All That She Can See(75)

Loneliness pulled its hands away and covered its head, whimpering, drool spilling from its lips and pooling around his feet. 347 clutched his bleeding face but through his sobs of pain he whispered, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you,’ and Loneliness kissed his forehead.

Cherry sobbed and Chase brought her in closer. 341 nodded at Loneliness who shuffled its feet to Experiment 308 whose eyes were already closed, ready and waiting.





Peter pulled grass from the ground in clumps and watched it float away into the breeze. ‘Come on, Cherry,’ he groaned. She’d already been in there longer than she should have. Peter had refused to go back into the Guild but he’d been prepared to help Cherry in another way. Even so, he thought he’d seen the last of Warleggan. There was nothing for miles, and the light was fading fast but he was determined to wait. He had faith in Cherry, but it had been hours and he couldn’t keep from fidgeting impatiently. The cold was settling in for the night and the only thing to warm him was the thick heat coming up from the vent he had strategically placed himself in front of. He closed his eyes and threw himself backwards, flinging his arms above his head and let out a sigh. He opened his eyes but all he could see was black. Had he fallen asleep and day had turned to night? Peter rubbed his eyes hard but still the black smoke clouded his vision.

Smoke.

‘Ohmygod!’ he yelled, scrambling up and looking up into the burning face of Hatred. ‘OH MY GOD, SHE DID IT! She did it! She did it! She did it!’ he chanted and Hatred threw her head back and laughed. ‘Right. We’ve got work to do. Stand there.’ Peter pointed to the edge of the vent and Hatred waddled as fast as she could so that her large toes curled over the edge of the metal slats. Peter closed his eyes and thought of his mother and how she’d kept him locked up in that place for almost his entire life. More and more black smoke started to pour off Hatred’s body but before it rose and disappeared into the darkening sky, Hatred sucked it up into her mouth and blew it down the vent with as much force as she could.

‘This is for you, Shura. This is all for you.’





‘How do we know it’s worked?’ Chase asked.

He was creeping back up the stairs with Cherry, Loneliness, his Meddlums and the ten prized experiments in tow. They held each other’s shoulders as they ascended the staircase. Cherry tried not to look behind her but Curiosity took her chin in its hand and turned it over her shoulder. The blood from their hollow eye sockets was glittered with glass dust, their hair was singed and charred and their gowns were filthy and reeking. They had been treated like animals for so long they had started to resemble them.

‘It will have worked. We are the control panel but we no longer see,’ said 341 in Cherry’s ear.

‘Then let’s hope Peter has held up his end of the deal,’ Chase said.

They slipped and stumbled up the spiral staircase, the experiments’ legs stiff from lack of use, but their hearts lifted them and they moved forward slowly but with purpose.

‘We may have a lot of company when we get upstairs,’ Chase said.

‘I know. I know.’ Cherry rested her forehead against Chase’s back, trusting him to guide her up the final steps. Her feet reached flat ground but she didn’t dare look up at what was inevitably going to be a corridor full of blue suits, white coats and Happy with a syringe.

‘Cherry.’ Chase wiggled her wrist. ‘Looks like Peter came through.’

Cherry snapped her head up, saw nothing but black smoke and smiled.





25





Loneliness





Cherry put a finger to her lips and turned to the experiments, but then realised they couldn’t see her. ‘We’ve got to be quiet,’ she whispered to 341 who whispered to 347 and the message was carried quietly down the line. They crept to the end of the corridor although any noise they were making was drowned out by the sirens and the screaming. People were running through the smoke, some were screaming at the fire, some were screaming at the monsters that had reappeared after years of not being seen. Fear filled the air.

‘I don’t know which way is out,’ Cherry said.

‘We’ll figure it out. We just need to move,’ Chase said, ready to run out into the busy hall.

‘Take my hand,’ said 341 and without question Cherry interlinked her fingers with 341’s. ‘I worked here for years before I was turned into a guinea pig. I know my way around this place whether I can see it or not. You just need to give me a starting point. Describe exactly what you can see.’

‘A lot of smoke.’

‘You don’t know where we are?’ 341’s voice faltered.

‘Erm… ‘ Cherry tried mentally retracing their steps. She remembered jumping through the window and how Loneliness had carried them diagonally across the hall.

‘We’re on the right side of the hall. Top right. To get to you we came down a corridor and then through a door marked Private. That’s where we are now. Where that door used to be.’

Blood was seeping out from under 341’s closed eyelids. It had started to collect and clot and soon she wouldn’t be able to open them. Fresh tears sprang to Cherry’s eyes.

‘Got it. Let’s go.’ 341 pulled at Cherry’s hand and for someone who was blind she moved incredibly fast.