The Unleashed Read online

  “You did everything you could.”

  Her hand stayed on his arm. Should he move away?

  “My parents died in a shootout a few years ago. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love to this war. There’s so much loss, isn’t there?”

  Daniel finally met her eyes. She was very pretty, and he felt bad about her parents. But it didn’t stop him thinking of Mina at the same time. “I didn’t know. I’m really sorry.”

  She squeezed his arm. “We say sorry too much. It’s not like you killed them. Hey, if we both survive this thing, maybe we could––”

  Mina walked past the table and the candlelight caught her features. They’d changed since the Compound; she’d lost innocence somehow. The flickering light shadowed her high cheekbones and reflected in her damp hair. She said nothing to either of them but at the moment she passed them, Daniel wrenched his arm away from Luce and caught Mina’s eye. Flecks of amber glittered in her usually deep brown irises. The flames brought out colours he’d never even noticed before. Just one glance from her warmed his insides and his heart skipped a beat. Her gaze moved from him to Luce, and Mina’s fingers reached to her collarbone. Did she still wear it? Did she still wear the necklace he made her?

  “Never mind,” Luce said.

  “S-sorry,” Daniel said, tearing his eyes from Mina. “What were you saying?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She walked away.

  Daniel had the sinking feeling that somehow he’d just managed to annoy two girls. With a pang of guilt, he realised he only really cared about upsetting Mina. He grasped hold of the candle and moved through the dark to find her. As he caught a glimpse of her brown head – bent over the contents of her pack – a rumbling thudding noise distracted him. He spun to the right, to see the priest tumbling down the stairs. He dashed forward, holding the candle high, and it highlighted the splatters of blood on the old man’s chest. Daniel set the candle down on the bottom step and bent to help the priest up. He hooked an arm under his body when the priest placed his hand on Daniels arm and shook his head.

  The priest opened and closed his mouth, yet didn’t make a sound. Every noise in the basement halted. He leaned over the man, putting his ear close to his mouth. At first he heard little more than a whisper of air. He pressed his ear closer.

  “Run,” whispered the priest. “To the catacombs.”

  Daniel’s eyes widened. He lifted the priest from the stairs and heaved him onto the table, with Ali’s help. By the time he set the priest down the man’s body flopped lifelessly. Ali felt for a pulse and shook his head.

  “He’s gone.”

  Footsteps rumbled overhead. Enforcers.

  “They’ve found us,” whispered Hiro. “I can hear their thoughts. They’re searching for the basement door. I think the priest hid it before…”

  “There are thirty of them,” said Mike. “They have that vanilla smell – like all Enforcers.”

  “There’s no way out,” said Dale. “We’ll have to fight. I’ll get the weapons.”

  “No,” Daniel said. “The priest. He said to head to the catacombs. There must be a way out. A tunnel or something.”

  Dale took a gun from the kitchen counter. “Everyone over the age of fifteen take a gun. They are loaded. Take your things and follow me. Quietly.”

  Daniel grabbed his rucksack and a gun from Ali. He searched the basement for Mina. Empty shadows in every corner. The others disappeared through the darkness holding torches and candles while the footsteps thundered overhead. There was the sound of crunching wood, as the Enforcers smashed through the rooms in the church above them.

  “Mina! Hiro. We have to get out.” Daniel’s muscles clenched.

  Mike and Kitty passed him, following the crowd. He raised his candle, and hot wax dripped down his fingers. Someone gripped his elbow. It was Dale. “We have to leave, now!”

  Daniel hurried past Dale, and rushed around the corner to find Mina and Hiro rummaging through a large backpack.

  “What are you doing? We have to go!”

  “I can’t find it,” she said, with a wobble in her voice.

  “Find what?” Daniel clutched her by the shoulders, shaking her.

  “The urn,” Hiro said. “She can’t find her dad’s ashes.”

  Mina sobbed. “I don’t know. Maybe I left it in my bunk bed. How could I be—”

  Daniel ran from Mina’s side, rushing back to the bunks. He ripped away the mattress, pulling at the sheets and stripping the pillows from the bed. Another crunching noise signalled Enforcers breaking through another room. How long until they found the basement?

