The Fable of Marcus Read online

  Chapter 12

  The Journey to the City of Gold

  It felt like they had been driving for hours, when in reality, it had only been about

  twenty minutes. Arthur was in and out of consciousness and Louise had finally

  managed to stop the bleeding. The feeling of great anguish was shared by all of them

  and Marcus loathed himself. He did not kill all those people but he was certainly

  responsible for their deaths and nothing could ever change that. He was intoxicated

  with remorse, so much so that he couldn’t face anyone in the vehicle. The disgusting

  images of those poor people screaming with their final few breaths haunted him –

  their frightened faces covered in blood as they courageously lost their lives, and for

  what? Me! He was suffocating in his conscience, until he couldn’t bear it anymore,

  ‘we have to stop this before more people die! Stop this thing and let me out! Marcus

  shouted and breathing so heavy that it seemed like he was hyperventilating. Nicole

  stopped the vehicle and Marcus jumped out and began throwing up. Loiuse followed

  to see if he was alright, but he was far from alright. He couldn’t live with himself and

  needed to run away. But before he had the chance to, Arthur stumbled out of the

  vehicle, ‘Marcus, stop! Come here now!’ Marcus walked towards him with his head

  down. ‘Listen to me... you did not do anything wrong, we weren’t ready!’

  ‘But all those people... they died coz of me!’

  ‘No! They died because of that monster. Marcus, I need you to stay focused on our

  mission. If we fail now then everyone will die, you know as well as me that the

  system coming online is just the beginning – do you really believe that those brave

  souls that fought with all their might, would have chosen slavery over death? Marcus,

  stop doing this to yourself, you were chosen for this because you are the only one that

  can do it! The world has been waiting for you for so long and they believe in you

  enough to die for you! Don’t let them down!’

  ‘But they’re all dead – we don’t have a chance now!’ Marcus’s eyes filled up.

  ‘We head to London and meet with the army, rethink our strategy and take it from

  there.’

  Although Marcus agreed with everything he said and got in the vehicle, he did not

  feel any better, nor did the rest. They remained completely silent for a few moments

  until Arthur asked whether Nicole was going to start driving.

  ‘I don’t know how to get there! I don’t have a clue where we’re going!’ Nicole said,

  still in shock.

  ‘Ok, type destination, London on the screen and select auto-pilot.’ Arthur said, his

  eyes began closing again. Ryan typed it in and the computerised voice spoke,

  ‘destination London – auto-pilot activated.’ The dash split and the steering wheel

  crept back in and the pedals disappeared as the vehicle drove off.

  ‘Stop!’ Fredrick shouted and the vehicle and small platoon of four-legged robots came

  to a sudden halt. Fredrick hopped out of the vehicle and walked up to some tyre tracks

  and foot prints in the mud.

  Fredrick nodded for one of the robots to come closer, ‘analyse these tracks!’ The

  robot stared down at the tracks and after a few prolonged seconds, spoke, ‘the tracks

  are giving off heat, maximum of ten minutes old.’

  ‘Great! Where are they heading?

  ‘They are most probably heading towards London!’

  Fredrick rushed back into the vehicle and contacted Darcy on the screen. When Darcy

  appeared on the screen, Fredrick was still too frightened to look at the screen.

  ‘What is it Fredrick?’

  ‘Master, it seems as though they are heading towards London, they are ten minutes

  away.’

  ‘London...’ Darcy mumbled to himself.

  ‘Go after them.’

  ‘But... London...’

  ‘Don’t go into London, I do not expect that kind of bravery from you Fredrick! Just

  make sure you know where they are! We don’t have any eyes in London.’

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Ryan asked as the vehicle began to judder and eventually stop.

  ‘I don’t know, it just stopped!’ Nicole panicked. ‘We’re in London and only

  approximately ten minutes away from central London.’

  ‘Tecra, engine start!’ Nicole yelled, but it was no use, the screen was blank and all the

  lights in the vehicle dead. If it weren’t for the street lights, that were now gleaming

  brightly, they would have been sitting in pitch blackness. When Nicole looked out of

  the windscreen, she screamed as she saw a few, unkempt men standing in front of the

  vehicle, one of them holding a large metal object in his hand. And after a few seconds

  more men came and surrounded the car. They were all very scruffy, their cloths torn,

  their faces dirty. They looked like they had been rolling around in combination of dirt

  and oil. One of the men, gently knocked on the driver side window, ‘you havin a bit’a

  engine trouble luv!’ and then looked at the man standing in front of the vehicle,

  holding the strange object and they both laughed hysterically, exposing their crooked

  and cheese-like teeth. One of the men, who wasn’t laughing at all, a chubby man with

  a pot belly, slowly circled around the vehicle, looking contently at the body.

