The Big Shift. Part 17. Escape

Just as the first rays of sun broke over the city horizon, Greta and Nina both woke up with a sudden start and sat up in bed.

‘I just had the most vivid dream’, said Nina, her face white and her eyes wide.

‘So did I’, said Greta, looking just the same.

‘What did you dream?’ they both said at the same time.

‘It was mum’, they both replied at the same time.

They both stared at each other in disbelief.

‘What did you dream, Nina?’ asked Greta breathlessly.

‘I was in the forest. I was looking for mum, and it was dark. It just kept getting darker and darker, until I couldn’t see anything at all. And I could hear mum calling me.. she was calling us.. but I couldn’t find her because it was so dark. That was it. Then I woke up. But it was so real. So vivid. I can still smell the forest. I can still hear her voice, Greta. I heard her.’

Greta gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. ‘I had the same dream, Nina. Exactly the same. It was so dark. No light at all. I couldn’t see anything at all.’

‘What does it mean?’, asked Nina, frightened.

‘It means we have to go back, Nina. We need to get back to mum. Back to the forest.’

‘How?’

‘I don’t know. But we need to go at the first chance we get.’

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At breakfast, Nina and Greta were both quiet and sullen as they ate their Cheery-O’s.
Freddy looked like he hadn’t slept at all. He had toast and coffee.

‘Listen, I was thinking..’, said Freddy, breaking the silence. ‘There’s an expedition going out next week. A group of researchers I work with. They’re going in the direction of the Eastern Forest.. where you come from, Greta..’

‘And we can go with?’ asked Greta, her face instantly lighting up.

‘Erm.. no.. that’s not what I was thinking, sorry’, said Freddy, wishing he’d thought about what he was going to say before he said it, even though he’d been up all night thinking about it.

‘Oh’, said Greta, her face dropping. She went back to staring into her bowl of Cheery-O’s.

‘Sorry, Greta. It’s too dangerous. They’re just a very select group of scientists.. they’ve got a lot of equipment.. it takes a lot of organisation.. they’re going on a three month journey.. but we can send a message to your mum with them.. and maybe they can convince her to come back here to us. What do you think?’

‘Why can’t we just go there ourselves?’ said Greta, turning red in the face. ‘It’s literally only a three day walk from here. We could even do it in two if we went quickly. If we took torches and walked at night too.’

‘Walked at night? Through the forest? Are you crazy? There are bears out there, and wolves. All sorts of predators.. animal and human. I don’t think you really understand how dangerous it is out there, Greta.’

‘I know perfectly well what it’s like out there’, said Greta angrily. ‘I grew up there, remember? It’s my home.’

‘This is your home now, Greta. With us. Mum will come here, you’ll see. Then we’ll all be together, like we should have been all along.’

Greta stared into her Cheery-O’s and didn’t say anything. A heavy silence fell on the kitchen.

A ringtone sounded in Greta’s ear. Who could be calling her? Most likely either Grandma or Osama. If it was one of Nina’s friends or Ariel, they’d be more likely to call Nina. Greta glanced up to the right. Was that..

‘.. Jerry?’ said Greta. ‘Is that you?’

‘Greta! Hey, how’s it going? We were wondering where you got to. You’ve been gone a month. Did you find your sister?’

‘Yes, I’m here with her now’, said Greta.

‘Awesome! I knew you would. Listen, we’re downtown. Queenie’s here too. Are you busy? Do you want to come and meet us?’

‘Wow! Are you really? Yes, if course. I’d love to..’ said Greta, her face lighting up. ‘But..’ she frowned and looked at her dad.

‘Who is it Greta?’ asked Freddy. ‘Who are you talking to?’

‘It’s Jerry, my friend from Shopping Village. And Queenie. They’re down in the orange zone. He’s asking if we want to go and meet them downtown.’

‘Oh yes!’ cried Nina. ‘Let’s go and meet them. Come on dad. It’s about time you let us have some freedom.’

‘Well..’ Freddy thought of how he could say no in a way that wouldn’t be too upsetting for Greta and Nina, but realised that there wasn’t one. ‘Ok. Why not? You go and meet your friends. You’re big girls. Just make sure you’re back before dark.. before six would be best. Can you do that?’

‘Yes!’ said Nina, punching her fist in the air.

‘Thanks dad’, said Greta with a sad smile. She was already planning her escape.

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After breakfast, Greta and Nina went to the bedroom to get changed and prepare for their big day out. They’d arranged to meet Jerry and Queenie in an hour at the Traveller’s Rest, Sam’s music bar on the riverside.

