‘Hey, Red.’ He forced a smile, then slumped into unconsciousness at my feet.
27: Protection
‘Harry!’ I yelled his name in his ear. ‘Wake up!’
But Harry was out cold.
Holding my breath, I turned from him to Nico. Which one should I move first?
I hesitated for a split second, then grabbed Nico round the legs and dragged him outside. He’d been unconscious for what seemed like ages, now. At least Harry had only just passed out. Hopefully, he’d be okay for a few moments.
I was desperate for air by the time I reached the corridor. I gasped in a breath. The bleach-smelling gas was out here now, acrid in the back of my throat, but not anywhere near as strong as it was inside the room. I deposited Nico halfway down the corridor where the air seemed clearer, then raced back for Harry.
As I entered the room again, my top clinging sweatily to my back, Ed pushed his way into my head.
Dylan, what’s happening?
Not now.
Ketty’s fine and the police should be there . . .
They’re not. Geri must have got to them. Please, Ed, let me go.
We’re on our way.
Ed broke the connection as I reached Harry.
I gripped him under the arms and heaved him outside. He was about the same height as Nico, but stockier and heavier. My arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets by the time I reached the door. I stopped for a second to shut it behind me, then lugged him down the corridor.
I reached Nico, deposited Harry beside him then slumped to the ground myself. I sat on the cold floor in the silent corridor, my head in my hands.
‘Dylan?’ Nico croaked. I turned my flashlight on his face. He screwed up his eyes against the glare. ‘What happened?’ he gasped.
I shook my head, too exhausted to speak.
Nico turned his head and saw Harry lying beside him, eyes tight shut. He struggled onto his side.
‘Where are we?’ he said, still sounding hoarse. ‘What’s the matter with Harry?’
I leaned over, touching Harry’s face. His eyes were still shut. I bent lower, so my cheek was just above his mouth and nose.
My heart skipped a beat. ‘I don’t think he’s breathing.’
‘What?’ Nico sat up, wincing, his forehead clutched in his hand. ‘What happened?’
Adrenaline surged through me. ‘Geri gassed us. I thought you had it worse, but maybe Harry was taking deeper breaths.’
Nico stared at me, bewildered. I bent closer over Harry. I couldn’t work out if he was breathing or not. My head was still spinning – I wasn’t sure whether it was from the gas or all my efforts to save the three of us.
Still, one thing was certain. Harry was deathly pale.
Laura’s anxious face swam in front of my mind’s eye. Then Harry’s own smile.
My heart twisted into a knot.
I had to save him. Nothing mattered more.
My mind raced back to the resuscitation class Alex had given us. Desperately trying to remember what she’d told us, I took Harry’s nose between the finger and thumb of one hand. I stared at his face. There was something you were supposed to do with the chin, too, wasn’t there? Why hadn’t I paid more attention?
Keep the airway clear, that was it, wasn’t it? Grabbing Harry’s chin, I tilted his head slightly back. Then I leaned over him, took a deep breath and breathed the air into his mouth. Again. Again.
Harry spluttered. I jerked back, giving him space.
He coughed again, his eyes opening.
He blinked at me, his eyes crinkling into a smile. ‘We made it,’ he croaked.
I smiled back.
Harry shifted onto his elbows, closer to my face. ‘Hey, were you kissing me just then, Red?’
I could feel my smile deepening. I felt like crying with relief.
‘In your dreams,’ I said.
‘Excuse me,’ Nico said pointedly. ‘But the gas smell out here’s getting worse. I think we should move.’
I nodded, my face reddening slightly.
The three of us scrambled to our feet. The two boys still looked pale and a little unsteady. We made our way along the corridor and up the stairs to the ground floor. As we walked, I filled the others in on exactly what had happened. Harry was clearly impressed by everything I’d done. Nico was thoughtful . . . silent.