  ‘Well, she’s a beauty! He said in an outlandish accent, ‘I bet she’ll be worth a pretty

  penny! I bet she will.’

  ‘What do we do?’ Ryan asked, removing his sword. The man outside noticing this,

  removed a huge silver gun and set off a domino effect – all the men removed similar

  type weapons and pointed them at the vehicle.

  ‘Now all of you get outta the car! Now!’

  ‘Better do as they say!’ Marcus said. Arthur opened his eyes and said, ‘what the hell!’

  He opened the door and forcefully removed a gun off one of the men and kicked

  another. Ryan, Louise and Marcus jumped out as well, but they were outnumbered

  and Arthur, due to his injuries, was not on form. The men, some with bruises and

  bleeding noses, held them at gun point, ‘move behind the vehicle... you too princess!’

  The man that circled the car said. He acted and sounded like he was in charge of the

  group of thugs.

  ‘What do you want?’ Marcus asked.

  ‘That’s a good question mate, a good one!’ The man said, still eying up the vehicle.

  ‘We’re gonna need your ride!’

  ‘Ok, take it! And let us go!’ Marcus said, checking to see if Arthur, who was now

  bleeding worse than before.

  ‘Let me finish! We are gonna need the ride and we need you. You kids will be worth

  a bit as well.’

  ‘Please, we are on an important mission, we need to get into London and...’ Marcus

  began explaining. But he was interrupted with the man who burst out laughing.

  ‘Don’t worry son, we’ll take you London alright!’ The man chuckled even more,

  ‘grab the kids and kill the man!’ He ordered the men. One of the men shot his

  weapon, firing straight into Arthur as he lay on the ground. Nicole screamed as she

  saw Arthur’s eyes close. ‘No!’ Ryan shouted and kicked the man, who shot him, to

  the ground. Ryan crawled on top of him and punched him continuously on the face.

  As the men moved forward to stop him, the chubby man said, ‘leave him!’ and the
<
br />   men stopped and watched as Ryan, controlled by rage, brutally punched repeatedly.

  The man who lay on the ground was bleeding excessively and Ryan was not ready to

  stop, until he looked up at Louise, who was crying, and shook her head slowly. Ryan

  forced himself to stop and got off the man who was unconscious but still alive.

  ‘Nah, I didn’t fink you had in ya! Go on guys grab em!’ Some of the men surrounded

  them, ordering them to move. And two of the other men got into the vehicle and spun

  off.

  Of course, they’ve got an EMP device! That’s how they stopped the engine. Marcus

  thought. But that means that they could stop any mechanical object, even robots!

  ‘That’s an EMP device isn’t it! That’s how you stopped the vehicle, right?’ Marcus

  said.

  ‘You’re a clever lad aint ya! It’s a shame though coz you don’t need brains where

  you’re going!’ And the men all laughed.

  ‘But you could stop the robots, the armies; you could stop all of this with that thing!’

  The men burst out in to hysterical laughter, ‘yeah right! Stop the robot armies! This

  kid is killing me!’ The men continued to laugh. But the chubby man with the pot belly

  wasn’t laughing – he seemed in deep thought and looked like he wanted to say

  something but stayed quite.

  As they trekked along the gravely road, not knowing where this long and mysterious

  road would lead, Nicole could not stop crying. She couldn’t believe Arthur was gone

  and began imaging what was in stall for them. From standing tall on a mountain of

  hope and optimism they had fallen to depths of a fruitless world, a world of strangers

  and mystery. Nicole was glad that they didn’t drag Mary and Thomas into this,

  knowing that Mary would have passed out by now.

  ‘Stop!’ Marcus shouted at the men, ‘Stop, where are you taking us?’

  ‘You, my lovelies, are going into the greatest city in the country,’ the man laughed,

  ‘you’re going to London!’

  ‘Why? What are you planning on doing with us?’