Nina was excited. ‘I can’t believe he said yes! Finally! What shall we wear? Let’s get dressed up..’ She threw open the big wardrobe and started rummaging through her clothes.

Greta drew in close to Nina, looking tense and furtive, glancing this way and that, as if she was being watched, which of course she was. ‘Have you got your lenses in Nina?’ whispered Greta.

‘No. I haven’t put them in yet. Why?’

‘Are you wearing headphones?’

‘No, I haven’t got them in yet either. What’s up? Are you ok?’

‘I want to say something to you and I don’t want O to hear’, Greta whispered urgently in Nina’s ear.

‘What? What is it?’ Nina looked worried.

‘I’m going’, said Greta. ‘Today. I’m going back to the forest. I need to get back to mum. Are you coming with me? Mum’s in trouble. She needs us.’

‘What? How? No. We can’t. What about dad? He’ll go crazy..’

‘We’ll send him a message somehow.. I don’t know’, said Greta. She didn’t feel good about leaving Freddy either, but he didn’t leave her much choice.

‘But how? How can we get out of the city anyway? We’re still under age. We don’t have permission to go out into the redzone.’

‘Queenie knows a way out’, whispered Greta. ‘There’s a secret tunnel that goes right out past the city limit. She’ll show us where it is.’

‘Are you serious?’ said Nina. She looked frightened.

Greta nodded. ‘The dream, Nina. It was a sign. And then Jerry and Queenie showing up out of the blue. It’s meant to be, Nina. If we don’t go today, we might not get another chance for ages. It might be too late..’

Nina held her head in her hands. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know. It feels wrong. Dad will never trust us again. I’ve never been out of the city. What if we get attacked by bears? I’m scared. What if we get lost? Anything could happen.’

‘It’s only a three day walk. Two days if we go quickly. I know the way. It’ll be fine.’

‘Will it though?’

‘Yes’, said Greta. ‘Just think, you’re going to see mum in two days. And you’ll see the forest where we live. It’s wild there, Nina. It’s so real. You’ll love it. Will you come with me?’

Nina wrestled with the conflicting thoughts and feelings. Eventually she nodded, very slowly at first and then more quickly, excitedly. ‘Yes. Yes. Yes!’ she said, hugging Greta.

Freddy’s voice came from the doorway. ‘You allright in there girls? You excited? It looks like you are. Just be careful out there, ok? And be back before it gets dark.’

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As soon as Greta and Nina were out of the door, Freddy was filled with worry and regret. Why had he allowed them to go? And with two people he’d never even met.. a runaway and a.. who knows what kind of person this Jerry was? Freddy paced around the apartment fearing the worst. Why hadn’t he gone with them? Maybe he should follow them.. No. That would be wrong. He needed to trust his daughters and trust the universe that they’d be all right. But he didn’t trust the universe. How could he, when he knew how cold and vast it was..? He went to his study and continued his search for a very distant star. He was sure it was out there somewhere, if only he could find it.. a parallel world, just like Earth, but where everything turned out differently..

Nina felt terrible about not telling their dad where they were going. She’d wanted to go to Pierre, tell him what they were planning and ask him for his advice, but Greta said it was out of the question. O mustn’t know they were planning to escape and Pierre was O, after all.

Greta felt terrible too. Even worse that Nina, because it had been her idea. But she knew that it was what they had to do. She felt as if she was following some deep instinct that she was powerless to resist. She wished she could have said goodbye to grandma and grandpa and especially Osama. She hated the idea that he might think she didn’t care about him. She just hoped he’d understand and wouldn’t worry too much. Somehow she’d figure out how to get a message through. For now, she was fully focussed on getting out of the city and back to the forest.

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Reaching the Traveller’s Rest was easy. Even without augmented reality pointing the way, Greta remembered the way down main street, over Empire Bridge and along the embankment. As soon as she stepped out of the tube and her feet touched ground level, she felt a rush of energy, coming up through the Earth and into her body. How had it been a whole month that she hadn’t touched the ground? The wind rushing across the surface of the great river as the crossed the bridge, blowing sprays of cold water onto her face, made her feel alive in a way that she hadn’t felt since entering the green zone.

They stopped in the middle of the bridge, where Greta had met Sally, a month earlier. Sally wasn’t there now, but maybe she would be a sunset. She hoped that Winston had already arrived and taken Sally to their home in the country. She held onto her hat, to prevent it from blowing over the edge of the bridge.

‘Wow!’ shouted Nina. It was so windy, she had to shout, besides which, she was also excited and feeling the rush of Earth energy. ‘It’s so big. The river. When you’re actually here next to it. It’s so powerful. It’s so real!’

