Skye City: The Darkness of Emmilyn

Just Kids

Trembling Arturo slaps Dynah's cheeks as she lies crookedly in the undergrowth at the roadside. She must have fainted while we were focusing on the disintegrated mutant which has decorated the cracked tarmac and the felled tree.

'Come on, wake up,' my brother says and Dynah sits upright among the bushes, blinking heavily with the agony of losing a brother etched into her juvenile face. She just sits on the spot, almost catatonic as my brother stares back down the country road. Ivor is standing between the broken tree trunk and the remaining stump, checking our surroundings with his gun-arm ready. The yellow paintwork on his front is blackened from the rocket blast which came too late to save Rupert.

'Get in Eyris' car,' Arturo yells, turning to Bailey's dented antique car and the detached trailer. 'The enemy is coming. Ivor hide in the woods and wait until we can retrieve you. Ensure you flee from any soldiers. We could be a while.'

The mechanoid plods through the towering trees, vanishing among bloodied leaves and vines and I wonder whether he will ever be retrieved. This may be the last time I see him and I know Ivor is not really a person but he saved my life. For that reason alone I would miss our mechanical bodyguard, yet a goodbye would seem inappropriate.

Oscar, Bex, Bailey, Scoop and Lexi claw through the bushes to the Folio i4, sluggishly as though shock has turned their legs to jelly. I follow them around the gore, standing back as they climb aboard the vehicle where Eyris is waiting in the driver seat. The airbags have vanished into whatever place they came from, but the vehicle might not even be drivable, nor might the other vehicle in which case we might have to run into the forest. Please work.

Tyres churn up dirt as the Folio i4 tries to reverse onto the road but its front wheels remain lodged in the bush. Arturo braves the jagged branches to reach across the bonnet, pushing until the Folio i4 breaks free and reverses onto the road, whipping up the stream of mutant blood.

'Go,' Arturo yells and Eyris drives towards the felled tree, steering half the vehicle offroad and breaking through the top branches. She races into the distance, leaving us with no opportunity to follow, and we were supposed to be guiding her to the rebel base. I guess those guys are on their own for now.

My brother and I walk around the felled tree and Arturo approaches the woodland to haul the unresponsive Dynah over his shoulder. Otess and I stand on the uneven road by Vytali who is swaying in a state of shock as blood seeps towards our shoes. I turn away from a mutant eyeball and Rupert's severed legs. Poor kid.

I hear the faint rumble of engines which must be the military convoy Arturo detected with his enhanced senses. My brother drags Vytali towards Bailey's battered antique car with his spare hand. He straps the whimpering Dynah into a back seat, then enters the driver seat and tries the ignition as Otess and I climb aboard. Thankfully the vehicle is still functioning and Arturo floors the gas pedal before the convoy arrives. The Folio i4 is already out of sight.

The convoy does not seem interested by our presence as the soldiers stop to shift the felled tree from the bend in the road, but I suppose bloodshed is a regular sight now. The heavy lifting takes the combined effort of many men who vanish from sight as yet more snow falls. Orange-tinged flakes consume the surrounding woodland, concealing the horror scene with a beautiful veil as Dynah sobs inconsolably in the back seat.

'We were cr-created together. He was as close as I'll ever get to family,' Dynah splutters.

'I-I'm sorry, Dynah.' Arturo stares into the rearview mirror, but the antique car loses traction, swerving on the slush. He returns his eyes to the road and regains control of the vehicle. 'He died a courageous death, heroic, that's how we should remember him.'

'He was only a child, five years old. The others said his generation were created just five years ago. We grow fast,' Dynah says and I glance at Dynah's tear-soaked face, wondering just how young she really is. She is so smart and powerful and has matured so quickly since we met that I struggle to see her as a child, yet she could be the age I was when I was orphaned. The thought is mind-blowing.

'What now?' I ask in a monotone, the effort of speaking agonising.

'I'll contact the Rebellion.' Arturo wipes blood from the face of his holowatch. 'ASTR emergency.'

'Central command. Arturo, is that you?'

'It is. I have my sister and some friends with me. We need somewhere to go, fast.'

'No problem, we have a hideout prepared for you. I'll send the co-ordinates. Make sure you do not get followed.'

The call disconnects abruptly and it seems weird how prepared the Rebellion were to receive my brother's contact. The holowatch beeps and an electronic voice says: 'Co-ordinates received,' as the woodland gives way to a frozen wasteland. A finger tap activates the satnav and we are directed by voice command to a coastal town, north of the hills. The wipers fail to clear sludge from the windscreen and snowflakes are limiting visibility, but I can make out seaside attractions, including an empty funfair.

We drive past creaky old fishing boats gathering snow and enter a complex of garages where my brother stops the antique car, winding down the window. A garage door rises open and a man wearing denim clothes and a cowboy hat emerges, saying: 'You hear about the red lion that's on the loose?'

'And the rising tiger? Yeah, they're nothing compared to what we've just faced,' Arturo says and the man nods sternly, saying, 'Park inside.'

Arturo parks alongside a jeep in the double-garage, exits the vehicle and stands against the bare-brick interior; his clothes glistening red. We remain strapped in our seats, silent, numb, as the man peers through the car windows, asking, 'What's with all the blood? Are you guys hurt?' He receives no response, apart from a quickening of my brother's breathing. 'We'll be waiting in here for a few hours, but I have no medical supplies. All you can do is make yourselves comfortable.'

'We'll be fine. No-one's seriously injured,' Arturo says as the man closes the garage door.

The cramped and dusty garage contains a sink below a grimy window which provides a single brown-tinged lightsource. Tools are hanging from the walls, clutter fills the shelves and a hose-pipe is coiled in the corner. The man rolls his sleeve and taps his holowatch, holding his wrist to his mouth and I could swear he is almost smirking. 'Ortellia, Carter speaking. You still got room at your place?'

The sound of that name makes my body stiffen for some inexplicable reason, then my eyebrows draw together, my face contorting and I cannot fathom why. Perhaps the extreme stress is making my body respond in unusual ways.

'Confirm the names for me... I need to know who's coming.' The voice is muffled and yet strangely soothing...

'We have the supersoldier Arturo and his sister Emmi. I'll have to check the na–'

'It's okay, that's all I need to hear. Get them here asap and keep them safe. They're just kids.'