The Touch

Chapter 14 - New Friends

The people at the CWT were very friendly and the children were especially interested to know that I had the Touch but that my eyes would not light up like theirs did. The adults were very interested to know how I survived to the age I was without being caught, so I told them the story of the sacrifice my parents and grandmother had made for me. There were only a few teenagers that had the Touch recorded and most had not played it safe and were eventually caught. Where they were now was anyone's guess but I hoped that maybe one day I would meet someone my own age that had it. There was always hope that they were just hiding and had not been caught and placed in an institute for testing. But I think we all knew deep down that it was more likely that they were institutionalised or dead.

I told them about growing up on a farm and feeding the animals. I also told them how lucky they all were to have children their own ages to play with and how I had wished for that as a child. I told them of the fateful day when the Watchers came and my escape through the tunnels and to the factory where my father had stored the car. The women were all very comforting and some offered me a hug. It seemed such a long time ago that I had been hugged by a parent.

Watching the children playing in the street, it seemed like a wonderful home but I did wonder how they coped with being underground and not seeing the sun. That question was quickly answered when one of the children asked to show me the sunshine. The parents all looked at each other as if wondering whether it was allowed. A burly man with blue overalls waved to another man standing further away from us. The man bent over and started cranking a large wheel. We all looked up as a large piece of metal was pulled back and I gasped as light came streaming into the underground hideaway. It seemed the piece of metal was the size of a football field on the roof and I soon realised that I was now looking at the underside of the pond above us. The pond looked clean and clear and I could see fish swimming back and forth. There were also ducks on the pond and I could also see the blue sky up above it. It was obvious from where I was standing that the pond was visible from our side, but that the underground hideaway was not visible when looking down from outside. It was an incredibly remarkable piece of workmanship.

"That is amazing" I said "I have never seen anything like it".

Slade laughed "Yes it is something else. It has been here for a while and no one has ever suspected that underneath that pond is an underground city".

I saw a girl coming up to my left and I turned to look at her. In the light I could see her brown eyes and recognised her as the little girl we saved today. Her mother and father were standing beside her and the mother came towards me and took me into her embrace "Thank you so much for saving Melissa today. I don't know what I would have done if the Watchers had taken her".

I was taken aback but replied that she is welcome. We stood there briefly and talked together for a while. They told me how the teacher had given them the number and they had packed up their bags and left everything behind within the hour. I could see that they were still shocked and nervous in their new surroundings but they also looked somewhat relieved and I remembered how worried my mother had always been when I was young. I suppose as a parent your worst nightmare is that your child could be taken away from you. With Melissa having the Touch, it would have been a daily worry.

Turning towards Slade I introduced him to Melissa's family "Well without Slade, Theon and Tori there then I don't know if we would have had the best outcome. I am just glad you are all safe now and that they turned up when they did" I said.

Slade was the next to get a hug and then Theon arrived just in time to get his. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I saw their expressions. They were definitely not used to getting hugs and admiration from strangers.