  ‘Don’t worry kido, we’re not gonna hurt ya! But god knows what those lot that we

  sell ya to are gonna do with ya!’ The man continued to laugh.

  ‘Sold? Sold for what?’

  ‘Where the hell did you come from kid? We’re going to the City of Gold!’

  ‘Shut up! All of you! Unless you wanna get killed. Now stop and wait here.’ The pot

  bellied man, who the rest just referred to as boss, removed a white card from his tatty

  trouser pocket and stepped a few steps forward. The man held it out in front of him. A

  red beam shone from the distance and appeared like it was scanning the card. And

  after a few seconds, there was a loud buzzing sound and the man smiled.

  ‘Come on comrades! And bring the meat. I’ll take the boy you guys take the rest.’ The

  man grabbed Marcus and dragged him away from the others, Marcus tried to resist

  but it was no use. Nicole’s face dropped when she saw Marcus being dragged away.

  ‘Marcus!’ She shouted. ‘Shut up and move, we’re going this way!’ One of the other

  men dragged her.

  As they approached closer, they saw a humongous concrete wall, the size of a skyscrapper.

  And it was so wide that it was impossible to see the ends from where they

  were. There was a huge trench dug in front of the wall and looked like it ran across its

  entire width – it was filled with murky water, and the water had a lot of movement,

  they all began imaging what monstrousities lay inside. The great wall had several

  gaps like small windows, except instead of glass, they had men standing there,

  pointing similar type of metal objects that their captures used to stop the vehicle. And

  some had huge black guns, pointing firmly at them as they walked closer.

  ‘What do want traveller?’ A voice emerged from the gap in the wall.

  ‘Relax, lemming! I’m here to trade!’

  ‘What you got?’ A man from a gap in the wall asked.

  ‘Hey aint talking to you about jack! Get your boss down here! I wanna speak to

  Martin, tell him I got something he’d be very interested in! Go on run along.’

  The man lifted out a small black radio and said, ‘if they move, shoot em!’ The man

  was sure to say it loud enough for everyone to hear.

  The pot-bellied man looked at Nicole’s pale face and smiled, ‘he’s just kidding!’

  After a few minutes, a tall man with smartly cut hair and an incredibly straight posture

  appeared in the gap. ‘Ah, Rick, it’s always a pleasure... tell me what can I do for

  you?’ The man asked. The pot-bellied man, now known as Rick, smiled, exposing his

  rotten teeth. ‘Hey Marty, today, it’s what I can do for you... let me in and I promise,

  you won’t be disappointed!’

  Martin sighed, not looking optimistic. But not willing to lose an opportunity, he spoke

  again on the radio, ‘open the gate!’

  The loud sound of iron locks banged, metal hinges squeaked as the great steel gate

  opened. The gate’s mechanism resembled one of an old castle, hung on two thick

  metal chains on either side; it lowered slowly and sat over the trench, forming a

  bridge.

  ‘Come on ladies – move!’ Rick said. They crossed over the bride and noticed a more

  rapid movement in the water and felt a few high splashes, but they dared not look

  down. When they got over the bridge, they were faced with several men with guns,

  ‘well aint this a warm welcome.’

  ‘Ok, what you got?’ Martin came rushing down a steel stair case.

  ‘I thought you’d neva ask!’

  ‘Well?’

  ‘You’re lookin at’em.’ He grinned. Martin rolled his eyes, ‘you called me out for this!

  Ok, a bar of gold for each kid. And escort our friends out when you’re done.’ He said

  to one of the men holding a gun and began to walk away.

  ‘Wait!’ Rick said and Martin peered back, with an annoyed expression.

  ‘One bar would be for a normal child.’

  ‘And what’s so special about these kids?’

  ‘Not them, just him.’ Rick pushed Marcus forward.

  ‘What is so special about him, exactly?’

  ‘Go on boy, show him.’ Marcus was shocked that Rick new. The other men looked

  baffled.

  ‘Lift up your sleeves! Now!’ Marcus remained frozen. Rick walked up to him and

  aggressively pulled his sleeves up. The men holding the guns stepped back in shock

  and Martin rubbed his eyes and slowly walked forward.

  ‘How is this possible? Is he human?’

  ‘Course he’s bloody human – look at him! When I yanked his arm I felt he had

  nothing.’ And there’s more...’