‘Yes! It is!’ nodded Greta, smiling. Then she leaned over and said in Nina’s ear, ‘Take off your headphones.’

Nina gave her a quizzical look, but did as she was told. She held the little silver buds in her hand and showed them to Greta.

‘Now throw them in the river’, said Greta.

‘What? Are you serious?’

‘Yes. Your lenses too.’

‘No way. They’re expensive. They’re new. I only just got them.’

‘Listen, Nina. You need to’, said Greta urgently. ‘We need to be invisible. Throw them over the edge. We haven’t got much time. I’ll buy you some new ones when we get back, ok? I promise.’

‘So, you mean.. you’re coming back? We’re coming back?’

Greta thought about it for a moment. Then she said, ‘Of course I will. Of course we will. I’ve got two homes now. So have you. You’ll see. It will all work out. Now throw your lenses in the river. We need to get to mum.’

Nina gave Greta a hug, then took out her contact lenses and threw them over the edge of the bridge, along with her headphones. They watched as the wind carried them away.

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Jerry, Queenie and Captain Toast were waiting at The Traveller’s Rest, sitting at a table outside in the sun, drinking tall glasses of fruitshake. Everybody was excited and happy to meet, especially Captain Toast, who continued jumping around, licking Greta and Nina’s hands well after everyone had hugged and greeted each other.

‘Can we get a table inside?’ said Greta. ‘I need to talk to you about something.. in private..’ She gestured with her thumb to the lamp post behind her, which she knew contained a camera.

Queenie understood instantly what she meant. They went inside and took their places around the table in the cubicle at the back. Sam brought Greta and Nina fruitshakes and came to join them.

‘What’s’ going on ‘sis?’ asked Queenie.

‘We need to get back to the forest’, said Greta. ‘We don’t have permission from our dad to go out of the city, but our mum’s in trouble and we need to get to her.’

‘How do you know she’s in trouble?’ asked Sam.

‘We had a dream’, said Nina and Greta at the same time. ‘The same dream.’

Sam sat back and rubbed his chin. ‘That makes sense’, he said.

‘Do you remember where the Freedom Drain is, Queenie?’ asked Greta.

‘Yes of course’, said Queenie. ‘It’s round the back of Station Road, near the old cinema building. I’ve got the map memorised. We can go along the river and then down Main Street and then turn right onto Station Road. That’s right isn’t it Sam?’

‘You could go that way, but it’s a long way round. Quickest way would be to follow the canal.. past Techno Terry’s boat.. do you know where that is? You went there last time, didn’t you? It takes you right behind the old cinema.’ Sam spoke with the knowledgable ways of one who lives in the city.

‘I don’t know..’ said Queenie uncertainly. ‘That place was creepy. So was Techno Terry..’

‘If it’s quicker, I’d prefer to go that way’, said Greta. ‘Also, I told Terry that I’d bring Nina to meet him. If it’s on the way, it would be a good chance. He really helped me find her.’

‘Well, it’s up to you..’, said Queenie with a shrug. ‘But I don’t want to hang around there for too long.’

‘No, we’ll just go in and say hello and then be on our way. We really need to be getting along too’, said Greta.

‘Have we got time to play a tune before we go?’ said Jerry hopefully.

‘I don’t know..’ said Greta. ‘The sooner we set off, the sooner we’ll arrive.’

‘Does that piano work?’ asked Nina. ‘Is it in tune? I’ve never played a real piano before..’

‘It’s not bad’, said Sam. ‘Fairly in tune. Go ahead and have a go. Please do.’

Nina went over to the piano and began picking out a simple tune. ‘Wow! It’s completely different playing a real piano’, she exclaimed in wonder and surprise. ‘I mean.. not completely different, but not at all the same either.. amazing..’ She carried on playing, delighting in the sound of the strings and the feel of the keys, the complex mechanisms of wood and felt hammers, the way the foot-pedal creaked each time she pressed it.

Jerry, of course couldn’t resist joining in, so he took his position at the upright bass which was standing next to the piano. He didn’t really know how to play it, but kept a steady rhythm by plucking at the strings and it sounded pretty good.

‘Well, I guess we’ve got time for one tune’, said Greta, taking her wooden flute out of its pouch.

Queenie went to the stage and took the guitar down from the wall. She quickly picked out some chords and scales to go along with what Nina was playing. Sam went and sat behind the drum kit which had fortuitously come his way the day before. He didn’t really know how to play the drums, but he tapped out a beat on the cymbals and a shuffed on the snare drum with a pair of brushes. It sounded close enough to Jazz to be taken for the real thing.