  Finally a tin clattered to the floor, and Daniel reached for it – just as the footsteps upstairs grew louder. He ran flat out back to Mina, passed her the tin and scooped up Hiro. Together, they rushed into the dark catacombs. A scowling Dale heaved the stone door shut behind them and bolted it closed. He placed Hiro back on the floor and they turned to run.

  As they sped down the catacombs, Daniel heard the heavy sound of Enforcer’s boots against the concrete of the basement floor. They moved in silence, with mothers hushing panicked children and the others tip-toeing at speed.

  They didn’t know where they were going. It could be anywhere. Even straight to the GEM or a street swarmed with Enforcers. In this world of war and constant fighting, there were no guarantees. He clenched his jaw and kept moving.

  Hiro took his hand. “Do you think we’ll be okay?”

  “We will,” Daniel said. “And you will.” He let go of Hiro’s hand and moved closer to Mina. “We have to find a safe place for Hiro to hide during the battle.”

  “I know,” she replied. “Maybe Luce could take him. If you trust her.”

  “I was thinking… you,” Daniel said.

  Mina’s expression hardened. “So I won’t be needed then?”

  “Well I was thinking that with your powers not working you might not want to be there—”

  “I can still fight. I’m a better fighter than Kitty and Mike,” she said. Her voice raised and Dale shushed her. “Your powers aren’t always that useful anyway. Maybe you should take Hiro.”

  “Maybe Hiro will be okay on his own,” Hiro said.

  Daniel shot Hiro a glance and then sighed. “Mina, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  She sniffed. “You didn’t.”

  He reached out to her, but she quickened her step, and left Daniel’s hand hanging in mid-air.

  42 ~ Mina ~

  I walked away and the heat left my body. What an idiot. As soon as I snapped at him I regretted it. After he’d risked his life to get my father’s ashes the first thing I do is argue with him about something stupid. Hiro caught up with me.

  “He wasn’t thinking.”

  “I know,” I said. “Neither was I. I’m just all up and down at the moment.”

  “Tell me about it,” Hiro said. “I have to listen to your thoughts.”

  I reached out and pulled the small boy against my side. “I missed you. Well, I did when I wasn’t on drugs anyway.”

  “Weren’t you on drugs all the time?” he teased.

  “Not quite all the time. Oh Hiro, you’re so cute.”

  He jabbed me in the hip with his elbow.

  I started to laugh, but a chill in the air made my voice catch in my throat. A soft breeze lifted the hair from my neck, and as we caught up with the group ahead, I saw a separate tunnel running to their right. Dale pushed his way through the group and I followed, wanting to see more. Dale lifted his torch to highlight yet more dark tunnel up ahead. In the distance a whooshing noise, followed by a faint chukka-chukka, brought back memories of my one and only train journey to a hospital in Area 10, after breaking my arm.

  “We must be near an Underground station,” Dale said. “Come on.”

  We followed Dale, and Kitty sidled up to me. I glanced around for Daniel. He’d disappeared into the group.

  “I can taste them,” she whispered.

  “People?”


  “Yeah, it’s faint.”

  “I don’t hear any thoughts,” Hiro said. “So they must be far away.”

  “We should stick to the shadows and be quiet,” Dale said.

  My heartbeat quickened with every step, wondering what lay around each corner. Dale’s torch found train tracks, and we kept to the sides. We moved two by two to avoid the tracks. I’d never seen an Underground station or the fast trains that travelled through the tunnels. I’d only heard of them from my dad’s stories, and sometimes seen them on the screens. I thought of Enforcers guarding the stations and my stomach flipped. What if we walked straight into a trap?

  The whoosh sounded louder as we approached. I longed for Daniel’s hand in mine, to have his reassuring presence. I glanced back but it was too dark. My hand reached up to finger the necklace he’d made me so many months ago. So much had happened since then. One of the young children started to cry, and their mother shushed them.

  I pressed on behind Dale, yearning for the feel of fresh air on my skin. As though hearing my thoughts, a gush of wind whipped up my hair, taking my breath away.

