Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth) (19 page)

“What you and Emma did was extremely foolish and reckless. What if Mr Andrews had caught you? What if you had run into those two guys again?”

“They’d left town.”

“You don’t know that for certain. They looked like pretty tough customers. They would probably eat little girls like you for breakfast.”

Okay. That did it! I almost choked over my tongue as I struggled to articulate the words seething through my brain. Little girls like me!
I could take care of myself.

“You think you know everything! Well you don’t. You’re conceited, arrogant…” I spluttered feeling even more enraged when Alex patted Em’s back.

I wrenched my gaze away.

My mother sighed. “Tara, please, try for a little decorum. We need to initiate our preparations.”

“Agreed,” inserted Bob in his authoritative
‘don’t mess with me’
tone. “At twenty o hundred hours, we leave.”

“Leave?”

“Yes.” Bob’s stern gaze swept over me impassively.

My insides shook. There was something dispassionate in the way he looked at me, as if I wasn’t a person, as if I was a tool he intended to use or exploit.

He knew I was some kind of freak.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I announced. Certainly not with him or his son until I was certain they really were these
‘Warders’
sent to protect us. “We’ll be safe here. The army rolled into town last night.”

“What army?”

Alex’s quick question reminded me of how Dad had reacted. What other army was there?

I shrugged. “Ours, of course. I thought they might be here to give us a hand with the cleanup after the storm or they could have been headed to the Air Force base.”

Alex traded glances with his father who nodded and snapped, “Look into it, Alex”.

“Yes, Sir.” Alex straightened, dislodged a clinging Em and dug out his mobile.

Em pouted and stalked toward me. “Come on, Tara. Let’s go inside. I want to see if I’ve got any messages from my mother on my computer.”

For some weird reason, those strange buildings on Mr Andrews’ land popped into my head. I whispered, “Em, I wonder if those trucks have anything to do with the buildings on your father’s land.”

“Like what?” Em shrieked.

I grimaced as Alex snapped his head round to stare at us. So much for trying to be quiet.

In three steps he was by my side and grabbing my wrist as I turned to hurry back to the house. My scalp prickled so tight I wondered whether every hair on my head had just stood on end.

Alex said, “Wait. What’s going on?”

“Tara thinks there’s something sinister going on with my father’s land.” Em rolled her eyes.

Feeling compelled to explain in the face of Alex’s heavy frown and the sudden waiting silence from Mum and Mr Garroway, I muttered, “It’s nothing really. We found military type buildings on some land Mr Andrews owns. I just thought, this might be where the army is headed. They might be using it as a base or something.”

I mused, “I wouldn’t mind taking another look. You know, to check it out.”

“Freakking hell. You need a leash.” Alex glared down flaring nostrils at me. “You will not go anywhere near that place. Stay here and don’t move until I get back. I’ve got work to do.”

He dropped my arm, stalked back to his car and as soon as Shay shut his door, the car roared off down the road. Like some kind of stuffed chook, I stood gaping and staring after him.

A hand patted my shoulder, reminding me of the present. I looked into Mum’s worried face. “Promise me, Tara, you’ll do as Alex suggested. We don’t have time anyway. You must be ready to leave tonight.”

“I can be ready in fifteen minutes. You’ve trained us often enough.” My former irritation surfaced. “Since when did we agree to Alex and his father giving us orders?” I shrugged off Mum’s hand. “Mum, we don’t know for sure they’re Warders. What if they’re not?”

“Who else would they be?”

“Really, Mum?” I raised my eyebrows.

Mum leaned close and whispered, “I know, I know. Perhaps, it’s because I want so desperately for you and your brother to be safe that I believe them.”

“Oh, Mum.” I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “I thought you weren’t that certain.”

“Tara. We need them. There’s no one else we can turn to.”

Fear sheared into my heart at the glistening tears in my mother’s eyes. “What else aren’t you telling me, Mum?”