The tune was one that Greta and Nina had played before. Nina had picked it up in the bars of 1950’s Paris. Greta closed her eyes and joined in on her flute. In her mind’s eye, her notes were carried away on the wind, joining the river, going out over the forests.. sending a message she hoped they would hear and understand.. we are coming.. help us find the way.. watch over us and protect us, spirits of the Earth. Osama’s face came into her mind. She hoped and imagined that her face was coming into his mind at the same moment. She sent him a kiss and hoped he received it.

Nina was thinking about Pierre. He always loved to listen to her play the piano, this tune especially. She hoped he’d understand her leaving like this and that he’d be there when she got back. Of course he would. Of course he would. She thought about her dad. Would he also be so understanding and forgiving? That was far less certain.

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As they walked along the way down the old canal, Greta told the story of how she’d found Nina and her dad. Queenie was especially impressed by the part where Greta had smashed in a robot’s head with a frying pan, thrown spaghetti at another and caused the restaurant to catch fire. She told Greta that she was ‘hardcore’. Jerry was astounded at the part where Greta had escaped quarantine by climbing up the outside of the hive. He said she was ‘absolutely mental.’ He thought it was hilarious that O had brought Greta a packed lunch on her way up. ‘That’s just like O!’ he’d laughed.

When they got to the place where Terry’s boat had been, it wasn’t there. Jerry thought it was odd, but not out of character for Terry to disappear without a trace. Queenie was quite relieved that he wasn’t there. Greta hoped that she hadn’t got Techno Terry into trouble. A part of her wondered if she’d imagined the whole thing, or if Terry had actually been some kind of projection, or even a robot. With O, anything was possible. Captain Toast sniffed the footpath all around, but could find no trace of Techno Terry, his boat or any of his cats. Nina wondered what she was doing in a dark passage with these strange, scruffy friends of Greta and if she should have listened to her dad and heeded his warnings.

Further along, the tunnel opened out, bright sunlight breaking through into an area overgrown with trees and brambles. ‘There! That’s it’, cried Queenie. ‘It’s the back of the old cinema. Follow me.’ She led the way, pushing aside nettles and thorns. On the back wall of the cinema, low down and hidden in the undergrowth was a small, brick archway, just big enough to crawl through. ‘Here it is!’ she pointed triumphantly.

‘Are you sure this is it, Queenie?’ said Jerry.

‘Yes, a hundred percent’, said Queenie, peering into the hole. ‘Come on, let’s go..’

‘It’s dark in there’, said Nina, uncertainly. ‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’

‘I’ve got a torch’, said Queenie, pulling a hairpin out of her hair. She gave the end of it a twist and it lit up. ‘Always good to be prepared, eh!’ she winked. She put her head in through the entrance. ‘Yeah, this is definitely it’, she said. ‘I’m going in..’ She slid through the archway head first. After her feet disappeared, there was a silence.

‘Queenie? You allright?’ called Jerry through the hole.

‘Yeah, fine. Come on down’, came Queenie’s voice, echoing out from the darkness.

Jerry went down next, followed by Captain Toast.

Nina looked at Greta. ‘Are you sure about this, Greta?’

‘Yes, don’t worry, Nina. This is the way’, said Greta. Without another word, she slid down the drain.

Nina shook her head and followed the others down into the dark hole.

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The tunnel stretched away in both directions. ‘Look here!’, said Queenie, shining her torch around. ‘Someone’s painted arrows.’ All along the wall of the tunnel, white arrows. Whoever had painted them had also written the word FREEDOM in big capital letters. ‘See? This is it. I told you. Come on. Let’s go..’ Captain Toast barked. The sound of it echoed up and down the ancient viaduct. ‘Shh, Captain’ said Queenie. ‘We’re not out of danger yet.’

To Nina, the tunnel seemed to go on forever. Greta was quiet and nervous. All she wanted was to be back in the forest. Captain Toast ran off up ahead and ran back to report that the coast was clear. Jerry sang an old coal mining song in the deepest baritone he could muster. ‘Where it’s dark as a dungeon, damp as the dew.. danger is double, pleasures are few.. where the rain never falls and the sun never shines.. it’s dark as a dungeon, way down in the mines..’

‘Jerry, do you have to?’ said Queenie.

‘Yes’, said Jerry. ‘Listen to those acoustics. We should bring some instruments and record something down here. Hey, Greta, play something on your flute.’

‘Let’s try and be quiet, maybe’, said Greta. ‘O’s probably listening. I just want to get to the other side already. How much further is it Queenie?’

