The Vanished (Blemished #2) (Blemished Series) Read online

  “You’re wrong,” I said.

  Ali looked at me, a smile playing on his lips. “Oh, is that right? A slip of a girl with just fifteen years on this planet. Ye know best do ye?”

  “I know we could organise an army.” I raised my chin. “You have the most powerful weapon in the world at your disposal.”

  “And what’s that, kid?”

  “Us,” I said. “The Freaks. The weird kids who can do weird stuff. We’re all connected, did you know that? We fit together to make the biggest, scariest weapon you could ever imagine.”

  “What’re ye talking about?”

  “I can throw cars around with my mind. Daniel sees the future, he prepares us. Kitty can track people through taste, she can tell us when they’re close. Hiro can read their minds, he can find out their tactics. Mike can smell their emotions, he knows their weaknesses.” I folded my arms. “Together, we’re formidable.”

  Ali was quiet. He stroked the stubble on his chin and looked at me with his level brown eyes. “Have ye told anyone else about this stuff?”

  “No.”

  “Good, don’t––”

  “––but why, we can help the army?”

  “Yer children! There’s not one of ye over eighteen. If they use ye for a battle…” He started to walk away.

  I grabbed his arm. “You’ve seen what I can do. I’m even stronger around them, I feel it. I feel the power running through me. We can help in a battle.”

  “No.” He pushed me away. “Yer just kids and ye don’t know what yer getting into. This place isn’t what it seems. It’s…” He sighed and then lowered his voice. “There are things ye don’t know.”

  “Is it about the Celebration?” I asked.

  “How do ye know about that?”

  “I saw some teenagers with Dr Woods at night. They kept talking about the Celebration.”

  “Ye should stay away from him. He’s got some funny ideas and I don’t want ye getting involved in them.” Ali picked up his wicker basket. “I need te talk te Mary. She needs te sort all of this out, it’s been going on fer too long. Too long.”

  “Ali, wait,” I called after him. “I need your help convincing the Council that we could help.”

  “Don’t go te the Council, Mina,” he called back. By now his eyes were wide and fearful. “Stay out of it all. Fer once in yer life just stay outta trouble.” And with that he was gone.

  *

  I sat on the steps of the trailer pondering over Ali’s words, expecting Daniel and the others to come and join me. Instead, it was my dad who I saw walking through the mud. It was the afternoon. I hadn’t eaten yet. The Compound had been tidied and people had gone back to their tents and trailers, probably to sleep off their hangovers. Children still ran around, jumping in puddles and climbing up the front of their tired mothers, but apart from that it was quiet on the campsite. He stopped a few feet in front of me and put his hands in his pockets.

  “Leaving you in Area 14 was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do and I would not have done it without knowing Matthew would look after you.”

  As always, I flinched at the memory of my long lost Uncle, someone taken from my life just hours after being introduced to it. “How did that work out for you?”

  “Not good,” he admitted. “But I know that I have brought you up to be a strong, independent and compassionate young woman. Which is why I know that, in time, you will understand that I could not, and would not, leave a ten year old child to be captured by the Enforcers.”

  “Why didn’t you send someone else? Why didn’t you send Matthew?”

  He stepped forward and placed a hand on my head. “Because it was so dangerous. Would you ask someone else to do a suicide mission?”

  I wouldn’t and he knew it. “But I needed you.”

  “The truth is you don’t need me. Mina, everything we’ve done has been in preparation for you to become the strong woman that I know you are. You don’t need me anymore because you have surpassed everything I could ever be or ever want to be. You are powerful beyond measure, you are spirited and fair. I’m not the teacher anymore. You are. You are a leader and the rest of the group look up to you. Don’t you see that?”

  Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. “I don’t feel like a leader.”

  “No one does. And if you do feel like a leader then you shouldn’t be one.” He laughed. “You’ll understand everything one day. It’s going to be a rough journey, but I have every faith in you, Minnie.”

  My old nickname softened the last bit of the hard shell I was encased with, and I jumped up and wrapped my arms around my dad. He chuckled with surprise and hugged me.

  “And don’t worry, I’ll talk to Angela,” he said.

