The Lost Ones

22 - Adrian

I remember waking up to the sound of voices outside.

According to the clock on the dashboard of the bus, it was barely 5:00 am and the sun was only just coming up. Stumbling to the window, I manage to clamber over several sleeping bags and have a look at what was going on. Why would anyone be awake at this time? Then something I noticed about the buses made me stop dead.

There weren't five buses. There were six.

I duck underneath the window, desperately hoping that the hospital staff hadn't spotted me. I needed a way to tell someone without creating a huge drama where everyone would be screaming and crying. So basically a repeat of last night.

"Adrian?" I whipped around. Maisie had woken up and was watching me from the driver's seat. "What the hell are you doing awake at this time of day?"

"They're outside! The hospital! Maisie, help! Idon'tknowwhattodo!" I say in a rush of air and words. Maisie puts one hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay, we'll work out something." She tries to look reassuring, but I can see the fear in her eyes. Sometimes I forget that Maisie was a victim of the hospital's torture, just like me and Lela.

It's okay. I wonder how many times people have said that to me in the past month. Everything seems to hit me all at once; how many days have we been travelling now? I try to count on my fingers, but soon lose track. I sit, slumped underneath the window, wishing I was shorter. If they had seen me then surely they'd have done something about it by now. The sight of Maisie flashing a torch out of the back window at the other bus snaps me out of my confused thoughts. I crawl over to where she's kneeling, frowning.

"What are you doing?" I whisper, but she still puts one finger to her lips and hushes me. She flashes the light once more at the window, and I realise that she is trying to catch Gemma's attention from the next bus.

"She's got the message. We need to wake people up, quietly." Maisie points to Lela and Will, who are still fast asleep. She sets about gently shaking people awake; I'm hoping everyone will be calm for once and not go into panic mode.

I crawl over to Lela's seat and shake her awake, but staying close to the ground so they can't see any movement outside. She stirs, but doesn't wake up. "Lela! Lela, wake up! You need to get up!" I say to her in a hushed voice.

She slowly opens up one eye and blinks at me sleepily. "Adrian? It's so early. Why are you awake?" 

"It's the hospital! Lela, they're right outside the bus!" She bolts upright, alert and ready, but I pull her down to the floor so that we're both sitting cross-legged.

"The hospital staff are outside? But....how did they...." Her words trail off into a sort of stunned silence. 

"There's no time to explain. Maisie's let Gemma know and they'll have contacted the other buses. We need to get out of here." I say, and Lela just nods in reply.

I have no idea how they plan to escape this one. Is this the end of our journey? Are we destined to be the guinea pigs of the staff at the hospital? I shake my thoughts away and try to think more optimistically. We're going to be free someday. I know it. As I waste time pondering our future lives, Maisie has already gathered everyone and is in the driver's seat.

"Adrian, I suggest you and Lela get your asses in your seats. They've finally figured out what's happening outside." She says, one foot on the accelerator and both hands on the wheel. I quickly grab my seatbelt and strap myself to the chair, feeling vaguely as if I'm in a strait jacket. 

As the engine revs up, there's a lot of wild shouting coming from outside and the staff making hand gestures. If I wasn't so scared I might be laughing by now. Yelling at us to come back isn't going to do anything. The staff eventually realise that they're never going to get us by shouting and are following closely behind us despite the fact we're speeding through the trees. Just as we turn a final corner, enter the main road and think we've finally lost them, we find ourselves surrounded by men with guns and large armed vehicles. They force open the doors and pull me and Lela out on to the gravel, holding our wrists so that we can't escape.

"Lela! Adrian! How positively delightful to see you again," A cold and croaky voice rings out. Charles Magannor slowly steps towards us, smiling cruelly, almost as if he's savouring his victory. "Oh, and look, you've brought some friends with you. Well, there's always room for more at our testing facility. Always a need for spare parts."

"No!" Lela shrieks, her voice high and shrill as she struggles to be released from her captor's grip. I notice Marie standing quite a distance away from us, fidgeting with a strand of blonde hair anxiously. Is she uncomfortable with the amount of lives she's about to ruin? Right now, I really don't care.

"We've discovered a new possible way of creating a cure for the disease, and with these immune children-" Magannor's eyes sparkle, but in an unpleasant way. "Just think of what we could do."

"You can't," I spit out furiously. "There are ill people, there are two pregnant girls with us, you can't do this!"

Magannor takes a few steps closer to me, so that I'm staring straight into his eyes. When he speaks, I can hear the smile in his voice and it really, really scares me.

"Oh Adrian. I can. I really can."