  ‘Go on...’ The man fascinated, pulling his sleeves further up and feeling his arm to

  make sure.

  ‘Well... I think it’d be best if talk about how much I’m getting first.’

  ‘I’ll give you two bars.’

  ‘Please, I’ll be on my way then...’

  ‘Six bars then, no more!’

  Ricks scruffy men looked at Rick with their eyes open wide and mouths watering

  excessively at the thought of getting that much gold just for one kid. But rick was

  feeling a little more ambitious, knowing that if he was prepared to give that much then

  the boy must be worth more.

  ‘Now, that is a... generous offer, but look at him, he’s worth more
than that.’

  ‘No, that’s the best I can do.’

  ‘I guess we’ll be on our way then!’ Rick said and his men looked around at one

  another like they were in complete disagreement. Rick grabbed Marcus and began

  walking away. ’Fifty bars!’ A loud and croaky voice echoed form further back.

  Rick and his men nearly had a heart attack; Rick turned around and looked at a

  shadow of an old man who was rushing towards them. The men moved out of the way

  and Martin stepped forward, ‘sir, fifty bars?’

  ‘Shut up you idiot!’ The old man, who was bent with age and had receding white hair

  shouted. His paper-thin skin was rough and dry and his almond shaped eyes sparked.

  ‘Remarkable!’ The man whispered, touching his arm to confirm what his eyes were

  telling him.

  ‘F...fifty bars? Of gold?’ Rick stuttered.

  ‘Yes... I’m sure that’ll be sufficient, don’t you think?’ The old man nodded at Martin

  who rushed to get the gold and came back in a few minutes with a couple of men

  dragging a metal box with wheels.

  Rick and his men rushed to the box and opened it, the glimmer from the gold shone

  on their faces, almost as much as their eyes were shining in excitement and disbelief.

  Rick fought to rip his eyes away from the gold, ‘the boy, knows about computers and

  stuff as well. Anyway, we’ll be on our way now.’ Rick grinned and they rolled the

  box away.

  ‘What’s your name?’ The old man asked.

  ‘My name is Marcus.’ Marcus spoke nervously.

  ‘Where did you come from?’

  ‘I... I don’t know. Please sir, what are you going to do to my friends?’ Marcus said

  looking over at Nicole, who was scared and knew that Arthur would not be there to

  barge in any minute and rescue them like he had always done.

  ‘Don’t worry Marcus, I will make sure they are well looked after. Now, I need you to

  come with me.’ He gently grabbed Marcus’s arm and escorted him through a long and

  dark corridor. When they approached the end of the corridor, the electric gates at the

  end slid open and Marcus felt blinded with the light that was penetrating through.

  As they stepped outside, they saw a road, a road different from other roads in

  England. This one looked perfect; it looked like it was brand-new and pressed every

  morning like a shirt. It was straight, free from rubble, cracks, dirt or any

  imperfections. There were even bright white road markings, that looked they were

  painted daily. In front of them was a long black vehicle, the paintwork was so sparkly

  and clean, that they could easily see their reflections and the engine roared like a tiger

  as the diver, who was already sitting inside, started it up.

  One of the men opened the door and told them all to get in. The old man got in as

  well, but he told the other men to remain behind. The vehicle pulled off and set out at

  a fast speed on the flat and straight stretch of road. After a few minutes, they could

  see that they had travelled into a populated area, but not like anything they had seen

  before. It was like being in a different world, all the roads that they travelled on were

  equally as well maintained, the buildings all looked alive, beautiful colours and free

  from dirt. Vehicles rushed on the roads in perfect harmony and people, endless people

  walking around like they had not a care in the world – groups of teenagers laughing

  and playing, people eating foods that Marcus and the others had never seen and an

  atmosphere that could only be described as a utopia. By now, they all felt like this

  wasn’t real – how could they have spent their entire lives in a prison of fear and

  almost starved to death at times when just miles away, there is this strange and calm

  civilisation; a society that looked like they spent more time and energy on flatting the

  roads than fighting for freedom.

  ‘What is this place?’ Marcus asked.

  ‘Don’t worry, all your questions will be answered shortly.’ The old man looked out of

  the mist-tinted window of the vehicle. The driver peered back, ‘Albert, I think we’re

  being followed.

