Keeping my shield in position, I dropped the loaf of bread, grabbed Chad, and dragged him back to our enclosure.
By now, the fighting had come to an end. All the food was gone. Anyone that could move was back in their alcove. Two people were motionless. One was Becker. The other was a thin man whom I’d noticed climbing the walls like a spider. It hadn’t helped him. Someone had knocked him unconscious.
Chad started to wake up. ‘What hit me?’ he groaned.
‘An energy blast,’ I said. ‘Someone out there packs quite a punch.’
‘I’ll say,’ he groaned. ‘Did we get some food?’
I looked around for my loaf of bread, but it was gone. I looked up at Drink, but he was sitting back on the bench, gnawing on a piece of fruit.
‘Where did our loaf go?’ I asked.
He shrugged, but his eyes subtly shifted to his left. The man on the bench—the man who hadn’t moved since we’d arrived—was sitting, gnawing the bread.
‘That’s our bread!’ I yelled.
He looked at me impassively. ‘So?’ he said.
‘So I want it back.’
The man continued to eat.
Chad had recovered by now and glared at the quiet man on the bench.
‘Didn’t you hear my friend?’ he said. ‘We want our bread back.’
‘Maybe you should come and take it,’ he suggested.
I didn’t like the way he said that. Before I could speak, Chad raised a hand and blasted ice balls toward him. The man raised his hand, and the balls flew back and slammed Chad in the face. They walloped him this time, his head flew back, and he hit the ground unconscious.
‘Didn’t they teach you kids anything at school?’ the man asked mildly. ‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.’ He took another bite of the bread. ‘By the way, they call me Recoil.’
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dan had been sitting in the room alone for about an hour when a knock sounded at the door.
‘Come in,’ he said.
A young girl who looked to be about his age entered. She had a friendly, good-natured face, brown hair and eyes, and dimples in her cheeks.
‘I’m Sally,’ she said, smiling pleasantly. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Okay, I guess.’
Actually, okay was a pretty inaccurate description of how he felt. He didn’t remember much about the last few days. He remembered the fire. Their house had been alight. He remembered the vampires. One of them—a woman—had come into his room, and before he had a chance to even climb out of bed, she’d fired a dart gun at him.
Within seconds he’d passed out.
After that, everything was confusing. Dan could remember waking up in a truck, but everything was moving around him. He could see Brodie’s and then Ebony’s face coming into view, but couldn’t recall anything they said to him. He recalled wanting to vomit, and his head spinning so badly the world seemed upside down.
Then night fell, a deep endless night from which he’d only just awoken. Now he found himself looking at a pretty face with a disarming smile.
Still, he had to be careful.
‘Are you a vampire?’ he asked. ‘I have powers if you are.’
The girl laughed. ‘That’s silly,’ she said. ‘No, I’m just a girl. Someone wants to see you.’
‘Who?’
‘Jeremiah. He’s the leader of the Sanctuary compound.’
‘Is that where I am? The Sanctuary compound?’
She nodded.
‘Where are my friends?’ Dan asked.
‘Jeremiah will answer all your questions,’ Sally said. ‘He’s a very wise man.’ She left the room. A moment later, she stuck her head back in. ‘Hey silly, are you coming?’
Looks like I am, he thought.
He followed the girl into the passageway and found himself in an underground building. It reminded him of The Agency, but much smaller. A man and woman passed him. They gave him a friendly smile and said hello. Dan tried to appear confident, but beneath the surface, he felt nervous.
‘You didn’t tell me your name,’ Sally said.
‘My name is Dan.’
‘Dan? As in Dan the Man?’ Sally said. ‘That’s a cool name.’
‘Thanks.’
‘I was named after Sally Fields. The actress.’
‘I don’t know her.’
‘She was famous.’
Dan had pretty much made up his mind that he wasn’t in the vampire’s lair. He carefully felt around his neck and found it free of bite marks. At least I’m not going to drink anyone’s blood. He’d mentioned his powers to the girl. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that, but this girl—Sally—didn’t seem nervous or confused.
At least he had his powers. Of course, he appeared to be deep inside some enormous underground structure. He didn’t relish the idea of trying to fight his way out of here. Sally pushed a door open and led him into a meeting room that contained an oval table surrounded by chairs. A man sat at one end, reading a book. Dan couldn’t make out the words on the cover.
‘Ah, welcome,’ the man said. ‘I’m glad you’re doing better now.’