Outside the sky had lightened slightly. Almost dawn. The air was cold and clear. I took several deep breaths, not minding the goosebumps that covered my arms as the breeze blew around us.
The guard was lying outside where we’d left him. His eyes were closed, but he was stirring. As we stood over him, Nico turned to me.
‘This isn’t good,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Geri has done everything she can to cover her tracks. She wants us dead and, as things stand, she’ll know we’re alive.’
‘What are you saying?’ I said. ‘D’you think she’s going to come after us? Try to kill us again?’
‘I think it’s highly likely,’ Nico said. ‘Geri doesn’t like loose ends.’
The guard at our feet gave a low moan.
‘So what are you going to do?’ Harry asked.
Nico looked at me. He raised his eyebrows.
I nodded, slowly, realising what he was suggesting. ‘We need to cover our tracks,’ I said. ‘Make it look like we died here.’
‘That’s crazy,’ Harry said.
‘I don’t mean make out you died, just me and Nico.’ I said. ‘Geri doesn’t even know we’re in touch with you.’
‘I know. I mean, it’s crazy for you all to cut yourself off from the rest of the world like that,’ Harry said.
‘The rest of the world thinks we’re dead anyway,’ Nico said.
‘What?’ Harry said.
‘It’s true,’ I said. ‘We’re not on any databases. It’s only Geri and our families who know we’re alive.’
‘The only question is how,’ Nico said.
I glanced at the guard again, an idea popping into my head.
‘Just give me a sec,’ I said.
I rushed into the guard’s hut. Was it really only a short while ago that Ketty and I had stood in here, talking about how she felt about Nico? How I felt about Harry?
I scanned the shelf, looking past the magazines for the cigarette lighter I remembered seeing here before.
There.
I grabbed the lighter and raced outside. I thrust it at Nico.
‘Take off your jacket,’ I said. ‘We need to set light to it, then you need to teleport it into the building,’ I said.
‘Why?’ Nico frowned. ‘What’s that going to do?’
‘That’s insane, Red,’ Harry said – a note of admiration in his voice.
‘I don’t understand,’ Nico said.
‘When the fire meets the gas, there’ll be an explosion,’ I explained. ‘In the mess that’s created no one will know if we were inside the building or not.’
Nico’s eyes widened. For the first time since he’d come round he looked properly awake.
‘Brilliant.’ He took the lighter and flicked it on.
‘What about him?’ Harry pointed to the guard who was moaning more loudly now, his eyelids fluttering.
I put my hand on Nico’s arm. ‘Teleport him away from here first.’
Nico raised his hand. With a twist, the guard was lifted into the air. Nico zoomed him up and through the night air. He deposited him about two hundred metres from the building, near the place where he had left Ketty earlier.
The sight of that spot clearly reminded Nico of Ketty, too. He turned to me anxiously. ‘Have you heard from Ed?’ he said. ‘Is Ketty, okay?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘They’re fine and they’re on their way here now.’
‘Good.’ Nico turned back to the lighter and held it under his jacket.
‘We should stand further back,’ Harry said.
We ran back about fifty metres, to the edge of the trees. Nico tied his jacket into a knot a
nd set it ablaze. He held up both hands and sent the jacket zooming back towards the building. It flew over the two fences and in through the front door which we’d left open.
I waited, every muscle tensed, waiting for the blast.
Nothing happened. Long seconds passed.
Nico took a step forward. ‘It’s not going off,’ he said. ‘Maybe I didn’t send it far enough.’
‘Maybe the fire burned itself out,’ Harry suggested.
‘Damn.’ Nico took another step forward. Then another.
Harry and I followed. We were only thirty metres or so from the house, now.
‘Be careful,’ I said. ‘It could go off any—’
A series of loud booms sounded from the building. I froze as a ball of fire ballooned out the front door.
Beside me, Nico’s mouth dropped open. ‘That’s massive,’ he gasped. ‘That’s really—’
Another huge blast rocked the whole building. Black smoke appeared at the first-floor windows.