An arrow was painted on the wall, with the words ‘> > > Nearly there! Keep going! Freedom this way > > >’

They walked quicker. Jerry continued humming, more quietly. Captain Toast ran up ahead into the shadows.

‘I wish I still had my lenses’, said Nina. ‘I’d be able to see in the dark.’

‘They wouldn’t work outside the city limits anyway’, said Jerry. ‘No connection. We’re probably past there by now..’

Captain Toast started barking from somewhere up ahead. They rounded a bend and then saw him standing in a shaft of light coming from the side of the tunnel.

A head poked in from the opening. It had spiky red hair. ‘Who goes there?’ he called.

‘Baz? Is that you?’, shouted Jerry. It was.

Baz, Claire and the telepathic triplets were all there waiting at the tunnel entrance in the church graveyard. The triplets had known they were coming through. They’d had a feeling.

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Our brave adventurers were welcomed like soldiers returning from the frontline, or like escaped prisoners of war. They were ushered into the church where they were greeted by cheers of jubilation and congratulations at their successful escape from the evil clutches of O.

‘I bet you’re all hungry’, said Clair. ‘Let’s go to the kitchen, there’s a big pot of stew we just made.’

Around the big oak table, Greta recounted the story of how she got into the green zone, her capture, quarantine, her daring escape out of the window and her climb up the outside of the hive. Everyone agreed she was very hardcore indeed. They wanted to know about her time in the city and why it took a month for her to find her way out.

Greta told about her adventures in virtual reality, meeting her grandparents and family in New Jerusalem. She missed them already and wondered when she’d see them again. She wished she could show Osama this crazy church.. he’d love it. She told about how their dad wouldn’t let them go out of the city because of his fears and how they had to leave without telling him. Nina nodded and looked sadly at her stew, pushing it around the bowl. She was hungry but didn’t like the look or the smell of it. It had mushrooms in it and Nina didn’t like mushrooms, not that she’d ever tried any.

‘God, he sounds totally brainwashed, your dad’, said Clair.

‘He’s not brainwashed. He’s just really scared that something bad will happen’, said Nina, taking a tiny spoonful of the stew, making sure it didn’t have any mushrooms in it. It wasn’t actually as bad as all that.

‘That’s what I mean’, said Clair. ‘He’s living in fear. That’s how it works. That’s how O keeps everyone in their place. It’s brainwashing.’

Queenie nodded in agreement. ‘They keep you living in fear, but at the same time make life so comfortable and convenient that you’d never even think of getting out. That’s the way it works.’

Greta thought back to her walks in the park, going to the Queen concert, hanging out with Freddy in his studio, talking about the mysteries of the universe. She recalled evening meals with her dad and Nina and Sydney the robot dog. She was surprised to discover that she even missed Sydney. ‘I wasn’t living in fear’, she said.

‘That’s why you got out. You weren’t so easy to brainwash because you know what it’s like on the outside’ said Claire. ‘Knowledge is power.’ She tapped her head knowingly.

The three telepathic triplets all nodded. They wanted to know about Nina and Greta’s dream. Nancy, who was good at interpreting dreams, said that dreaming about walking in a dark forest is usually a bad sign, a warning.

Nina became frightened. ‘Maybe we should just go back, Greta’ she said. ‘Dad won’t even know we’re gone. We could go back through the tunnel.’

Sylvester, who was also good at interpreting dreams said, ‘It’s not always a bad sign. Sometimes dreams are just what they appear. You both said you heard your mum calling you from the dark. That could just mean it’s your mum calling you. We get that all the time. Most people are more sensitive to these things when they’re asleep.. when their conscious mind is switched off.. but you can even get these messages when you’re awake, if you’re really tuned in. That was how we knew you were coming today.’

‘That’s what I think it is’, said Greta. ‘Mum needs us, Nina. She was calling us. We need to go to her. I think she’s in trouble. That’s how it felt. I could hear it in her voice.’

‘But..’ said Nina, feeling very uncertain and afraid. ‘We can’t just go following a dream. It’s totally irrational.’

‘You sounded just like dad just now’, laughed Greta.

‘I did, didn’t I’, said Nina.

‘Look, Nina. We’ve come this far now. We’re out of the city. We might not get another chance like this. Dad will be ok. He’ll probably come and find us when the expedition goes out. We both had the same dream, Nina. I don’t know what it means exactly, but it must mean something. I think we should carry on. If we start walking now, and walk quickly, we could even be there by tomorrow night.’

