The City Unseen, page 20
part #2 of The Unseen Series
I took another step forward and sat on the edge of the bed, right at the end. “Dad, I—”
His head shot up, and his pupils had dilated. His irises looked completely black, same as the Zealots in the underground. He snarled and threw his head towards me.
I leaped off the bed and stepped back to the door.
“Come here,” he hissed. “Come closer.” His mouth curled, and his jaw clenched, and he snapped his teeth at me, pulling on the cable-ties which cut deeper into his wrists. Blood ran freely down his arm and dripped onto the bedspread. He screamed in anger, throwing himself towards me again and again and again.
Eden appeared at my side. “That doesn’t look normal.”
“It’s not,” I said. “He’s turning fast. If I stay here, he’s going to rip his hands off to try and get to me. After that…”
“Let’s not find out.”
I nodded.
“Want me to knock him out? I’m getting good at it.”
Dad threw himself at us again, and the entire bed jumped our direction.
“No, don’t do that. But we should find a way to lock this door. The window doesn’t open far enough for him to get out, and it’s reinforced glass. If we can fuse the door shut, it’ll at least keep him contained.”
Eden turned to the hall. “I’ll find something. You keep watching him.”
After a minute, Dad stopped thrashing, and his head dropped back down to stare at the bedspread once more. He went still, too still, like he was in a trance.
“Dad?” I ventured.
“You need to go,” said Dad quietly. “The Unseen are going to need you, now more than ever.”
THIRTY-NINE
I froze.
He kept staring at the bedspread. “Yes, I know about that. I know a lot of things I’d rather not. But we don’t have time for that. Whatever’s happening to me is happening fast, and if it’s affected the whole city like you say, none of us are going to survive the next twenty-four hours. So please, leave me here, take Skye, and go.”
“Dad, I—"
“Go!” His voice changed again, and his face contorted, and he was back to blind, unrepentant rage.
In shock, I stepped out of the bedroom and shut the door behind me. It hung open a fraction due to the missing lock, and Dad’s psychotic screaming filtered through the crack.
How much did he know? And how did he know it?
Skye still twirled in the kitchen, and Eden returned with a bunch of cable ties.
“Found these in the cupboard. Useful?”
I thought for a moment. “Maybe.”
I walked away from the door and looked around the loungeroom. In the corner, next to the television, was a lampstand made of polished steel. “That might help.”
Bringing the lampstand back over to the doorway, I smashed the glass cover off it and unscrewed the base to remove the metal pole. I threaded the cable ties through the hole in the door where the lock had been, and then used more cable ties to connect them to the lamp pole. I tightened it all up, and let the pole lay at an angle to the ground. It protruded on both sides of the door, locking the door in place. Dad wouldn’t be able to open the door from the inside, ‘cause the metal bar would stop the door from opening.
“Clever,” said Eden.
“Saw it on one of those survival shows once. Never thought I’d have to use it.”
“Never thought I’d be helping Ari Carpenter lock her dad in his room, either.”
I smiled despite the circumstances. “First time for everything, hey?”
Eden looked at Skye, who had grown tired of spinning and was now simply sitting in a paint puddle, splashing it over herself. “What do we do with her?”
“We’re going to have to lock Skye in her room too. Now that she’s affected, I don’t think it’s safe to move her out of the city, not with Dad out of action.”
Dad’s bedroom door slammed against the jamb. The metal barricade rattled in place. Dad was either off the bed or had somehow jumped it over to the doorway.
“Is that gonna hold?” Eden asked.
“Not sure.”
She thought for a moment. “Got an idea. Stay here.”
Eden left the apartment, returning later with the end of a fire hose. “Saw this outside when we came in.”
“You’re going to hose him down?”
She chuckled. “No. You lower the door’s resonance, and I’ll hit it with the hose.”