‘It’s going to—!’
BOOM!
The building exploded. A massive fireball erupted out of the roof and windows. It hurtled towards us like a rocket. All fire and smoke and heat.
Right at us in less than a second. There was no time to run. It was coming too fast.
‘No!’ I reached out and grabbed the others by the wrists. With every cell in my body I directed my force field across my own skin and from there to Nico and Harry.
Protect us all, I willed the energy that flowed from inside me.
Protect us. Please.
28: The future
I steeled myself for the impact of the fire, totally focused on the energy I was creating around me and Nico and Harry.
A second later the flames surrounded us. I kept every nerve focused on my force field, pushing away the fire.
The flames licked at our faces . . . smoke billowed . . . pieces of wood and brick flew in front of our eyes . . .
And then everything was gone, the fire sucking past us and into the air and the bits of the building slamming down on the ground all around us.
I released the force field and stood, feeling the energy still ricocheting around my body.
‘Is everyone okay?’ Nico asked.
Harry nodded. He looked at me, totally stunned. ‘How did you do that?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I just let go of everything . . . it was almost like I was doing it on instinct. Not trying . . .’
‘That was unbelievable, Dylan,’ Nico said shakily. ‘And way beyond cool.’
I looked around. The scene around us was one of complete devastation. The top of the building was blown clean off and the rest a burning shell.
‘The police will be here soon,’ Nico said.
‘Ed and Ketty should be here sooner,’ I said.
‘Let’s wait in those trees,’ Nico went on.
I’d only gone a couple of steps before I realised Harry wasn’t with us. He was still standing, staring, open-mouthed, at the bombsite in front of him. I went back and touched his arm gently.
‘Harry?’ I said. ‘We need to get under cover of the trees.’
He turned and stared at me, his eyes wide with wonder. ‘You just saved all our lives,’ he said.
‘Yeah, I’m awesome like that,’ I smiled. ‘Come on.’
Harry followed me. As we reached the trees, Laura drove up with Ketty and Ed in the back of the car. As we got in, Laura gaped at the devastation behind us.
‘What on earth . . .?’
‘We have to go,’ I urged.
The sound of sirens filled the air. Laura cast an anxious glance at her son, gritted her teeth and drove off.
Two hours later and all of us except Harry were clustered under a large tree on the edge of a motorway café. The sky was overcast and a light drizzle pattered onto the leaves above us.
I glanced over at Harry. He was squatting under a neighbouring tree, Ed’s laptop in his hands. He didn’t appear to be paying any attention to our conversation.
Not that anyone was speaking right now. In fact, a heavy silence hung over the group. Ketty – who hadn’t needed stitches, but who was still pale and limping from the bite on her leg – was the first to break it.
‘So we’re decided, then?’
‘It’s the only way,’ Nico said. ‘The only way we’ll be safe.’
Laura nodded. She’d been resistant at first, but after we’d explained how we’d seen – and then lost – the proof against Geri, she accepted our decision. After all, if we turned ourselves over to the authorities, we would just end up in Geri’s hands.
‘I’ll call ahead and find you somewhere to stay tonight,’ Laura said. ‘Will you let me know when you get there?’
‘Of course,’ I reassured her. ‘Once we’re out of the country, everything will get easier.’
Laura hurried away from the tree to make the call.
Our plan was to smuggle ourselves on a ferry to France and head along the coast to wherever Laura managed to book for us – a place for us to hide out for a few days and work out where on earth we went next.
It wasn’t what I wanted.
At last I knew who killed my parents – but, instead of being able to take revenge, I was running away.
Now that I’d had a little time to think, I could hardly contain the loathing I felt for Geri. Knowing what she’d done to my mom and dad was bad enough, but when I thought about her lies and deceit . . . the way she’d pretended she was my friend . . . confided in me . . . a terrible fury consumed me and all I could think about was hurting her in some way.