  ‘Damn it! I thought we would have had a little more time. Martin must have alerted

  them.’

  ‘What do you want me to do?’ The driver said.

  ‘Just keep going as normal, don’t led on that we know that we’re being followed.’

  ‘Ok, I’ll try.’

  ‘Marcus, listen to me very carefully. This, what you see all around you, has a very

  ugly side. The only reason that this society exists is because it lives off the rest of the

  country. You were being sold to work underground so they can preserve this pretend

  world for only the rich and soon as they learn about you, they will try to get rid of

  you.’

  ‘Why?’ Nicole asked.

  ‘Because you threaten their entire way of life. Look, I don’t know the truth behind the

  stories about you Marcus, the boy who walks free, I really don’t. What I do know is

  that this fluffy and happy looking society that you see all around you is fuelled by the

  fear, and relies upon its corrupt and evil government.’

  ‘But what about Darcy Tyler and the Dark-Tec Empires? Why don’t they attack this

  place?’

  ‘This government has got some very advanced weaponry and spends a lot of money in

  developing it. Obviously, at the expense of people’s lives.’

  ‘The EMP devices?’

  ‘Yes and many others.’

  ‘So why don’t they stop the Empire?’

  The old man shook his head and grinned, ‘this is their perfect society, free from

  diseases and the population is tightly controlled. If they destroyed the Empire then the

  fear of people leaving their towns would end and people would end up travelling to

  London and ruining their paradise.’

  ‘But there are so many people out there, dying!’ Marcus, shocked at what he was

  hearing.

  ‘They don’t care about the outside. When they discover that you have been smuggled

  in, then we will all be in great danger.’

  ‘So who are those guys behind us?’

  ‘They’re Martin’s men, they want to know a bit more about you – it’s a monetary

  thing. It always is with Martin.’

  ‘So, what’s the plan?’ Marcus asked.

  ‘I’m not sure, but if they find you, they’ll kill you! I need to get you somewhere safe.’

  But by the end of his sentence, they all felt a thud from the back of the vehicle,

  making Nicole scream and throwing them out of their seats.

  ‘They’re ramming us!’ The driver shouted swerving the vehicle from side to side, ‘put

  your seat belts on now!’ Alfred shouted. They all fastened up and felt a few more

  thuds – the uncomfortable feeling of whiplash was shared by everyone.

  ‘Hold on!’ The driver shouted as he floored the vehicle, the momentum pushed them

  all against the back of their seats. The driver pulled out a gun and began shooting out

  of the window; both vehicles exchanged fire for a while but after a few brief moments

  the driver lost control and hit a lamp post, the car spun a few times and then turned

  over onto its roof, leaving behind a flare of sparks as it slid and scrapped across the

  road.

  The entire world seemed like it was moving in slow motion. Their li
ves flashed before

  them like images flickering from a camera.

  Alfred looked injured and couldn’t move, ‘Marcus run! Get out of here now!

  Marcus, a little startled but not injured, desperately tried to unfasten his seat belt.

  ‘Nicole, Ryan, Louise! You guys ok?’ They nodded, all in shock but uninjured. They

  could hear the screeching sounds of the other vehicle’s tyres close by.

  ‘Go!’ Alfred shouted. The driver, who looked badly injured, crawled out of the

  window and began firing his gun at the other car. Marcus and the others got out and

  ran as fast as they could. They were on a busy road full of people, but no one paid any

  attention to them, everyone was more focused on running and avoiding the exchange

  of gunfire.

  ‘Over there!’ Marcus pointed at a shop, ‘get in there.’ They all ran inside and hid

  behind a clothing rack.

  ‘Ah... excuse me, can I help you guys?’ A young lady with short blonde hair and sea

  blue eyes asked. She had a warm and welcoming smile, her lipstick was glittery and

  sparkled brightly on her full lips and she had a pleasant smell of perfume surrounding

  her. Her brunette hair was tied tightly, but a few stray hairs dangled like wavy roots of

  tree.

  ‘Are you guys ok?’ She asked, noticing that the kids looked dirty and incredibly

  frightened. Their deep silence alarmed her and she instantly knew that there was

  something wrong. She noticed them continuously looking towards the large glass

  door and she decided to investigate. When she peered out of the door, she noticed the

  toppled car and some men dressed in all black with guns, frantically looking around.