‘H-hello,’ Dan said. He didn’t want to sound nervous, so he lowered his voice to sound older.
‘I understand you’re Dan.’
‘Yes. I am.’
‘My name is Jeremiah Stead,’ the man said, placing the book down. ‘Sally, would you be so kind as to sit with Dan while I explain how he ended up in this crazy situation?’
Dan sat while Sally took the chair beside him. Despite the man’s friendliness, Dan was sure he was the person responsible for his kidnapping. Glancing around, Dan tried to look for objects made from metal. The chairs had a metal base. If he had to escape, he could probably use them as a weapon.
‘Where are my friends?’ Dan asked.
‘They’re close by,’ Jeremiah said. ‘First of all, I want to apologize for bringing you here under these circumstances. These are desperate times, and I had to resort to desperate measures.’
‘Okay,’ Dan said, although he had no idea to what he was agreeing.
‘I see you’ve already made a friend,’ Jeremiah said. ‘Sally is a lovely girl. She’d already told me how handsome you were.’
Sally gave an embarrassed laugh. Dan looked at her and was pleasantly surprised to see her blushing.
Jeremiah Stead continued. ‘Your friends—Ferdy in particular—are helping me in a project I’m working on.’
‘What kind of project?’ Dan asked suspiciously.
‘I have a particular code I’m trying to decipher,’ Jeremiah said. ‘I believe Ferdy can help me.’
Dan decided he didn’t believe a word of what this man was saying. There were ways to go about asking for help. They didn’t include using vampires to kidnap a bunch of kids from their home and locking them in an underground bunker.
‘I understand you’re an orphan, Dan,’ Jeremiah suddenly changed tact.
‘Uh, yes.’ Dan felt a bit self-conscious. He’d barely spoken to the others about being an orphan, but almost every night, he thought about his parents. Axel had mentioned dreams he’d had about a wheat field and a farm, but for Dan, there had been no similar memories. Like the others, he could remember his life after being experimented on by The Agency, but nothing before.
Thinking about his parents always made him feel a bit empty.
‘I’m an orphan too,’ Jeremiah said. ‘My parents passed away when I was very young. There’s nothing like that terrible feeling of being ultimately alone.’
Jeremiah seemed to be speaking almost to Dan’s heart. The man seemed really sincere, and Dan could feel a choking sensation in his throat. Stead got up and crossed to Dan. He gave hi
s shoulder a squeeze.
‘We want to treat you like a member of our family, Dan,’ Jeremiah said.
‘When can I see my friends?’
‘Soon. Very soon. In the meantime, I’d like it if you got to know some people here at Sanctuary. Sally?’
‘Yes, Jeremiah?’
‘I want you to take Dan to the shared accommodation room, but before I do, I have to ask him two questions.’
‘Yes, sir?’ Dan said.
‘One. Do you like lots of fun?’ Jeremiah asked.
‘Uh, yes.’
The man gave him a friendly smile. ‘I’m afraid it’s fun unlimited in the dorm with the kids,’ he said. ‘Even I go down there when I’m feeling a bit down.’
‘Okay.’
‘And question two.’ Jeremiah took a deep breath. ‘I need an honest answer to this, Dan.’
‘Sir?’
‘Do you like being called Dan the Man?’
Dan couldn’t help but smile. ‘Yes, sir. I do.’
Jeremiah held out his hand and shook Dan’s hand. ‘Then you are Dan the Man,’ he said. ‘I’ll make sure everyone calls you that from now on.’
‘Okay.’ Dan found himself feeling positive. Almost euphoric. This Jeremiah character was really a good guy.
‘And just one thing, my boy,’ Jeremiah said just before Dan passed through the door.
‘Yes, sir?’
‘Don’t forget who your friends are.’
‘I won’t,’ Dan promised.
After Dan left the room, Jeremiah sat back in his chair. He formed a steeple with his fingers. He felt very pleased. Everything was going according to plan.
Jeremiah Stead began to laugh.
Chapter Twenty-Five
We’d survived our first day, but only by the skin of our teeth.
Chad was bruised and battered and resentful about Recoil and his abilities. We’d sat quietly together, and I’d done my best to keep him calm. His face and head were a mess. He’d tried to talk me into joining him in an assault on Recoil, but I thought it a bad idea.
‘Why?’ he hissed, quietly furious.
Recoil had gone back to his position on the bench, his back turned to us, apparently asleep.
Teen Superheroes Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 25