Mum hesitated. Her gaze darted toward Bob Garroway. I couldn’t work out if she sought permission to speak or was afraid he’d overhear.

Either way wasn’t good.

I hurried into the house and into my bedroom where I flung myself onto the bed, burying my face in the pillow. Wanting to hide from the world until it was all over.

My mobile pinged. Sighing, I rolled onto my side. Three unread messages.

All from Marnie.

One by one I read the short texts.

OMG!
I re-read the texts three times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Marnie needed my help. Her dad had escaped from jail and was on the run from the law. At the moment, they were camped outside of town and intended to head to her grandmother’s house to pick up supplies.

But what could
I
do to help?

My gaze focused on the last message. Only part of it had come through which suggested Marnie’s battery had died. All I could make out was something about Marnie’s daughter and the end of days. It had to be serious. Marnie never mentioned the baby she’d given up for adoption when we were at school.

Heart pounding, I leapt to my feet and paced my room for several minutes, thinking hard. Then I sent a short text in reply although I had no idea whether she’d receive it or not.

Whatever Marnie wanted, I had no intention of turning her down.

Next I made a call.

“Dad. Turn on your GPS and meet me at these co-ordinates in one hour.” For five minutes, I stared blindly out the window and thought.

I was a genetically modified freak and I was on the run from whackos.

I was surrounded by people I didn’t know if I could trust.

My family’s lives were at stake.

It was time I found out the truth for myself.

Chapter 12 – DON’T LOOK BACK

“I hope Dad’s still there,” I shouted as I pushed the quad to go faster over the rough track that wound through the bush.

Riding beside me, Em shouted back, “Must we go so fast? We’re already late. Your Dad has probably given up on us and gone home.”

Mum had bailed me up at the door and spent a good half hour arguing with me before throwing her hands in the air and allowing me to leave. The encounter had left a sour taste in my mouth, like I was letting her down. I didn't want to be some kind of hero or saviour of the world. I just wanted to be like everyone else.

But I wasn’t like everyone else and I needed to know why.

I had jumped into Mum’s car only to have Em scoot into the passenger seat. Annoyed and more than a little anxious at the amount of time wasted arguing with everyone, I had given in and driven off to the hire shop.

Em had spent the entire ride there, peppering me with questions interjected with wails and moaning about the need to pack for our impending departure to God-only-knew-where. No matter how many objections I put forward, she’d insisted on coming with me although I would have preferred to go alone.

I clenched my jaw, my head throbbing. “Dad will be there. You didn’t have to come with me.”

“I couldn’t let you do this by yourself.” Em increased speed until her quad was beside me as we tore down the road. “Look, the gates should be just around that bend. Where did you say we’d meet up with him?”

“A bit further along the side track. I asked Dad to bring some wire cutters and high-powered binoculars.” I worked down the gears and the quad rolled to a halt. Em pulled up beside me and wrestled off her helmet.

The heavy silence of the bush enfolded me. The heat of the sun was muted by the dense shadows cast by the tall trees. I took off my helmet and hung it by its straps over the handlebars.

“Are we still going to do this?” Em’s voice sounded small.

“I am. You don’t have to come any further, Em.” After swinging off my quad, I pushed it to the side of the road where a sprawling low-growing grevillea bush screened it from view.

“I said I’d come with you. Anyway, I want to know what’s going on too,” She said as she followed me. She gave a nervous giggle. “Alex is going to be furious when he finds out what we’ve done.”

“Who cares?” Now who’s bull shitting? I wished I knew whether I could trust him.
But honestly
?
That dumb explanation of his father wanting to settle down in a quiet country town was crap whether they were really here to protect us or not. Both of them knew more than what they were letting on about what was happening or about to happen.
They were holding back and it didn’t help that every time I looked at his father, my skin crawled.

I smiled at Em suddenly glad she was with me. At least I could always count on my friends.
“Let’s go then.”