  ‘What the hell? Are they looking for you?’ The young lady asked, shocked because

  things like this never happened. From their terrified expressions, she knew they were,

  but was baffled at why men with guns would be looking for a group of kids.

  ‘Come with me!’ She said and rushed to the back of the store and through a small

  door. Marcus and the others knew that they didn’t have much choice and followed

  her.

  ‘Stay put, and I will get you out of here!’ She shut the door of the small room.

  ‘I can’t believe what the hell is going on? I mean... look at this place!’ Louise could

  not believe what she was seeing, her mouth was opened wide and eyes danced around

  the room. It was like they had left earth and smuggled their way into a different

  planet. A planet that, like the man in the car said, seemed like it wasn’t real – but it

  sure looked appealing. The store was spotless, warm and the floor had a beautiful

  beige carpet, which they were ruining with their tatty and dirty footwear, the lighting

  was elegant and twinkled like dazzling little stars on a velvet sky. The walls were an

  astonishing colour – a colour that none of them knew the name of, it was as red as the

  autumn leaves but more golden than honey.

  The young lady walked back into the room, with a confident bounce in her march and

  her pointy heals dug deeply into the thick carpet.

  ‘Hey, let’s get you out of here. Come on, the back way!’ She said briskly walking

  towards the back door, ‘my name is Kate by the way.’

  ‘Hi Kate, my name is Marcus and this is Nicole, Ryan and Louise.’ Kate smiled and

  opened the back door. On getting out, Kate looked around and made sure the coast

  was clear. She made a dash for her car; it was like a bright red bubble with tyres. The

  doors opened automatically as they got closer, ‘come on get in!’ They all got in the

  car, the windows were limo-tinted and hid them well.

  ‘Hold on tight!’ The wheels on her curvy car began to spin as they sped out of the

  little car park at the back of the store. She looked around, paranoid yet excited, ‘so

  what’s the deal with you guys? Why were those guys after you? Did you rob a bank

  or something?’

  ‘Umm... not exactly. It’s a long story.’ Marcus muttered, not knowing where to start.

  ‘Ok... where are you guys staying? Where are your parents?’

  ‘We don’t have any parents and we don’t have anywhere to stay. Our guardian has

  just been killed.’ Nicole said with her eyes teary.

  ‘You’re kidding right?’ Kate said. But judging by their expressions, she knew they

  weren’t lying.

  ‘That’s terrible! Ok, you guys are coming to mine until we can work something out

  and you can explain everything to me there. They drove for another ten minutes until

  they approached a tall building with a large glassed door. The snuck into the building

  and ran up two flights of stairs, the elevator had been out of order since she had

  moved into her apartment, so she had become immune to the laborious climb. She

  placed the palms of her hands on a small panel on the cream coloured door and it

  scanned her finger prints and instantly granted her access.

  ‘Welcome home Miss Richardson.’ A computerised voice spoke. As they all walked

  in, Kate took her high-heeled shoes off and fell onto a large black-leather sofa,

  sinking inside it and closed her eyes in exhaustion. The others looked around in

  amazement. The room was beautiful, the carpets matched the walls, the set of small

  tables with the digital picture frames and the dark furniture went perfectly with a

  massive black-framed screen stuck on the wall. She opened her eyes, ‘so, what’s the

  story?’

  Marcus explained everything and showed her that he didn’t have the wrist-lock and

  received his typical response of shock and excitement.

  ‘Wow, we need to do something!’ She said in deep thought. ‘I got it,’ she said and

  sprung up.

  Marcus and the others stared and eagerly anticipated her suggestion.

  ‘I had a Professor in University who was an expert in robotics and A.I technology and

  he petitioned to do something about stopping the Empire. But the government refused

  and threatened to lock him up. And the rest of the people in London had hardly any

  knowledge or experience of the Empire, the robots have never attacked London and

  London never bothered them – this complacency prevented anyone from doing

  anything. But the Professor Hussein never stopped trying, it was his research that led

  to some of the great weapons used to stop the robots, but his work was stopped and

  equipment seized. But we’ll have to go tomorrow, he’ll be on campus and we’ll catch

  him then and... you guys really can’t go looking like that!’ She started walking out of

  the room, ‘let me get changed and freshen up and then I’ll sort something out for you

  guys.’