Now it was my turn to be impressed. I switched off the damper, ignoring the floating feeling that began flowing through my mind, and tuned into the front of the door, lowering its temperature to freezing. Eden kept her eyes closed and turned the fire hose on to blast the door with water. As soon as the spray hit the door, it froze, building up a layer of ice that thickened as more water poured onto the top. After a minute, the whole doorway was frozen solid by a glacial mass.
I switched the damper back on, walked over, and tapped the ice. “Pretty solid.”
Skye was next. I went into her room and removed everything she could hurt herself on when she went wild like Dad. I didn’t want to cable-tie her to anything, though. Dad had lost blood, but he was bigger. Skye’s tiny body probably wouldn’t handle that. At least Skye’s door opened outward, so it was much easier to seal when the time came.
“Hey, Skye,” I said, coming out into the living area. She looked up from behind the kitchen bench, head bright red with paint that had started to dry and flake off in places.
“Yeah?”
“Want to play in your room for a while?”
“I guess so.” She stood. “I feel weird inside.”
I swallowed. It was starting. “I know, but you’ll feel better in your room,” I lied. I could ask for forgiveness later, once all this was over.
If she even turned back after Wheeler’s tone had gone.
No, I couldn’t think about that. Not now. Focus on the mission, Ari.
I led Skye to her room and walked in with her.
“Want to stay and play?” she said. “Everything in here is so beautiful.”
“I’d love to,” I said over the lump in my throat. “But right now, I have to go do something important.”
Her eyes went dark. “You’re leaving me?”
“Only for a while,” I said, backing away a touch.
“You can’t leave me. No-one can ever leave me. Not again. Not anymore.”
“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll be back, I promise.”
“No!” she screamed, pupils dilating. She ran at me with both arms out, latching on and scratching at my shoulders. “No! You can’t leave me! You can’t! You can’t!”
I held her close, and her nails tore at my back, legs kicking wildly at my shins. It hurt bad, but still I held her close.
“Don’t leave me!” she screamed. “I hate you! Don’t go! You can’t! Not after you killed mum! Not after everything that’s happened to me. Everything that you did! If you go, I’ll hate you forever!”
I took a breath and held her close again, ignoring the blood seeping out of the scratches on my shoulders, ignoring the bruising already appearing on my legs. She kicked and screamed again and again, over and over, and I let her because it was true. I deserved it. I deserved it for leaving her and for letting all this happen and for all the awful moments that had come into her life because of me. I’d mostly forgiven myself for what happened at Ettney, but I could never forgive myself for what my mistakes had done to Skye.
There was a hand on my shoulder. Eden, standing by with the fire hose, ready to seal the door.
I gave Skye one last squeeze as she screamed into my ear, and I pushed her off me and ran to the bedroom door, slamming it before she had a chance to react.
“Now!” I yelled at Eden, and I switched the damper off, tuning the door quickly as the water hit it, freezing it instantly and locking the door in place. Skye’s screaming became muffled behind the milky surface, and soon it was almost inaudible.
Eden turned the water off, and I turned the damper on, taking two slow breaths to calm my racing heart.
“She’ll forgive you,” Eden said quietly.
“That wasn’t all Wheeler,” I said. “Some of that was her. That’s how she really feels.”
“Maybe. But give it time. If I had an older sister, I’d forgive her.”
I smiled through my burning eyes, reached out and ruffled her hair. “Maybe you do.”
She smiled. “They’ll be safe here.”
“At least until the ice melts.”
“I’ll turn on the air-con, make it really cold. That will help as long as the power stays on.” She marched off to the control panel next to the front door.
I looked at the ice, already starting to drip water onto the carpet. “I don’t know if that’ll be enough.”
Eden turned to face me. “I’ll stay here then, keep adding layers when they melt.”
“No, I can’t ask you to do that.”
She pointed to my bandaged right arm. “I cut you with a knife. Let me make up for it.”
“What if Dad breaks free?”
“He won’t. Besides, you’ve seen I can handle myself. Let me keep your family safe.”