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They walked quickly from there towards Shopping Village. Greta wanted to introduce Nina to Granny Mae so they stopped in at the Mall. This time, when faced with the big glass revolving door, Greta was momentarily confused when it didn’t morph into an opening like the glass doors in the green zone. Even the Mall itself didn’t seem so huge as it had done the first time around, now that Greta had become accustomed to the cavernous public spaces inside the hive. The electric escalators seemed like a relic from another time. Everything appeared dark, dusty and old.

Granny Mae was there in the kitchen, as if she hadn’t moved since the last time. Her face lit up when she saw Greta. ‘Oh, hello Dolly!’ she cried. ‘I’m so glad you came back. And this must be your sister. Of course she is, you’re like two peas in a pod! Well done, you did it, eh! I knew you would. Come and sit down.. I’ll put the kettle on. Let me bring you some biscuits. Jack’ll be along soon.. oh speak of the devil.. here he is!’

Jack was there in the doorway, dressed exactly as he had been the last time, even down to the bandage around his foot, which was looking worse for wear. He winced slightly as he stepped into the room but greeted Greta with a warm smile and a handshake. ‘Hello again, Greta. Nice to see you back. How did you get along in the big bad city? O didn’t give you too much of a hard time, I hope. I see you found your sister. Hello there’, he said to Nina, shaking her hand.

‘Hi, I’m Nina. Greta’s told me all about you and Granny Mae. It’s good to meet you in real life. Is your foot ok? You’re limping.’

‘Oh that? It’s nothing really. I just need to take the weight off..’ Jack sat down heavily in a chair at the kitchen table and rubbed his leg to sooth it.

‘Why don’t you go to the city and get it treated?’ asked Nina. ‘It’s only down the road. You shouldn’t have to be in pain. I’m sure O could fix it.’

‘That’s what I keep telling him’, said Jerry.

‘Maybe you should’, agreed Greta. She was surprised to hear herself say it, but she didn’t like to see Jack suffering.

Jack raised his eyebrows and smiled wryly. ‘Well, well, Greta. It seems you’ve changed your tune. What happened? The Great Leader wasn’t the monster you expected?’

‘I don’t know’, said Greta. ‘I think it’s going to take me some time to process. They weren’t quite what I expected.’

‘Who was it who said that travel broadens the mind? Mark Twain, was it?’ said Jack, taking his pipe out of his pocket and preparing it.

‘Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice and narrow mindedness. That’s the quote’, said Nina. ‘I love his books. Tom Sawyer.. Huckleberry Finn..’

Jack nodded appreciatively. ‘Good to see there are young people who still read books. I didn’t think there were any left in this day and age.’

‘Reading a book is like going on an adventure without actually going anywhere’, said Nina. ‘I haven’t actually been anywhere. Only in the vip. This is my first time out of the city.’

‘And you’re on your way to the forest, I assume?’ said Jack, lighting his pipe. ‘Going back there to meet your mum? That’s going to be a big adventure.’ Nina and Greta both nodded. ‘Where’s all your stuff? Sleeping bags, tents, that sort of thing.. have you got everything you need?’

‘We didn’t bring anything. We didn’t want to tell our dad that we were going. I just brought my flute and a map and compass’, said Greta.

‘I see..’, said Jack, taking a thoughtful puff on his pipe. ‘Well, that’s something, I suppose..’ Nina had never seen anyone smoking a real pipe. The smoke was different from the blue vapour of her dad’s vape. She was worried the wooden pipe might catch fire. ‘You know what? I’ve still got a load of survival packs from years ago. After the Big Shift, I used to lead a group of collectors.. scavengers, as they used to call us. You wouldn’t remember, Jerry. You were still a baby.’

‘I remember you told me about it’, said Jerry.

‘Scavengers? What did you do?’ asked Nina.

‘Like the name suggests. Scavenging’, said Jack. ‘We’d scour the red zone for anything we could bring to the city to sell to O.. plastic, metal, chemicals.. anything we could find. There was a lot of work back then. There were thousands and thousands of people, all over the place, collecting stuff and bringing it into the cities. O recycled it all and used it to build the hives. You wouldn’t believe how quickly the world got cleaned up when people were offered money for old rubbish. It was a brilliant plan. Good times..’ Jack sat back and closed his eyes, reliving the days when he was young and a wild rover. ‘Jerry, go to the store room. At the back on the top shelves you’ll find all the packs. Bring four in, will you son?’

‘Sure’, said Jerry, standing up. ‘But why four?’

