In the Shadow of Mountains: The Lost Girls

Chapter Nineteen

  Curiosity

  Bernice stood in front of Kai-Tai and the other Destroyer. They were speaking together in a strange language that Bernice couldn’t understand or recognise. It sounded harsh and brutal. Kai-Tai called the other Destroyer Jai-Soo. They stopped talking and stared at Bernice curiously.

  Bernice had lost her jumper and most of the buttons from her blouse when the men had attacked her. Now her blouse hung open and left her bra on view. She had run through the forest like that with Kai-Tai and Jai-Soo. They had ran and ran. And just as suddenly, they had stopped. Stopped, spoken to one another, and then stared at her.

  Kai-Tai said something else to Jai-Soo. Again it was in the language Bernice couldn’t understand. Jai-Soo immediately ran off. Bernice and Kai-Tai were now alone together in the forest.

  Atlantian! Even Jai-Soo can sense the genetic heritage! They have not perished! They still exist! They have evaded us! They have escaped our wrath! How can this be? How have they remained hidden?

  Yes, she is Atlantian, but not the same. She is not correct.

  They never were! They should have died with the rest! Why do they still live?

  She is different, her integrity mutated. Much time has passed. There is much to know here.

  Then test her! Question her! We must know the answers to this riddle!

  Bernice was still out of breath. She was breathing hard while she tied her blouse in a knot at her waist and stared at Kai-Tai. Kai-Tai stared back at her. She didn’t seem to be out of breath at all. Bernice had the feeling that Kai-Tai was wondering who she was, and where she had come from. She smiled and held out her hand.

  “My name is Bernice,” she said, still panting. “My friends call me Berni. Thanks for saving me from those men.”

  Kai-Tai stared at the out-stretched hand. She didn’t take it. Instead she stuck her sword in the ground and suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Bernice’s head, feeling her face and hair.

  For a moment it startled Bernice, but she stood her ground and waited.

  Kai-Tai kept hold of Bernice’s head with one hand, while her other hand moved down her face to her neck. Her hand came to rest on Bernice’s throat, squeezing it slightly, and she stared at Bernice’s face as if studying her.

  Bernice remembered how Kai-Tai had killed those men, but somehow she didn’t feel scared of her. She had the feeling that Kai-Tai was merely curious, nothing more. She stared back at her and continued to wait, not moving a muscle.

  Kai-Tai let go of Bernice’s throat and moved her hand down to her chest and shoulder, feeling her skin under the torn blouse. Now she felt Bernice’s stomach, her fingers brushing over her navel, then over her hip and back up to her waist. Finally, Kai-Tai moved her hand back up to Bernice’s head. She held her with both hands again, her thumbs pressing against Bernice’s temples.

  “Your skin is of a dark hue that stirs a memory within me,” she said in a puzzled voice. “It has a rich quality.”

  “That’s because I’m West Indian,” Bernice replied in as calm a voice as she could muster. “Although I was born in England.”

  Kai-Tai pulled Bernice closer to her own face, lifting her up, and causing her to stretch and stand on tip-toes. When they were nose to nose, Bernice found herself staring right into Kai-Tai’s eyes. They were very intense, those eyes. Bright green and very penetrating. Bernice felt that Kai-Tai was looking directly into her soul.

  Kai-Tai moved even closer, and for a brief moment, Bernice thought she was going to kiss her. But then Kai-Tai’s expression seemed to harden.

  “Your genetic structure is very similar to ours,” she said, her voice harsher than before. “Similar, but different. You are not correct.” It seemed to mark the end of her investigation, and she lowered Bernice down again and let go of her.

  “Where is Eng-Land?” she asked.

  “England’s in Europe,” Bernice said with a nervous smile. “How can you not know where England is?” She instinctively rubbed her face and neck as she spoke, as if she could still feel Kai-Tai’s hands on her skin.

  “Where is Your-Up?”

  The smile on Bernice’s lips faded. “On Earth?” she suggested.