  “After she hit me I said some terrible things to her.” I leaned back from my dad and brushed away tears. “How did it become such a mess?”

  “Ah – young girls and their relationships.” Dad sighed. “She’s an angry young woman. She’s had a lot to deal with for a girl only fourteen years old: her mother’s illness; the secret feelings for her adoptive brother. She’s confused by her place in the world.”

  I blushed as Dad mentioned Daniel. It didn’t go unnoticed.

  “Yes, I know about your relationship with Daniel,” he said with a frown. “And whilst I’m not sure I’ll ever be entirely happy with the thought of my daughter being within ten feet of another boy, I have to admit that he is an excellent and thoughtful young man. The feelings he has for you shine out of him like a beacon. I’m not in any doubt that he would look after you right up to the very end. Not that you need looking after of course.”

  I grinned. “Do you really think so?”

  “Of course.”

  “Will you teach him how to read again?” I asked.

  Dad laughed. “Yes. We’ll pick up where we left off. Although I’m not sure there is much in terms of reading material in this place.”

  “I want to talk to you about something else,” I said, growing bolder as our conversation continued. “It’s about the Compound and the Clans. I spoke to Ali and it’s clear the Compound has been expecting some sort of invasion. Why hasn’t anyone done anything about it? Daniel’s vision is a warning, I can feel it. I think we need to go to the Council and tell them. We need to make them do something.” I gestured wildly up at the castle. “Why is the army here when they do absolutely nothing? How many weapons and guns do they own? Why aren’t they teaching anyone how to fight? Why aren’t they protecting the children?”

  Dad lowered his hands, as though wafting a fire. “Calm down, Mina. Talk slower.”

  “There is something rotten about this place. I feel it. Mike feels it. Hiro knows it.” I paused. “What do you know about the Celebration? What do you know about Stephen Woods and the Council? Why are there so many children and why don’t they live with the fathers? All I see are teenage girls looking after babies on their own. Where are the fathers?” I had tears in my eyes and I didn’t know why. “What is going on here?”

  I’d raised my voice, attracting stares from the glazed eyes of the same teenage girls I ranted about. A couple of men walked past me carrying bales of hay, black eyes staring out of sunburnt faces.

  Dad grabbed my arm and pulled me into the trailer. “You can’t talk like that out there. It isn’t safe.”

  “Why not?”

  Dad sighed. “I don’t know yet. But I want to find out.” He removed his glasses and cleaned them on the sleeve of his jumper. “Last night I invited Dr Woods and Arthur Pittmore to my trailer for cognac. Hiro, of course, was there and I asked him to stay awake long enough to listen in on their thoughts. I’d presumed that after alcohol the two of them might let something slip either verbally or mentally.”

  “Well?” I asked. “Did you get any information?”

  “Not much and nothing easy to translate. According to Hiro the doctor either repeated the alphabet or thought about science. There was something to do with genetics, something which Dr Woods seem
ed to find fascinating, but Hiro didn’t get the gist. Arthur Pittmore is a huge lump who knows nothing. He thought about food for most of the night.”

  “What about General Lloyd?”

  “He has the army and he’s very influential.”

  “So we need to get to him?” I asked.

  Dad nodded.

  “Then we need to go to the Council.”

  24

  The castle loomed down, casting its shadow over the Compound. It was the same shadow that the army and its presence cast over the rest of us, one of intimidation. Cam acknowledged us as we approached. We were all together: Hiro, me, Daniel, Mike, Kitty and Dad. We were facing the Council together – as one.

  “Ye’s get a meeting with them upstairs today then, eh?” Cam asked.

  “Yes, we have it in writing.” I reached into my pocket to pull out the piece of paper we had received back from Mary.

  “There’s no need te show me. Ah believe ye,” Cam said, still smiling. He still seemed as cheerful as ever despite his friendship to Angela. I made a mental note to talk to him about Angela, see if I could find a way to repair the friendship that had broken down. “Wait nae. What’s this in yer hand?” Cam snatched the paper from my fingers. In my haste I’d pulled Daniel’s sketch from my pocket. Cam stared at the diagram in disbelief. His face turned scarlet. He pointed at me, with the crumpled paper between his fingers. “Why de ye have this, eh? What does this mean?”