‘Well, I thought you and Queenie might like to go and have a little adventure..’ said Jack with a smile. ‘Seems like a good opportunity for you to go out and see the world a bit. I’m sure Greta knows the way of the forest so she’ll be a good guide. I’ve heard that Skyward Village is worth a visit.’

‘Wow. Really, Jack?’ said Jerry in disbelief.

‘Yes, why not?’ said Jack. ‘What do you think Queenie? Do you fancy going too?’

Queenie was looking like her head was about to explode. ‘I.. I.. I..’ she stammered.

‘Isn’t it dangerous out there?’ asked Nina, worried. ‘I don’t want to put anyone in danger.’

‘Well, you’ll need to keep your wits about you, that’s for sure. But with Jerry and Queenie and especially Captain Toast you’ll have safety in numbers. I’ve heard things are a bit unsettled around old Eastwell town.. the Malawack Kingdom, as they call it. Bunch of nutters! King Humpty’s been making trouble with the neighbours again. But if you avoid that area, you’ll be fine. Can you show me the map you’ve got, Greta?’

Greta took the map out of her flute case. It was a page torn out of an old road atlas from before the Big Shift. Some places had been crossed out or had their names changed. A green pencil line had been drawn from the place where Skyward Village had been marked with a tree, to the big city, which had a red circle around it. She spread the map out on the table. Everyone gathered round to look at it.

Jack pointed at the map with the mouthpiece of his pipe. ‘There, look, this is where we are. So yes, just follow this green line along the river, through the hills. See here? That’s the old motorway going past Eastwell. So just don’t go that way and you should be completely fine. It’s a two or three day walk, following the river, not more than that. Ah, I wish I could go with..’

‘I’ll go and get the packs then’, said Jerry. ‘Queenie, shall I get one for you? Are you coming?’

‘Oh.. oh.. oh.. I.. I.. I..’ stammered Queenie, full of uncertainty, fear and doubt.

‘It’ll be great to have you along’, said Greta. ‘And you’ll love it in the forest, I’m sure you will.’

Queenie, of course agreed to go with. Someone else would have to clean the bathrooms, though nobody would do it to her high standards.

In addition to the lightweight sleeping bags, bio-plastic tents, high energy food bars, flashlights and various other survival supplies, Granny Mae also added heavy fruitcakes, loaves of home made seed bread, apples and oranges which our travellers divided between their pack.

‘That’s good’, said Jack. ‘Those hyper-sausages are ok, but Granny Mae’s fruitcake is better.’

‘What are hyper sausages?’ asked Nina.

‘Those energy bars you’ve got in those survival packs’, said Jack. ‘That’s what we used to call them. They’re not really sausages, they’re just shaped like them. They don’t taste like much, but eat one of those you can walk all day and half the night.’

‘Aren’t they, like, fifteen years old?’ said Jerry.

‘Well, yes.. but they’re vacuum packed. They should be fine. Take them just in case.’

…………………………… . . …………………… . . …………. . . …………………

It was two o clock in the afternoon when our adventurers climbed the old highway embankment out of Shopping Village and up the hill to the place where Greta had met Jerry and Captain Toast when she’d first arrived there a month ago. They stopped and took one last look over the city, then turned east and headed into the forest. They soon found their way to the river bank and followed the footpath that ran alongside it, gently sloping up into the hills. By six o clock they were already miles away from the city and deep in the forest, in the heart of nature.

……………… . . . ……………………. . . . ……………….. . . . ……………. . … ..

By six o clock, Freddy could contain himself no longer. All morning and all afternoon, he’d fought against the urge to call Greta and Nina to check that they were all right. Let them have their freedom, he told himself.. give them some space, they’re big girls. Nobody had told him that parenting would be so hard. It was never ending worry. Why weren’t they back yet? They said they’d be back by six..

He called Nina. No answer. He called her again. Still no answer. He called Greta. No answer. Again. Still no answer. He called Nina again. No answer still. He called O.

‘O? What’s going on? Why can’t I get through to Greta and Nina? They went down to the orange zone. They’re supposed to be back by now. Where are they?’

‘Hang on. Let me check’, said O.

‘What do you mean? Don’t you know?’

‘It appears they’re not there’, said O.

‘What? What do you mean? So where are they? Maybe they’re back in the green zone.. on their way back here.. are they?’

‘No, I’m afraid not Freddy’, said O. ‘It appears that they have absconded into the red zone.’

‘What!!!’

‘It appears that they’ve absconded into the red zone.’

‘Yes I heard you the first time. But how?’

‘My best guess would be that they went through one of the underground aqueducts. Probably the one near Station Road.’