  “Back against the wall!” Dale shouted.

  He pushed me against the stone and I made sure Kitty did the same. The others followed, stopping and pressing up against the cold, dank wall. The stale wind stung my eyes, but I forced them open, not believing what I was seeing.

  A train approached, and its headlights revealed the full height and width of the tunnel, showing all of the train tracks just a few feet from my toes. The ceiling domed high above us.

  “It’s going to hit us!” Kitty yelled in terror. She pressed herself flat against the wall and closed her eyes.

  Frightened children shrieked as the train approached. Daniel’s face flashed in my mind, and every part of me hoped that he was away from the train, safe and sound. Please. I took hold of Hiro’s hand and stood as still as a statue.

  The train thundered towards us. Its bright white nose came closer and closer.

  “We’re going to die!” Kitty screamed, screwing her eyes tighter.

  When it started to pass us, I gasped, feeling the full force of the wind against my face; speeding metal just a few feet away from me. It slowed. Brakes screeched and sparks flew from the tracks. I let out a panicked breath. Sweat snaked down between my shoulder blades.

  “What’s happening?” Kitty shouted. “What’s that horrible sound?”

  “Open your eyes and see!”

  The train came to a halt with its third – and last – carriage right in front of me. Through the window I saw dozens, maybe hundreds of people, clutching hand-holds. They wore the scarves of the Resistance over their faces. I finally relaxed my muscles, only at that moment realising I clenched my fists so tight the nails dug into my palms. Kitty let out a long breath beside me.

  “I can’t believe we’re alive,” she said.

  I moved away, anxiously searching for Daniel amongst the group. Even with the train lights I couldn’t find his face. The sound of the train door sliding open pulled me back to the huge hunk of metal.

  A woman stuck out her head and surveyed us all. “All right, Dale? Nice of you to join us.”

  *

  The woman, a brunette in her early forties with a sharp bob and green eyes, gestured for us to join them in the train. I followed Dale into the cramped carriage with some trepidation. It was a high step up and the woman pulled me by the elbow. Another door opened further down the train, and many of our group split off towards it. I squinted through the crowds, hunting for Daniel. I thought I caught a glimpse of his messy blond hair as it disappeared into the crowd.

  After everyone scrambled onto the carriage and found a place to squish themselves into, the train lurched and I grasped Hiro, wobbling all over the place. Trying to get my balance, I gripped a handhold hanging down from the ceiling of the carriage and planted my feet in a way to stop me going flying. Ali and Matthew stood opposite, and we all crowded around the woman with the bob.

  “Where’ve you been, then?” she said. “We waited for five minutes. You were supposed to meet us at the disused Charing Cross platform.”

  “I didn’t know, K,” Dale said. “I didn’t even know the catacombs led us to the Underground.”

  “The priest was supposed to tell you. I had someone leave a message…” she trailed off after seeing Dale’s face. “Something went wrong. Where’s Des?”

  “The priest at our HQ is now dead. Enforcers stormed the church and we had to flee. Des is AWOL.”

  “Did they follow you?” K’s voice became business-like.

  “I bolted the door to the catacombs. It’s ten inches thick and made of stone. Should hold them.”

  K nodded. “An excellent hideout, that church. It’s just a shame about the priest. He served us for many years. A good man. It just shows that things are heating up. We’re heading to the weakest point of the border where we’ll meet the Blemished. Of course, the GEM no doubt already know of their arrival. The fighting is about to start. We’ve got explosives to take down the wall. We just need time to set them up and detonate.”

  “There are two walls,” I blurted out. “With Enforcers in between.”

  K scrutinised me with examining eyes. “And you are?”

  “Mina Hart,” I said.

  Recognition flickered in her eyes. “The girl with the super powers.” I didn’t feel much warmth from her gaze.

  Luckily, Ali butted in. “It’s no’ jus’ Blemished ye’ll be letting in. I’ve been in contact with ma Clan in the Compound and they’ll be meeting us there, too. There isnae much of an army left after we had a wee run in with another Clan, but it gives ye more fire power, eh?”