I led the way through the scrub following what looked like a rabbit trail as it wound round and between bushes and trees and long razor sharp grasses.

Grabbing her arm, I stopped. “Listen, Em. Can you hear that?”

“Trucks,” said Em, her round eyes practically starting from her head.

“I bet it’s those army trucks we saw last night.”

“Do you think? Could they be using Dad’s land as a base camp?”

“Maybe, but I want to make sure.” Plus, I needed to get a closer look at the insignia on their uniforms. I needed to make sure they were our troops and not the people who were hunting my family and me.

Em flapped a hand in front of her face to shoo away a fly.

“Let’s cut through the bush here. I’m fairly sure this will bring us out to that clearing we found the other day.” I pushed a thorny branch aside.

I fought my way through another thick bottlebrush and several bush rosemary shrubs. A needle-like leaf off a Callistemon Brachyandrus pierced my finger and I sucked the spot of blood off my hand. Tendrils of the red brushes with the tiny yellow tips clung to my tee-shirt. It was hot and still and I caught my breath when I heard the steady thrum of engines.

A gap appeared in the scrub. We’d reached the clearing. There was no sign of Dad.

Looking about me, I caught my breath. “Shit! Someone’s installed security cameras on the fence.” Like multiple evil red eyes scanning for prey, the cameras swivelled slowly from side to side from where they’d been attached to each post.

“Get down!” I grabbed Em’s hand and we quickly scrunched lower as the camera shifted in their direction.

Em giggled nervously. “Do you think it saw us?”

I chewed my bottom lip, still holding tightly to Em warning her to keep still while we waited, breathless, for the camera to turn away. “No, I think we’re okay. Let’s go.”

“I can’t see your Dad, Tara. I guess he must have got tired of waiting.”

“Maybe.” But it wasn’t like Dad to let me down. I tried my mobile phone. Nothing. No bars, no messages.

I looked at my friend. Her blonde hair had darkened with sweat and even her curls seemed to wilt in the heat. I shouldn’t have brought her with me. We should turn back.

“Now what?” asked Em.

On the other hand, we’d come this far, what could it hurt to take a closer look? I couldn’t give up now. Not when I was so close to finding some answers. I took another look at all that high tech security cameras and unease swept a sudden chill down my spine.

“I think you should wait here for me. I won’t be long.”

“No way. We’re in this together, remember? So come on. You’re wasting time.”

After taking one look at the mulish tilt to her chin, I decided it was pointless arguing any further. Besides, Em was right. We were wasting time. We had some packing to do, if we were leaving town later today.

The reminder made my head ache.

I counted while the cameras performed another sweep. As soon as I thought I had the timing right, I scrambled over some large boulders, dropped to the ground, and crawling on all fours, scrabbled over to the edge of the tree line.

With a thump and a gasp Em arrived breathless beside me. Speechless and panting loudly, I stared at the scene spread before us.

Beyond the fence, three black vans with blackened out windows were parked near the buildings and men scurried about loading boxes into the opened rear doors of the vans. Beyond the buildings the trucks we’d seen the other night were lined up. Uniformed men stood in regimented rows in front of each truck.

I squinted. Unfortunately they were too far away for me to make out the insignia on the uniforms. The angle at which the trucks were parked made it difficult to see what if anything was written on the sides. I’d have to get closer.

“Get a load of those antenna! Enough to call up Mars,” I whispered as I mentally counted the antenna sprouting from the vans.

We exchanged worried glances.

“Shit, Tara, those guys are armed,” Em squeaked.

A line of men jogged in parade ground precision from behind the closest building to the fenceline where we lay belly down in the dirt. The men were dressed in fatigues with helmets covering their heads; all held rifles close to their chests and their faces were marked with black camouflage.

Please, please be our military.

A flash of light caught my attention. My breathing seized for a moment. Metal glinted in the strong sunlight, reflecting off a pair of wire-cutters thrown carelessly to one side.