  Daniel stiffened next to me. “Don’t yell at her like that.”

  “What’s the matter, Cam?” I asked. “Do you recognise this man?”

  Cam turned his blue eyes from me to Daniel and back to me. They were wide and wild. I’d never seen him like this before. His cheeks turned so red that his freckles disappeared. “Ah’ll say so. It’s me da’.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Oh,” Mike said.

  “His father,” Hiro said.

  Kitty stared at Cam. “That is your dad?”

  “Ye’ve not answered ma question. What are ye doin’ wi’ a picture of ma da’?”

  I looked at Daniel, not sure whether to tell Cam the entire truth, whether he would even believe it. “Cam, who is your dad?”

  He shook his red hair. “He’s a bad’un. Nasty. A right bawbag bastard.”

  “In English, Cam.”

  He glared at me. “He’s a murderer all right. Is that what ye want te hear? I ran away from ‘im. He leads them, his army, and he kills anything in his way.” The blood drained from his face. “He’s comin’ fer me. Ah can feel it. He’s comin’ fer me, and he’s gunnae kill everyone in his way.”

  “We don’t know anything for certain,” Dad said. “But maybe you need to be part of this Council meeting.”

  “Aye, that makes sense,” Cam said. “Ah’ll get Barry te cover guard.”

  We waited for Cam inside the gates. I examined the face of the man in the drawing for any likeness to Cam. There was something around the eyes, but I still could not conjure Cam’s happy, smiling and sweet countenance from this monster of a man.

  “Barry’s watchin’ fer me.” Cam walked towards us with his head low, not looking anyone in the eye. “Let’s go.”

  *

  The Council were ready for us. They had arranged chairs for us to sit in a semi-circle with them on a large sofa at the opposite side of the room. Mary sat on the far left with Sergeant Kinsella on her right. Arthur Pittmore sat in the middle with Dr Woods on his right and General Lloyd at the far end. We took our seats facing them. Adults versus children, I thought to myself, I wonder who will talk the most sense. Hiro chuckled next to me.

  Dr Woods narrowed his eyes at Cam. “What are you doing here? Who is guarding the gate?”

  I didn’t like the doctor’s tone. There wasn’t a lot of respect shown for Cam.

  “There’s been a development, Dr Woods. Ah have te be here.” Cam stood awkwardly. There wasn’t a chair for him. Kitty, who didn’t like to sit still anyway, jumped to up let him sit down but Cam refused. She plonked back down.

  “Well, what is this development?” Dr Woods asked. He examined his nails rather than look Cam in the eye.

  I took the paper back out from my pocket and handed it to the doctor. I refused to meet his eyes, angry with his treatment of Cam. “This is the development. Daniel had a vision.”

  Dr Woods hardly had a chance to look at the paper before Mary yanked it out of his hand. “Hamish McAllister. Ach, the weegie scum.” She glanced at Cam. “Sorry, Cam. This must be hard on ye.”

  “Aye, it’s all right, Mary. I agree with ye on this one.” Cam sighed.

  At the mention of the familiar name Dr Woods inhaled through his teeth creating a whistling sound and General Lloyd frowned, deepening the harsh lines of his face. All of the Council paled. Sergeant Kinsella looked at Mary with concern, and Arthur shifted in his seat.

  “You know this man?” Dad said.

  “Yes,” Mary replied leaning back on the velvet back of the sofa. “Hamish McAllister. Leader of the Highlanders, and what we call in Scotland – a right old bastard.”

  Hiro chuckled and I guessed that Mary’s language wasn’t half as polite in her mind. I turned back to Mary with a grin.

  “Who are the Highlanders?” Dad asked, turning to Mary. His tone was respectful.

  “Another Clan in the North who aren’t as concerned wi’ the laws of human decency as we are,” she said. “They’re more the rape and pillage kind than the welcome and feed.” Her ‘R’ rolled making the word even more terrifying. A shiver ran down my spine. “I’ve known the wee bastard fer years. He was one of the original settlers in the compound as the shit hit the fan down in England. When Scotland split from the rest of Britain he joined us here but didn’t like our ways. He wanted te create an army, travel around Scotland growing stronger, ruling things up here. The Council was having none of it, and we chucked him out.” Her words were so magnificently matter of fact I found myself wanting to nod along. “Last I heard he’d taken control of the Highlands through force and fire power. Cam here ran away with the Scavengers a few years ago. The man’s trouble. Trouble from the very core of his worthless being and there’s nothin’ in this world that would make me want te see that face again.” With a force that made me start, Mary banged one bony finger against the drawing.