  “How did you get here?”

  The question brought a flood of excited words from Bernice as she was suddenly reminded of everything that had happened.

  “We were driving back from a game!” she said excitedly. “We were all chatting and laughing, and talking about how we gave them a good thrashing! We had only just passed Urmston when it happened. One minute we were on the motorway, and the next minute, bam! We’d hit a tree! Gosh! It wasn’t half a bang! We all went flying! We were all wearing our seat belts and everything, but it didn’t make any difference! Even the chairs broke loose. Everything went everywhere. Bags, our jackets, our kit, everything! We all ended up on the floor buried and in the dark! There was glass everywhere, and we were all screaming and shouting–”

  Kai-Tai grabbed Bernice’s head again, covering her mouth and silencing her.

  “Enough! Your words confuse me!”

  Atlantis does still exist! We were tricked! Their survival must have been hidden from us deliberately! There is treachery here!

  It no longer matters. The names may have changed but the Portal connection must still exist. If we can gain entry to the castle we might still reach them.

  Then we have learned enough! She is incorrect! Disgusting! Mutated! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

  Bernice waited. A few seconds passed, then Kai-Tai let go of her.

  Bernice stared at Kai-Tai as she stepped back and pulled her sword from the ground. Her expression had changed in some subtle way, and there was something about this new expression that un-nerved her. When Kai-Tai stepped forward again, and raised her sword, Bernice hastily stepped back.

  “Kai-Tai!”

  Kai-Tai turned and stared as Jai-Soo reappeared.

  “Te pa?” she demanded. She looked annoyed, as if she had been interrupted.

  “Soo-Kai sun lak,” Jai-Soo replied. “Ta Rolf, ne-rast na-toose. Hak toose.”

  Kai-Tai looked again at Bernice. She seemed to be thinking. Then she raised her sword higher and placed it in her back. Bernice stared in wonder. It just disappeared.

  Before Bernice could say anything about the disappearing sword, Kai-Tai said, “Your friends come.”

  Then a voice screamed, “Berni!”

  Bernice looked among the trees and saw Vanessa running towards her, the other girls behind her.

  Bernice screamed and ran to meet them. She and Vanessa jumped into one another’s arms, hugging and kissing. Then Karen and Jane began to pat her on the back. Soon all the other girls gathered around her and joined in.

  As the girls screamed and hugged one another in delight, Kai-Tai stared at Soo-Kai and Rolf. She waited as they approached, Rolf leading the remaining horse behind him. When they came near she spoke to Soo-Kai, ignoring Rolf.

  “We have taken from those at the castle that which they have brought,” she said. “We have lost none while they have lost many. But it seems that all we have won is children.”

  “And knowledge,” Soo-Kai replied. “If the Portal is open, it is open one way only. And those it brings did not plan to come.”

  Kai-Tai nodded. “You speak the truth. But if the Outsider’s hold on those at the castle is to be broken, it will require more than the theft of children. We will have to strike again, and harder. We will have to strike at the Outsider herself. When we do, will you stand at my side as you did today, my daughter, or will your bond take you from me?”

  Soo-Kai looked at Rolf. Rolf could see the tortured look on her face, she wanted to go with Kai-Tai, but she wanted to stay with him, too. All he could do was indicate the girls when he replied.

  “What about them? They won’t survive long on their own.”

  Soo-Kai turned back to her mother, but before she could speak, Kai-Tai had guessed her answer.

&nb
sp; “Then we must stay apart,” she said bluntly. She stared at the girls, still hugging Bernice and jumping up and down. “They are genetically similar, but they are not correct. We cannot stay close to them, or to you if you stay with them. If you choose to take them, that is your concern. And while they are with you we will not interfere. But if we should find them alone, we will slay them.”

  Behind her, Nan-Po and Hai-Fam appeared. Hai-Fam stared at the girls, watching them as they greeted one another. Gradually, all the Destroyers turned up.