“OMG! Dad’s been here.” Ice seemed to settle in lumps in the bottom of my belly. Cold sweat formed on my back making me itch. “He’s cut through the wire fence over there, where it dips down into a small ditch. But I can’t see him anywhere can you?”

“He must have left,” Em’s voice quavered. “I think it’s time for us to go too.” She inched cautiously backwards.

I took one last look around the clearing.

“Em! It’s his bike! It’s Dad’s bike.” Hunched over, I raced across the clearing. There, behind a thick shrub, stood Dad’s dirtbike.

“The keys are in the ignition. He must still be here.” I whirled around and ran towards the fence.

“Tara wait! What are you doing?”

“I’ve got to find him. You wait here. He can’t be too far away.” I reached the fence where Dad had cut through the wire and pulled it upwards sufficiently to allow a body to pass through. My legs feeling like jelly, I dropped onto my belly and crawled forward. Gingerly I hauled at the wire and wriggled through to the other side.

Em scrambled to the fenceline, her fingers danced frantically over the numbers on her mobile. “I can’t pick up a signal.” Her voice was shrill with panic. She thrust the phone into her jean pocket and crouched on her knees in the grass.

I stared at her, the wire of the fence separating us. “Go home, Em.”

“No way. I’m not leaving you here alone.”

“Hurry up then, before someone sees us.” I lifted the wire further apart, so Em could wiggle through without getting her clothes caught on the jagged edges. We lay on our stomachs and peered carefully over the edge of the ditch.

“I think we need to get closer to those buildings. I bet Dad must be hiding somewhere close by, maybe trying to get a look inside,” I whispered, gesturing with my index finger.

Em nodded.

“What if we get closer, take a look around and if we can’t see Dad, we’ll head back to the clearing. We may be able to pick up a signal further down the road.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Alright.” I examined the terrain in front of us. “There’s enough cover for us to get fairly close to that building there. The good news is those guys are over on the other side of this compound. So hopefully, we won’t be spotted. Ready?”

Em gave me the thumbs up.

Placing a finger over my lips, I slunk into a crouch and ran to the closest shrub where Em soon joined me. Then off I dashed to the next clump of bushes. Feeling as if I was stuck in a B-grade movie, I fought the urge to snigger knowing it came from panic. I scrambled from bush to bush until open ground stood between me and the building.

So far, so good.

I gestured for her to join me. Still in a crouch, I scurried across the open ground where I plastered myself against the metal wall of the building. Gulping air I willed my galloping pulse to steady, as a breathless Em reached my side.

Slowly, I took a peek around the corner. No windows or vents on this side. I squeezed her hand then released it motioning for her to stay where she was while I inched along the building and snuck my head out for a look around the other side.

Bingo!

About one third of the way along the side of the building a small window was propped open by a thin strip of metal. I whispered, “There’s a window open. It’s fairly high up, but I think if I stand on tip-toes, I may be able to see inside.”

“Any sign of your Dad?” Em whispered back and I shook my head. “Be careful Tara. I’ll wait here and keep a look-out.”

I crept along the side of the building. My eyes straining as I constantly searched the grounds, expecting to hear shouts at any moment, but there was no-one in sight. The engines had died down to a steady reverberation and in the distance I could hear a man yelling orders.

It seemed to take forever to reach the small window. Another quick look around to ensure the coast was clear and I stood on tiptoe, my fingers gripping the hot metal of the sill.

The low murmur of voices came from inside.

“I told you. I came alone. No one else knows about you or your cause.”

Listening, I frowned.
That’s Dad’s voice!
I bit down hard on my bottom lip to keep from calling him.

I distinctly heard the dull thudding sound of fists connecting with another body. Then the crack of bones.

Dad! What the hell are they doing to him?
Desperate to see what was happening, I raised myself higher.

The interior was dimly lit and it took me a moment for my vision to adjust. I blinked several times as if that would alter the scene I knew would be burned into my mind for all time.