‘Your best guess?!’ screamed Freddy. ‘You mean you don’t know where they are?’

‘Well, there are several ways they could have gone out, but the last time I saw them was close to there.’

‘O, I can’t believe you! You just let them walk right out of the city. You didn’t even try to stop them. You didn’t call me. Why didn’t you let me know? I just don’t get it, O. And what are these underground viaducts? Why don’t you block them up or something? Are you telling me that anyone can just walk right out, or walk right in? No checks, no cameras, nothing? What about the protocols, O? What about safety?Explain yourself!’

‘There are several ways in and out of the city’, said O, in their calm, patient way, quite unruffled by being screamed at by Freddy. ‘The border between the red zone and the orange zone is intentionally porous. It needs to be in order for the healthy functioning of the city.’

‘What? What are you saying, O? That anyone can just come and go, willy-nilly.. as they please?’

‘Well, I don’t advertise the fact, for obvious reasons’ said O with a slight wink. ‘It takes a certain amount of determination, ingenuity and luck to find the way.. but essentially yes. A measure of freedom must be built into the system. The city is a living organism. It must be allowed to breath.’

‘You’re not making any sense at all’, Freddy barked angrily. ‘Where was the last time you saw them? I want to see.’

‘Of course’, said O.

There appeared Nina, Greta, Jerry, Queenie and Sammy at the front of the Travellers Rest, playing some old French jazz. Freddy stared, wishing he could reach out and touch them. Tears sprang to his eyes. How could they be gone? What was he going to do now? How was he going to find them?

They finished the tune. He watched them say goodbye to Sammy and head off along the embankment. ‘From there, they turned down the canal in the direction of the Station Road viaduct’, said O. ‘It’s a very popular way out of the city, for those wishing to abscond.’

‘You let them escape, O! How could you?’

‘Escape suggests that they were being held here against their will’, said O. ‘The protocols are very clear that citizens are not to be held against their will. I prefer to use the word abscond.’

‘Let me see the video again’, said Freddy, sinking into his big black chair. There they were again. Greta playing on the flute. Nina on the piano. They played so beautifully. It was really good music. That gave him a sort of satisfaction, but it was swamped by the enormity of his sudden loss. Why hadn’t he gone with them? When would he see them again now? ‘What am I going to do, O?’ he cried. ‘They’ve gone. How will I find them? How can I get them back?’

A ringtone sounded in Freddy’s ear. ‘Maybe it’s them!’ he exclaimed, full of desperate hope. But it wasn’t. It was Osama, sounding very worried.

‘Freddy, do you know where Greta is? I’ve been trying to call her all afternoon. She’s not answering. Neither is Nina.’

Freddy’s face crumpled up. ‘They’re gone!’ he sobbed. ‘They ran away.. absconded.. out of the city.. into the red zone.. and I don’t know where they are or how to find them.’

‘Oh my God!’ cried Osama, his face turning white. ‘I knew it! I had a feeling. I saw her face, Freddy. Greta’s face. She came to me. She was trying to tell me. I can’t believe it. What are we going to do?’

‘I don’t know, Osama’, Freddy shook his head helplessly. ‘They could be anywhere.’

‘But they must be headed for Skyward Village surely? They’re going to see their mum.’

‘Yes, you’re right. They must be. Of course they are. Oh it’s such a shock, I didn’t even think of that. My mind’s all over the place. I need to focus. I need to think..’

‘You need to go after them Freddy’, said Osama. ‘I’d go myself, but I’m so far away. It would take me months to get there.. years possibly.’

‘Yes.. yes, you’re right, Osama’, said Freddy, jumping up out of his chair. ‘What am I doing sitting here crying? I need to go after them. Of course I do. Oh I’m such a fool. It’s all my fault.’

‘It’s not your fault, Freddy. You couldn’t hold them back. I know you were just trying to protect them and keep them safe, but they just had to go. There was nothing anyone could have done to stop them.’

‘Oh, if only we hadn’t had that stupid argument! I would have gone with them if I’d have known they were going to run away. Now what have I got to stay here for? Nothing. They were all I had and now they’re gone..’ Freddy pulled at his hair and stormed around the room, completely lost and without direction, at his wit’s end.

‘Freddy!’, snapped Osama. ‘You need to pull yourself together! Maybe they haven’t got very far. If you go quickly you might catch up with them.’

‘Yes, you’re right, Osama. I need to go. There’s no time to lose.’ With that, Freddy ran out of the room and out of the apartment, with Sydney the robot dog, eager to go for a walk, hot on his heels.

……………… . . …………………………… . …………… . . …………….. . . . . …