  They looked at all the strange things in the room as they waited. Louise was drawn to

  a pearl-white plant pot, which was large enough for her to climb into. She ran her

  fingers across its smooth and glossy finish as she admired the fresh green plant that

  was growing out of it chaotically. Nicole’s eyes were hooked on a large fish tank

  which was fixed into the wall. It had dim lights that exposed aluminous coloured fish

  that swam together like hypnotic waves, fluttering their elegant colours that reflected

  brightly in the glass walls of the tank.

  ‘Hey guys, I’m ready.’ Kate said walking back into the room, wearing smart black

  trousers and a long and thick black coat. They followed her out and
back into the car.

  ‘Hey, are you hungry?’ She asked, her own stomach was rumbling unstoppably. They

  all nodded, with mouths watering.

  ‘Great, I know a place.’ She smiled dazzlingly, ‘but first we gotta make a pit-stop.’

  She drove back to the store they met in earlier. The store was closed and there was no

  one in sight.

  ‘Come on quickly, before someone sees us.’ She crept up to the doors of the store and

  swiped a card to let them in. A large metal shutter rolled up and the glass doors

  sprung open. They got inside and looked around at the metallic silver rails hung with

  sparkling clothes, all clean and pressed beautifully.

  ‘Well... don’t just stand there! Pick out what you like.’

  Louise didn’t wait for her to finish and had already seen what her heart desired.

  Anyone could have guessed that her eyes had glimpsed it when they first arrived. A

  stunning dark-blue dress with a black waist belt, a matching cardigan and knee-length

  cream coat with beautiful fur around the collars. Her mouth was almost drooling when

  she noticed the sparkling shoes that would go perfectly with the rest of her outfit.

  Everyone else found something quickly and were sat waiting for Louise making sure

  she had the right size and if there were any other accessories that she could grab.

  ‘Hey princess, we should go!’ Ryan yelled.

  ‘Yeah, I’m starved and we still got to get home, get you guys cleaned up and ready to

  go out.’ Kate said looking around hoping no one noticed them in the store.

  ‘Is this your place?’ Nicole asked, ‘coz it’s really beautiful!’

  ‘Not exactly, I just work here, but my dad owns it.’

  ‘Where’s your dad?’

  ‘I don’t know. I never see him these days. He’s very busy and I think he kinda got me

  working here to keep me busy.’

  ‘So you don’t live with your parents?’

  ‘No, that apartment is mine, my dad offered me a place, but I couldn’t take it and live

  being in his debt. So I work and earn my own. I will get out of this place one day. I’ve

  always wanted see outside of London, but it’s illegal and dangerous. And contrary to

  the government officially stating there is nothing living outside of London except

  robots and monsters, Professor Hussein was adamant that there were and I guess he

  was right!’ She smiled. ‘Although, he didn’t believe in the mysterious boy legend, I

  guess he wasn’t right about everything.’

  ‘Ok. I’m ready!’ Louise said perkily and struggling to drag two large bags along. Kate

  grinned and nodded, ‘let’s go!’ Kate was happy in what she was doing; she finally

  found an opportunity to make a difference. And to Marcus and his friends, she was

  like a lifeboat of hope in a deep sea of sadness.

  They drove straight back to her apartment and freshened up.

  ‘You guys sure scrub well!’ Kate rushed them to the car. ‘I hope you guys like pizza,

  burgers and fries!’ They all stared at one another not having any real idea of what she

  was talking about. But the thought of food was making their mouths water.

  ‘Well, you guys are gonna love it.’ She drove for about five minutes and parked in

  front of a well-lit building that had a wall of glass, allowing them to see lots of people

  sitting and eating and other people hurrying around them serving the food.

  ‘This is amazing!’ Nicole said.

  ‘Wait till you taste the grub. It’s all junk food here but man is it good!’ Nicole could

  not really grasp the concept of food being junk – food was food, but there was much

  about this world that they were unfamiliar with.

  They barged inside and waited at the front where there was a small wooden desk.

  After a few brief moments, a tall, heavily tanned man approached the desk. His face

  was oily and hair was dark and greasy, his stubble was beginning to look messy and

  his eyes looked exhausted. He was wearing a smart blazer jacket and pressed

  matching trousers and his shining black shoes had stains of food smothered on them.

