Tested

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

The figure pulled down his hood to reveal a mixed-race teenage boy of about seventeen or eighteen. All but one of the fires went out.

“Sorry,” he said, his accent a strange but appealing mix of a little Scottish and a little Cockney. “Kind of a side effect. Come upstairs. That’s where we’ve been living.”

“We?” Dad asked, his tone cool and abrupt.

“Me and my granddad. It’s a long story, and he’s pretty ill, so if you do anything, and I mean anything, to stress him out, I’ll send you screaming out of here, okay?”

Dad bristled, but I saw fear in the boy’s dark brown eyes and knew he was trying to protect his family.

“It’s okay,” I said. “We’re just trying to survive what’s going on out there. We don’t want any trouble. We’ll be on our way in the morning if you want.”

His relief was obvious. “Follow me. Just don’t get too close to the fires.”

Dad followed the boy up the stairs, putting space between he and I. Dad was afraid, but I was intrigued.

“Granddad, we have some visitors tonight,” the boy called out as we trudged up the stairs. “The pack is hanging around outside again.”

“I heard,” a weak voice said.

Upstairs was about as homely as someone could make a half-empty warehouse. An elderly Asian man lay on a bed of mattresses. A huge window let some light in, while a tiny fire burned from nothing. There were books and magazines, and piles of food, some clothes and bags and other things, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the man.

The teenage boy helped him to sit up.

“Good evening,” the man said, again with an accent, except his had a stronger note of some Scottish dialect in there. His small brown eyes were cloudy, and he smiled at us. “It’s been a while since we’ve had company. We don’t have much to offer, but I welcome you.”

“I love him,” I whispered to Dad, who gave me that look.

“We’re trying to make it past those monsters to Scotland,” Dad said. “There’s supposed to be a boat there.”

“We’re doing the same,” the boy said. “I’m Parker, by the way. People call my granddad Sunny.”

“How did you end up here?” Dad asked, conspicuously avoiding sharing our names.

Parker glanced at his grandfather. “I went to stay with my granddad in Edinburgh for a while, but the rest of our family stayed in London. When we didn’t hear from them, we decided to go see what was going on. Kind of a mistake. We got a bit… stuck along the way once we realised what was happening. My granddad’s not doing so well, so we’ve been staying here for a few days until he feels better. There’s a pack running around, desperate to get to us. So far, I’ve managed to keep us safe, but…” Defeat rang clear in his eyes.

“I fled the place of my birth thinking it was hell on earth,” Sunny said. “And now look where I am.” He laughed, but it turned into a cough.

“Is there anything we can do for you?” Dad asked, surprising me with his concern.

“It’s just a chill, but at my age, a chill can take a lot out of you. I’m stronger every day, isn’t that right, Park?”

Parker nodded, a ghost of a smile on his face.

“What’s with the fire?” I asked, deciding not to ignore the burning elephant in the room.

“Please don’t be afraid,” Sunny said gently. “Park is a little… special.”