  Dad sighed and removed his glasses for cleaning. “That’s just the problem. Daniel doesn’t get a vision unless something significant is about to happen. They are warnings. It means he is coming, and soon.”

  The General and the Doctor exchanged a look and I couldn’t help turning to Hiro to see the expression on his face, whether the two men had let their guard down or not. Hiro showed nothing.

  “Maybe we can contact Hamish before he attacks and make some kind of peace?” Dr Woods suggested.

  Mary scoffed. “Make peace with Hamish McAllister? Och, lad, tha’d sooner see pigs with wings.”

  “Well I say we attack.” The General thumped his fist against his thigh.

  “I hate to admit it,” Sergeant Kinsella added. “But it would be the last thing he’s expecting.”

  “Oh come on,” Arthur Pittmore rolled his eyes as though talking to a particularly stupid child in school. It reminded me of the way Murder-Troll would chastise us. “You know we haven’t the resources for an attack. We’d be made to look like fools.”

  Sergeant Kinsella’s blue eyes enflamed. “Is that all you care about? Being made to look stupid? We have scores of trained soldiers, plenty of strong men out there who would willingly fight for the right cause––”

  “We won’t be telling the public about this,” Dr Woods interrupted. He pressed his splayed fingers together as though making a steeple with his hands.

  “Ye what?” Mary said. “That racist pig is on the rampage and ye won’t be warning people?”

  “Racist?” I interrupted. It was the first time any of us children had spoken since the Council went into discussion and the sound of my voice initiated t
he quiet turn of all of the adults faces. Dr Woods’ eyes seemed to pass over me for a moment as though assessing me. There was a tiny gasp from Hiro in the corner and then the doctor’s eyes flitted away. “What do you mean, Mary?”

  “What I said, lass.” Mary’s eyes widened with anger. “The bloke is seriously demented. He thinks that Scotland is just fer the Scottish. Any English he’d kill like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Anyone with the wrong coloured skin.” She snapped her fingers again.

  Intense panic rose in my chest as I thought about Angela and Ali and Hiro. All of The Freaks were English. I’d heard many English accents throughout the compound. There could be hundreds of people who are English or mixed heritage and he would slaughter us all. For what? I felt sick to my stomach. “Why would anyone think that? How could anyone do that?” The words seemed to stumble out of my mouth without any conscious thought. Kitty leaned across Mike and Daniel to clasp hold of my hand. I was glad for it.

  “Like I said,” Mary’s voice softened, “demented.”

  Cam nodded. “Aye, it’s all true.” There was a catch in his throat.

  Mike made a disgusted noise. “We can’t let a man like that get away with it.”

  “It’s not as simple as that,” said Sergeant Kinsella. “We’re talking about a war here.”

  “If ah know me da’ he’ll have a plan. If he’s comin’ fer us, he’ll be prepared,” Cam spoke with a tremor in his voice that made my stomach clench.

  “What I propose is this,” Dr Woods said. “We’re not the only ones against the Highlanders. There’s the Perthans, and between us – Glasgow.”

  Mary made a sound like disgust and laughter, or something between. “Glasgow is full of religious nutters who will never fight.”

  “There is the cult, yes,” Dr Woods agreed. “But there are many Nomads in between. Nomads who would ordinarily be picked up by McAllister. But not if we get there first.” He shot us all a flash of his perfect smile. “I say we get the Scavengers on the road.” He turned to Mary. “You, Ali and the others get out there and round up as many as you can. Send them to the North gate with a message and the army can let them in. Then you get up to Perth and speak with Terrifica, see if you can drum some sense into the woman and get her people down here. Only then, when we have back-ups, do we tell our people.” He looked at Cam. “You need to stay close, tell us everything you know about your father and his tactics.”