‘Guys?’ Harry appeared, Ed’s laptop tucked under his arm. ‘I think I’ve found something.’
‘What?’ Ed asked.
Harry glanced at his mother. She was still busy with her phone call. He lowered his voice and turned to me. ‘D’you remember last night Geri said that she killed your dad because he was threatening to reveal something?’
I nodded, a fresh wave of rage flowing through me as I thought back to the conversation and Geri’s smug, arrogant attitude.
‘And d’you remember those five meetings your dad had with Bookman in the week before he died and how I downloaded the notes that had been logged on those meetings?’
‘Course we do,’ Nico said impatiently. ‘What have you found?’
‘I’ve just managed to decrypt the files from those meetings and there’s something interesting,’ Harry said.
‘What?’ I stared at him anxiously. With everything that had happened I’d completely forgotten about the meetings between my dad and Bookman.
‘Most of it just backs up what Geri said about William – your dad – threatening to expose her latest project. All the references to what William wanted to expose have been deleted, except in one place,’ Harry said eagerly. ‘It’s the last conversation William Fox had with Bookman. It doesn’t make any sense on its own, but if you understand the context . . .’
He handed me the open laptop and pointed to the screen.
I read the email out loud.
No more discussion. If the code goes to Sydney, I go to the police.
‘The code’s the Medusa code obviously,’ Nico said.
‘Yes, my dad was threatening to tell the police if Bookman gave it to this guy Sydney,’ I said.
‘I didn’t think anyone else other than William Fox had the code before he died,’ Laura said. ‘Bookman and Geri must have stolen it.’
‘But if Geri stole the code years ago you’d have thought she’d have kept a copy before selling it to Sydney,’ Ed mused. ‘In which case, why was she so desperate to get hold of that copy William Fox left with his brother?’
No one had an answer to that.
‘At least we know why Geri killed my dad,’ I said. ‘To stop him exposing the fact that she and Bookman were giving the code to Sydney.’
‘Who’s Sydney?’ Ed asked.
‘I don’t know.’ I frowned.
‘And why would Willi
am risk his own life to tell the police about Sydney having the code?’ Nico said.
‘Because he knew it killed our mothers,’ Ketty breathed. ‘And he didn’t want it used again.’
Silence fell, the only sound the soft pattering of the rain above our heads.
‘D’you think they did it?’ I said. ‘I mean, d’you think Bookman and Geri really gave the Medusa code to Sydney?’
I caught Ed’s eye. I could see he understood where my thoughts were headed.
‘Man, if they did . . .’ Nico said.
‘. . . Then there might be others,’ Ketty added. ‘Others like us . . . with the Medusa gene.’
Exactly.
I stared at the grey sky in the distance. Another shock, in a day full of them. For as long as I’d known about the Medusa gene, there had only ever been the four of us.
‘Others with the gene means others with psychic powers,’ Ed said.
‘And dead mothers,’ Ketty added.
‘We have to find out,’ I said.
I might not be in a position to take revenge on Geri, but I could at least try to find out what my father had died attempting to stop.
‘But we don’t know who Sydney is or where to find him,’ Ed said. ‘He might be dead. He might be dangerous. And if the code for the Medusa gene did change hands, it happened fifteen years ago . . . the trail will be completely cold by now . . .’
‘I know it won’t be easy,’ I said. ‘But there are people who can help us.’ I threw a glance at Harry. ‘You’re a good hacker,’ I said. ‘Having you on the end of the phone could make all the difference.’
Harry stared at me. I couldn’t read his look.
Laura walked over. ‘I’ve booked you into a hotel in France. It’s near the place where the ferry docks and it’s paid for in advance. It shouldn’t be hard to find. I’ve texted you the details, Dylan.’
Ed cleared his throat. ‘Geri might believe for a while that Dylan and Nico died in the blast, but eventually the forensics will show there are no bodies in the rubble,’ he said. ‘Which means the sooner we leave the better.’