  Kai-Tai glanced at them as she continued speaking. “We go now. We have fought well together this day, and the Purpose has been fulfilled, so I will leave you to mind your human children. But if we should cross paths again, it must be when you are alone.”

  Soo-Kai nodded. “I understand, my mother.” She stepped forward and she and Kai-Tai rubbed cheeks.

  Kai-Tai turned away. “Cha!” she shouted, and all the Destroyers followed her as she walked away. Hai-Fam glanced back briefly as she also walked away, the yellow handkerchief still in her hair.

  Soo-Kai and Rolf watched them go. Rolf put his arm around Soo- Kai. “She’ll be alright,” he said.

  “It is not her I worry for, but us,” Soo-Kai replied, still watching the departing figures. “Those at the castle will be angered by what happened today. They will hunt for us. They will want to take back what they lose. And now we are alone.” Soo-Kai turned to Rolf. “If we keep these girls, we cannot pursue our investigation of the castle as we intended. We must flee. Even our house may not be safe.”

  Rolf sighed. “Then we will have to flee.”

  Becky appeared beside them. “How come your mum looks the same age as you?” she asked Soo-Kai. “And why do you both look so much alike? And why are you wearing red, while they were all dressed in black?”

  Rolf and Soo-Kai turned and found all the girls standing behind them, watching and waiting. All of them had now discarded their jumpers and pulled up their blouses and tied them at their waists like Bernice had done. Vanessa had been the first, then Karen, Jemma, Sophia and Rowena. Jane and Becky had been the last, and Becky had still been tying the knot as she had asked her questions. Soo-Kai answered each question in turn.

  “We do not age or decay, so the difference in our years is not visible. We are the same because the gene sequences we pass on in birthing are almost identical to our own. I wear colourful outfits because I am bonded to Rolf, and I am free to recognise and make the choice. Red was appropriate today.”

  Becky stared at her. “Is bonded the same as being married?”

  “Yes.”

  Rolf laughed at the extent of Becky’s curiosity. “Do you always ask so many questions?” he asked her.

  Becky shrugged. “I’m nosey, I guess.”

  Rolf looked at all the girls. He raised his voice. “You all know our names, and that Soo-Kai is my wife. What are your names?”

  Becky did the introductions. “I’m Becky,” she said, then turning to the girls, she pointed to each one in turn. “This is Vanessa, Berni, Karen, Jemma, Rowena, Jane, and the girl with the big tits is Sophia.”

  Sophia stuck her tongue out at Becky and called back, “You’re only jealous! Fried-eggs!”

  Becky made a face at her then turned back to Rolf and Soo-Kai and said, “You aren’t human, are you? And this isn’t Earth, is it?”

  Rolf shook his head. “You and I are human, but Soo-Kai and the other Destroyers are not.”

  “Destroyers!” Bernice suddenly spoke up excitedly. “That’s what the man who tried to rape me called Kai-Tai!”

  Vanessa looked at her sister in horror. “What’s this about rape?” she demanded. “You said they rescued you from some men, you didn’t say anything about rape!”

  “Well, they didn’t get me did they!” Bernice replied. She pulled at her torn blouse. “And how else did you think I got my blouse all ripped?”

  Vanessa suddenly smacked her, and she kept smacking Bernice as she shouted at her.

  “You have to wear skirts that leave your arse hanging out, don’t you! I told you you’d get into trouble! You never fucking listen! Mum’s always telling you! Dad’s always telling you! You never listen! It’s the same with everything! You’re a fucking menace!”

  “Stop it, Van! Stop hitting me!” Bernice begged, cowering under the blows.

  “I’m hitting you because I love you, you stupid cow! Come here!” Vanessa suddenly stopped smacking Bernice and hugged her instead. The two of them hugged and cried in each other’s arms.

  Soo-Kai watched them with her head tilted to one side. “Why do they do that?” she asked Becky. “Why do they smack then hug?”

  “Because they’re sisters,” Becky replied.

  And Rolf asked, “Is that why they also look so much alike?”