  ‘Hi, sorry guys, we’re really busy today.’ The man said in a strange accent and smiled

  sympathetically.

  ‘But there’s an empty table over there.’ Kate pointed at a long table with the perfect

  amount of chairs for them.

  ‘Yes, that is reserved I’m afraid.’

  ‘Yes... it’s... reserved for us.’ Kate said, her eyes looking convincing.

  ‘Oh, I am sorry my dear.’ The man lifted up a clipboard and peered over at them in

  silence. Kate stood nervously waiting for him to say something.

  ‘Ah, the Jones’, two adults and four children.’

  ‘Yes! That’s us!’ Kate lit up.

  ‘Where’s Mr. Jones?’

  ‘Mr. Jones... he is... he had to work late today!’ The man shook his head slowly and

  Kate thought he had clocked on that they weren’t the Jones’, figuring out that they

  were trying to blag a table and kick them out.

  ‘I hate these companies! They make us work like dogs! I will be sure to pack his

  dinner for him and you can give it to him when he finishes!’ He shook his head, ‘here

  you go my dears.’ He handed them the menu. But before he let go and they were both

  holding a side of the menu each, he stopped and concentrated on Kate, and Kate was

  worried but stayed composed.

  ‘You look very young to be a mother of all these kids!’

  ‘Thanks!’ She said yanking the menu and walking off to the table with a bounce in

  her step. Marcus and the rest smiled nervously and followed. The man smiled and

  walked away.

  They sat down on the large table and looked at one another in relief.

  ‘But we’re not the...’ Ryan said but was interrupted by Kate, ‘shh! Do you wanna

  eat?’ Kate’s eyes opening wide and perfectly shaped eyebrows rising. Kate looked

  through the menu, but she already knew exactly what she wanted. A man approached

  the table, wearing the exact same clothes and even had the almost the exact same stain

  on his shoes as the man that greeted them.

  ‘Are you guys ready to order?’ The man asked in a similar accent to the earlier man.

  ‘Yes, I’ll have one large slice of a veggie pizza, a veggie burger, regular fries and a

  sparkling water. Thanks.’ Kate looked over at the Marcus and the rest, ‘what do you

  guys want?’ But they looked at her with blank expressions.

  ‘Ah, they’ll have the same!’ She smiled and handed the chocolate coloured menu to

  the man.

  They all sat waiting for the food, Kate looked anxious, hoping that the real Jones’

  wouldn’t just turn up.

  ‘Here you go guys, enjoy your meal.’ The man smiled and walked away. Marcus and

  the others had their eyes wide open, never having seen or smelt food so sensational.

  Ryan picked up the pizza slice and took a huge bite.

  ‘Wait!’ Kate said loudly

  ‘Ouch... ouch...’ Ryan whined.

  ‘It’s gonna be hot... too late!’ Kate’s face cringed, ‘you ok?’

  ‘Yes, I’m fine!’ Ryan blowing out. After a few minutes the steam of the piping hot

  food began to fade and they all dug in. Kate smiled, never having ever seen anyone

  eat so fast.

  ‘I think I’m gonna be sick!’ Ryan moaned.

  ‘Well, you ate half my burger and most my fries!’

 
‘Mine too!’ Nicole giggled.

  ‘How do squeeze all that in?’ Kate asked, working out how much he actually ate.

  ‘Don’t ask!’ He loosened the black belt that was wrapped around his waist like a

  snake and sat looking bright red.

  ‘Damn it!’ Kate said, pulling out a sparkling red purse and removing a few gold coins,

  she threw them on the table. She noticed a family talking to the man at the front and

  he was pointing at their table, ‘ok, I think we out stayed our welcome. Let’s move!’

  She got up and they dashed out of the fire exit. The man gave chase but as he

  approached the table, he noticed the gold coins and stopped. He looked out of the

  glass fire-exit door and noticed them getting into the car, ‘is everything ok?’ The man

  who served them asked. ‘Yes, everything’s fine, he smiled, ‘get this table cleared, the

  next guests have arrived!’ He ordered the other man.

  Kate sped out of the car park and they all cheered and laughed almost hysterically, did

  you see his face?’ Kate laughed.

  ‘Hey, who’s up for ice cream?’ They all smiled at Kate, even Ryan let go of his

  tummy and made a brave face, not saying no to food, even if he was ready to explode.