  “You must be our Scottish contact. Ali Sheikh is it?” She held out her hand and Ali took it. “Pleased to meet you. Des has told me a lot about you. What happened, Dale?”

  “He left the group.” Dale scratched the back of his neck and shuffled awkwardly. “I thought he might have gone to you. He kept saying you had a job for him.”

  K raised her eyebrows in a mocking way. “I’m sure he thinks so.”

  There was something about her expression that made me think she might be hiding something.

  “He tried to capture me,” I said, “because he wanted to use me as a weapon. We outran him and I don’t know where he is now.”

  “Well,” K said. “The fight is already on the streets. I’m sure he’s doing his part.” Her voice took on a sombre note. “We’ll all have to do our part soon enough. As soon as this train stops, we’ll be heading into a war zone. You won’t believe what it’s like out there. I never thought it would come to this, and now it has I’m in shock.” She seemed to forget where she was. Her voice quietened. “We only had a few minutes to hide the children. You’ve had none at all. We’ll have to keep them underground and hope for the best. It’s a dark day, today, one I’ve not looked forward to. We do our duty today. I just hope you’ve all had time with your loved ones.”

  Then it hit me, all of it, and I knew what I had to do. I let go of Hiro’s hand. I need to find Daniel, I said to him in my mind. Hiro nodded. I turned away and pushed myself through the crowded carriage. Suspicious eyes glared at me over their scarves. I smiled weakly as I bumped into person after person, struggling to walk on the speeding train.

  I passed a miserable Mike and Kitty, both sitting side by side on the floor next to a carriage door. I gave Kitty a questioning look, but she shook her head and I continued.

  In the next carriage I found him stood alone in the middle of strangers. He’d split from our group. I hated to see him isolated like that. It reminded me of when I first met him, and saw his pent up anger inside; it made him distant and untouchable. Somehow the journey to the Compound had fixed some of that – given him a touch of light. Or maybe it was me, in the same way he’d become the bright light I needed in the dark. We were good for each other. I thought about what Mum said: that we were too young to know, to truly feel love. Perhaps she’d n
ever felt her heart soar the way mine did when I finally met his eyes; so quick to jump from calm seas to thunderstorms. I leapt towards him, almost knocking someone to the floor, and flung my arms around him.

  “Hey,” he said. “What’s got into you?”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. I found myself crying. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier. And I’m sorry for all the terrible things I’ve done. I’m sorry. I’m not worthy anymore.”

  “Is that what you think? Mina, it wasn’t you. It was the drugs and your mother, not you. You’re still worthy. You are to me.”

  His arms wrapped around me and I sunk into his embrace. When Mum took me from the Compound she promised to take me home. She lied. Home wasn’t a place, a yellow door or my birthplace. It wasn’t a patch of soil or bricks and mortar. Home came from a feeling. Home was love. And I was finally home, inside Daniel’s arms.

  I swallowed back my tears and pulled away to face him. “I love you. I just had to say it – even if you’ve moved on. It’s okay if you’re with Luce now. I just had to say it. I couldn’t go into this fight without telling you. But I understand, after what I did—”

  “I was never with Luce. I’m still with you, stupid. I love you, too.” He laughed and his eyes shone. The people in the coach chorused with an awww and someone shouted out “kiss her, you plonker” so he did. He kissed me like there was no tomorrow. He kissed me like no one else was there, and we were the last two people on Earth.

  43 ~ Angela ~

  They gathered by the gigantic wall. Blemished men drank around the campfires, as Angela and the others found a quiet spot. She’d been delighted to see Mary and many of the Compounders come to the wall – ready to fight by their side. And now the Perthans, and the Glasgow cult had arrived in support, too. The bare chested Glasgow acrobats climbed trees and scuttled around, avoiding the Blemished men. Their leader, Ben, asked many questions about his chosen one, Mina, which Angela had to deflect as best she could. The strong Amazonian Perthan women stood in their camo gear, glaring at the Blemished men who dared to wolf whistle in their direction. Terrifica sat with the great cat by her feet and machine-gun-toting female guards at her side. Angela avoided eye contact with her, and the rest of the army for that matter, they all sent shivers down her spine.