I wasn’t going to convince her otherwise, so I agreed. “Okay, but keep the front door locked. Who knows what’s going to happen out there today.”
“Got it. Also, you might want to change.”
I looked down, and my front was covered in red paint from holding Skye, not to mention blood from the creatures in the tunnels. If I went out like this, I’d draw attention to myself. Walking into my bedroom, I undressed and threw the dirty clothes in the corner of the room. I stood still for a moment, taking a deep breath, surveying the mess that was typical of my room. Dad and Skye hadn’t painted in here, at least.
The full-length mirror on my wall showed a body that was a little worse for wear. Bandaged right arm, bruises all up and down my limbs, and scrapes on both my knees from scrambling through the tunnels. There was even a bite mark on my shoulder. I shrugged. At least my torso looked okay, despite the red stains and the black blotch on my stomach. I was almost used to it, now, the cold skin, the clammy feeling when I touched it. It was still smaller than my palm, and I put my hand over the top. For a moment, it was like it had disappeared. I saw my body without the blotch for the first time in months. I smiled at myself in the mirror, forcing my mouth to turn up at the edges, forcing myself to look like a relatively carefree teenage girl once more. Not that I was ever bubbly or particularly outgoing, but the stuff I was dealing with before the Unseen was nowhere near the intensity I was living at now. If that Ari, the one from before all this, could see me now, what would she say? Would she be impressed or horrified at the girl I’d evolved into?
Which One of You is Real?
I dropped my hand from my stomach, and I could see the blotch again. Time to get ready. The day was still cold outside, but I was going to have to do a lot of running before this was over. The jeans I’d been wearing had chafed my legs a bit; in the movies, people can run wearing anything. In reality, jeans were heavy and awkward.
Rummaging through my drawers, I pulled out a pair of black gym tights. They still fit, which was a relief considering I’d used them for literally anything but exercise. The long grey t-shirt I threw on reached halfway down my thighs, giving me a sense of modesty. Didn’t want to run through an imploding city with my butt on display. White runners were the best choice of footwear, and I put on a grey hoodie to keep me warm and cover the glowing damper on my head. I looked back at the mirror. Hopefully, I’d look like I was just out for a run.
Yep, saving the world in my activewear.
That was a new one.
FORTY
Leaving Eden to barricade the door, I exited the apartment, stepping around the blood pool expanding from Mrs Parker’s, and ignoring her pleas for company.
It was good timing. I had about five minutes before I was supposed to turn my comms on, which was just enough time to start scoping the source of the signal. On the street, I grabbed the bright yellow bike from where it was stashed next to the door, and quickly tapped the switch on the side of the damper. I didn’t need to check if it was off; my heart slowed immediately, and I started to feel light inside. Time to work fast. I tuned into Wheeler’s tone, hearing it loud and clear in my mind. It was pulsing and had grown even louder than before. Whatever amplifier Wheeler was using, it was effective.
Switching the damper back on, I jumped on the bike and rode north, up Dad’s block, stopping at the lights. A car went screaming past filled with people, most of whom were naked and yelling incoherently. It didn’t surprise me, but it was a bad sign. The city was falling apart.
Staring at the red light, it struck me that I probably didn’t need to worry about road rules at the moment; nobody else would be, and the police were probably just as messed up as everyone else in the city. Checking carefully for vehicles, I rode out against the red light. It felt transgressive, somehow, and gave me a bit of a rush.
The streets were quieter in this part of Coleton, which made the journey fast. The emergency alarm had stopped, too.
I didn’t have a watch, but an open and abandoned car had a green clock shining from the dash which had just changed to six. Time to turn on my comms.
I put in the earpiece, running the cable under my hoodie so it didn’t flap about when I moved. A muffled shriek came from the apartment building across the street, caused by goodness knows what awful thing. I ducked behind the gate of an upscale office building to avoid attracting attention.