  Becky nodded. “They’re twins.”

  Soo-Kai was still looking at Bernice and Vanessa. “The colour of their skin interests me. Why is it that colour?”

  “Because their dad’s West Indian, but their mum’s English.”

  Both Rolf and Soo-Kai looked none the wiser. Becky chuckled.

  “I glad I’m not the only one that’s in the dark!” she remarked.

  Rolf understood her meaning. He nodded. “Yes, there will be much for us both to learn from one another, but first we must go to our house.” He clapped his hands, attracting all their attention.

  “Listen to me!” he said in a raised voice. “We have to walk far. We can rest at our house, but we mustn’t delay any longer. The men that tried to catch you will still be looking for you. Come on, now, we must go.”

  Vanessa looked worried. “What about the others?” she asked.

  “What others?” Rolf asked.

  “The rest of our team. They were in the other wagon with Miss Jenkins.”

  “Yeah!” Sophia added. “We have to find them. And we can’t go without our teacher.”

  Rolf looked at Soo-Kai in despair.

  Soo-Kai shook her head. “Those in the other wagon are lost to you,” she said bluntly. “They will be at the castle. You must cast them from your minds.”

  All the girls stared at her in shock, horrified by the implication.

  Jemma suddenly looked around. “Amy!” she exclaimed. “Where’s Amy? She wasn’t in the other wagon!”

  Rolf grabbed her shoulders. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m positive!”

  There was momentary silence as all the girls realised the truth.

  Karen was the first to put it into words. “She’s got away, the crafty cow,” she said.

  And Jane added, “She always was a fast runner.”

  Rolf looked at Soo-Kai. She knew what he was thinking. But her answer was cruelly logical. “It would be foolish to sacrifice eight for one.”

  “But we can’t just abandon her,” Rolf said. “And what happens if Kai-Tai finds her?”

  Soo-Kai looked troubled. After what Kai-Tai had said earlier, it was now certain that their truce was over. For a while they had worked together, content to fight with those at the castle, and to thwart the plans of the Outsider. The girls had been safe, but it was Soo-Kai who had rescued them, while her sisters had created the diversion and killed those that chased them. But that was now over. If Kai-Tai or the other Destroyers found her, the girl would be killed. But Soo-Kai would have to search for her alone, and that also worried her.

  “I cannot leave you, my husband,” she said. “The way back to the house could be dangerous.”

  “No it’s not,” Rolf replied. “Hardly anybody travels that way. How many visitors have we had in the years that we have lived there?”

  “There will be visitors after this day,” Soo-Kai pointed out.

  “But we still have time. They have to find the house first.”

  Soo-Kai still looked undecided.

  Then Vanessa stepped forward and took Soo-Kai’s hand. “If you go and look for her, we promise to
do exactly what your husband tells us. We won’t give him any trouble. Honest.”

  Soo-Kai looked down at her. Then she looked at Rolf. He nodded encouragingly. Soo-Kai made up her mind at last.

  “I will take the horse,” she said. “Keep to the trail you know, and walk fast, do not delay or wander. I will return to the house before nightfall.”

  Rolf and Soo-Kai embraced and kissed.

  “Take care,” Rolf said.

  “You also, my husband,” Soo-Kai replied.

  They parted, and Rolf called to the girls. “Come on, girls! This way now!”

  They moved off at a trot, Rolf at their lead.

  Bernice looked over her shoulder as she followed the others. She saw Soo-Kai jump on the horse and gallop away. How marvellous they were, these women. And what a great name: Destroyers. They looked so proud and so strong. They weren’t scared of anything. She wanted to know more about them; she wanted to be like them. She wanted to be like Soo-Kai, or Kai-Tai. Yes, Kai-Tai. There was something about Kai-Tai. She was so proud and confident, but there was more. There was a power in her; that was it. You could feel it when she looked at you. She was scary. Yes, Bernice wished that she could be like Kai-Tai; proud, confident and scary, and she couldn’t wait until she met her again.