The Anomaly Affliction

Fourteen

SMASH.

I awake with a start to the sound of smashing glass behind me. Did I fall asleep? I guess I did.

What the hell was that?

I turn to look at the passenger seats in the back of the car. A grey, heavy-looking rock about the size of a football is sitting in the middle seat, after leaving its huge mark in the window to the right. Shards of glass are all over the seats and the foot space. I'm surprised none of it touched me. I look through the hole in the window and try to search for wherever the hell this rock came from, but the darkness of the night means I can't see much.

A moment later, I see someone walking towards the smashed car window. And another walking towards the front window. And two more people behind them. Suddenly there's a knocking on the window directly next to me, and I turn with a gasp. There's a man standing outside the car, bent over, staring straight into my eyes. He gestures for me to wind the window down, and I do so. These must be the men from before. Is this a good idea? I don't know - but I don't feel the need to run away.

When the window is down, the man smiles at me with a twinkle in his eye. He has short and greasy greying hair, and a wrinkly face.

"Evenin'," he says, with a slightly hoarse voice. He sounds like he has a cold.

"Evening" is not exactly what I expected him to say. Do I say it back? I don't think I can...I'm too in shock. Being woken up in the middle of nowhere by a rock smashing a window right behind you really gets your adrenaline going.

"What's a little girl like you doing out here?" the man asks.

I'm not a little girl, I want to retort. But what good would that do? Instead I just say nothing.

The man seems amused. "Not much of a talker, eh? That's alright. It's just, we've never come across a young person all the way out here, let alone a young person on their own. So forgive me if I'm a bit nosy, but I wanna know why you're alone."

It takes me a long moment to decide how to respond, but eventually I say: "I don't have anyone with me."

"Well that's what alone means, innit?" the man says, grinning slightly.

I hear a couple of sniggers from some of the other men and instantly feel vulnerable. It may be dark, but looking around, I can see all their eyes glaring down at me. It should make me feel terrified. I remember having nightmares like this. I should be quaking, but I'm not.

"How old are you, Miss?" the grey-haired man continues, squinting at me.

"Sixteen," I reply.

I hear whispers from the other side of the car.

The man raises a bushy eyebrow. "Sixteen, eh?"

"Maybe she's the one they're looking for," a different voice says.

My heart begins to pound. They know about me. I look away from the man and sit there in silence, not knowing what to do. For all I know, these are Curtis's spies, and she's found me.

"I'll take that as a yes," the grey-haired man says. He bends further down and leans on the outside of the car. "Violet, is it?"

I say nothing.

"There's no use pretending you can't hear me, love," he continues. "Your name's Violet Thorburn, isn't it? The anomaly that Curtis is looking for?"

I have to talk at some point. And I can't pretend I'm not Violet Thorburn - they know exactly who I am, and I doubt they'd believe me if I denied it. After all, there aren't any other sixteen-year-olds out here.

Slowly, I nod.

"Well," the man grins, removing his hands from the car. "Fancy that. Curtis says she's looking for a girl and we find her straight away."

"What are you going to do with me?" I ask.

"Relax Violet, we're not gonna turn you in," he says. "I think you'll find we're not goin' anywhere near Nacoma."

I let myself relax a little, as I'm told.

"We could let you stay with us," he suggests.

"We should," another man butts in.

The grey-haired man looks over the top of the car and asks: "What do you say?"

I look out the opposite window. The other men whisper to each other and give me several looks, before eventually nodding to the grey-haired man.

"Well," the man says to me. "Lucky for you, we're kind folks. We're also experienced, so we know that - no offence intended, love - you don't really stand a chance out here on your own. Stay with us, we'll keep you safe. You're gonna have to help us out a bit, though."

I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," I reply.

And I really mean it. These men could've turned me into Curtis, or hurt me, or even killed me if they wanted to, but they didn't. Instead they're letting me stay with them in order to survive. For the first time since I've been out here, something good has happened.

"Now get out the car," the man instructs. "You're not sleeping there anymore."