The comm clicked as I turned the dial on, adjusting the volume so I could hear the others. These didn’t have a button to talk, instead they switched the mic on automatically when we spoke.
“Hey guys,” I said.
“Ari?” Rachel replied.
I nodded, then remembered she couldn’t see me. “Yes.”
“The others aren’t on yet. How’s the signal where you are?”
“Pretty strong near Dad’s place. Eden stayed there to keep an eye on them. I’ve been heading north, I’ll check the signal now.” I turned the damper off and tuned to the gate next to my head. Wincing, I turned it back on. “It’s strong here too, but weaker than at Dad’s. The signal’s coming from somewhere south of me.”
Rachel’s voice echoed, as if she was in an empty building. “Not much my way, so the signal’s probably in the south-east.”
“Great. That narrows things down a bit. Hopefully the boys can clear it up even more.”
There was silence, for a moment. Glass shattered inside the apartment building across the road, and something crunched into the car I’d checked a moment ago. I ducked my head around the gate to see the carnage. A double-width fridge had landed upside down on the roof of the car. The vehicle’s windows had all blown out, scattering glass across the asphalt. Overhead on a balcony, two young women laughed hysterically. I ducked back behind the gate.
“Hey, Ari?” Rachel said, sheepishly.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said to Eden.”
“Which bit?”
“All of it, to be honest.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been blaming you for everything that happened to me at Ettney. The torture, the scars, everything I’ve had to deal with since. Flashbacks, night terrors, the whole damn psych textbook.”
A small bird landed on the gate above me, brown and ruffled, looking like it had just woken up. It chirped, then flitted off into the sky, like everything was fine, like the city wasn’t imploding around it.
“Anyway,” Rachel continued, “I’ve been playing things back in my mind, and I honestly don’t think I can be angry at you anymore. Not trusting you was what led to that whole mess. If I’d brought you in the loop sooner, if I hadn’t been so paranoid, we could have avoided a whole lot of awful stuff.”
I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it, silently.
“I’ve been angry at you, but I think I was really angry at myself. I’m sorry.”
Finally, I found some words. “It’s okay, Rach. Seriously. You don’t need to apologise. We’ve all done some pretty messed up stuff and made some huge mistakes. Me more than most. But I’ve been realising that, at the end of the day, the past is just a memory. It doesn’t exist anymore. We have to live with the consequences, but whatever happened is gone forever. What we do moving forward is what counts, right?” I thought of Noah, and rage rose inside me. Maybe I didn’t entirely believe what I was saying.
“Right. Good. Okay, then.” There was a smile in Rachel’s voice, one I hadn’t heard in a long time. “You know, after we save the world, you’d make a pretty good motivational speaker.”
I chuckled. “I dunno, I’d look pretty gross in a pant-suit.”
“What the heck are you guys talking about?” said Noah over the comm.
“Nothing, and nice of you to join us.” Rachel said. “Seems like the signal is south-east of the city. What do you think?”
Instead of answering, Noah swore, and a colossal boom came over his intercom.
“Noah?” Rachel said. “Noah, are you there?”
There was a pause, and a second explosion. In the distance, towards Noah’s position, smoke rose above the cityscape.
“What on earth was that?” I said, to no-one in particular.
“Sorry guys,” yelled Noah. “I can’t really hear you. My ears are ringing bad. A petrol station just blew up a block away. It’s crazy out here right now, people everywhere. I just saw a guy run past, and his back was on fire, skin just melting off him. This city’s really messed up.”
“What about the signal?” asked Rachel.
“The signal? I think it’s south-east as well. It’s not that strong where I am, but it was when we left Century Station.” He was still yelling, and I turned down the volume on my comm a bit.
“Hey guys,” came Hud’s voice. “What was that bang?”
“Tell you later,” I said. “How’s the signal where you are?”
“I’m right near the docklands, and it’s really strong. If I turn off the damper for even a second, I start to feel really weird. I think it’s somewhere close.”
