Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth) (10 page)

“There’s something up ahead.” I forged on, pushing aside a prickly branch that caught at my clothes as I passed. I felt the sting as it tore through my jeans and pricked my leg.

“Thank heavens,” Marnie answered. “I feel like I’m starring in one of those horror movies. You know, the one where a hideous creature comes swinging out of the trees and disembowels the hikers.” She added in a falsetto voice, “Oh save me, save me!”

Em giggled.

Grinning, I climbed over a fallen tree then stopped, my hands going to my hips.
Well!
 
I was right. Something was going on here.
I called back to the others who had fallen behind.

“Hurry up, you guys. You have to see this. We’ve been climbing uphill and now we have this great view into the property.”

Em and Marnie joined me.

The clearing was small and through a natural gap in the trees, looked down over the fenceline and the scrub that lay beyond. A fly buzzed drowsily around my face, and I absently flapped it away. I waved a hand. “What are those buildings for, Em?”

“How would I know?”

“There’s an awful lot of them. I count, what, five? Could be more behind them that we can’t see.” I squinted into the distance. The buildings were situated quite a pace from the perimeter fencing and were painted a dull grey-green.

“They look like military buildings to me,” Marnie said. “They’re obviously made out of corrugated iron and they’re that funny half-tunnel shape.”

“Probably bought them from the Defence Force at a fire sale,” I mused. “No doubt your Dad is using them to store stuff.”

“Like what?” Em’s voice rose. “What could he possibly be storing in there?” Her wide eyes meet mine.

“Well,” drawled Marnie. “If he’s been speaking with Tara’s Mum lately, he is probably stocking up on supplies for his own bomb shelter.”

We all laughed and the sudden tension that had formed between us disappeared.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about and there’s a perfectly simple explanation,” continued Marnie. “It certainly doesn’t look as if anyone’s about either.”

“Yeah. Let’s go back and head for the creek. I need a swim.” I took another look out over the fenced area. No livestock, no sign of people, nothing.

Marnie dug her mobile phone from her jeans pocket and checked the screen. “No bars.” She waggled it. “I don’t think we’ve got time to get out to the creek and back to Carstairs. Sorry but I don’t have enough money at the moment to pay late hire fees. My rent’s due next week.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s go home.” I held my hands up in surrender.

“What a waste of a day,” grumbled Em. She swung round and marched back the way they’d come. “I told you there’s nothing to see here.”

I raised my eyebrows and indicated Em as she hurried back along the path. “Looks like Em has her cranky pants on.”

“Everyone has problems. We’re not in high school any more, Tara.”

“So?”

Marnie linked her arm through mine and said, “We no longer share our secrets. There’s some stuff in our lives that we’ll keep to ourselves and no matter how much you poke and pry, we’re not going to fess up. I bet my last dollar, you haven’t told us everything that’s going on in your life.”

Prepare.

Warder.

Did she know?
No, I had to be imagining things. Still, those words pounded deep inside my head with every step I took. Marnie was right with one thing though.
Barely sixteen months since we’d completed high school and already, I could feel the gulf widening between us.
Problem was, both Marnie and Em were surging along their chosen life paths and I was still right back where we started.

And with little hope of moving forward.

Some days, life sucks.

***

“How’s it going, little bro?” I asked as I flung myself down on my brother’s bed. Through the window, starlight glittered as unobtainable as diamonds.

“Hey, Sis. I’m working on a project for school.” Dan ducked his head and flipped a hand toward his computer screen.

Crap.
Had Mum told him yet? I chewed my lip and eyed him uncertainly.

“It’s okay, Tara. Mum’s already explained about me leaving Wallaby Creek High. I enrolled in correspondence school yesterday. The project is for my new studies.”

“Already?” I rolled my eyes. “You’ll get brain strain if you’re not careful.” I hesitated. “About the school biz, I don’t think this is a good idea and intend to keep pressing Mum.”

“Leave off, Sis. I’m cool with it. This way I don’t have to hang back waiting for the other kids to catch up. I’ll blitz my HSC in no time, then I can complete my first degree.”

“Sounds like you have it all worked out.” I stared up at the ceiling.

“Yep, sure do. Speaking of work, shouldn’t you be at the pub?”

“My shift doesn’t start for another forty-five minutes. I only scored two hours work today. Lucky me, I get to deal with drunk farmers and sex-starved truckies,” I bitched. “I need a better job. More hours or something.”

“Mum says you shouldn’t worry about it.”

“Don’t you start.” I rolled onto my side, propped my head on my hand and grinned at my brother.

He tossed a scrunched up piece of paper at my head.

I ducked and laughed.

When Dan looked back at his screen, I picked up his sketchbook and flicked through the pages. Then stopped.

My blood turned to ice in my veins and I shivered.
For several minutes I stared at the page. Totally absorbed, I turned over the following five pages before waggling the book high in the air. “What’s this?”

“Just something I’ve been working on.”

I made an effort to sound normal. “Well, duh! Come on, give.”

Dan turned shining eyes in my direction. “A theoretical diagram of a space ship engine that could take us to the edge of our solar system and back. I’ve been fiddling with the idea for about a year now.” He laughed depreciatively. “It probably wouldn’t work but it’s fun.”

“It’s amazing.” And even more amazing that I could understand it. My brain didn’t tighten like it normally did when I read anything. I didn’t need to concentrate and focus on individual sections of the page. It was if my brain was hardwired to comprehend every detail depicted here. I examined the book again, absorbing the information in rapid fire sequence. How weird was this? Should I say something? “It looks pretty authentic to me.”

“Yeah?” He wiped a hand through the flop of hair hanging in his eyes and stared hard at me. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Can you understand it, Sis?” he said in an awed voice.

No flies on my little bro.
I ran my finger over the diagram I was looking at. “For once in my life, yes. But what is really strange is these markings here.”

I pointed a shaking finger at the line of squiggles at the bottom of the page. To me, they formed a sentence.

One that I’d seen before.

Heard before.

And it was enough to make my knees turn to jelly. “Have you seen them before? Where did you get them?”

“I dreamt them,” he said abruptly.

My jaw dropped.

Our gazes met.

I whispered, “So did I.”

In his wide eyes, I read the quick flare of fear.

Was it me, or had the room become darker? I whispered, “I know what it says;
Follow the path of Elvirathon and you will be saved
.”

“That’s really freaky, Sis.” Dan’s voice shook.

“Too right.”

We stared at each other in silence. Finally, I dropped the sketchbook back onto the bed as if it had burst into flames and burnt my fingers. I fought for reason. “There has to be a logical explanation. You know, like how twins can sense each other’s pain or thoughts.” I recalled the words that had accompanied that message in my dreams.
Remember or perish.

“I thought scientists had decided that was a lot of hoohah,” argued Dan.

“Well, it’s some kind of psychic connection.” My voice gained conviction. “Or Mum. We’ve both spent too much time listening to her wild imagination.”

“Do you think we should tell her?” Worry creased his forehead into tiny wrinkles.

I shuddered at what a meal Mum would make out of this strange occurrence. “God, no. Besides, I don’t think there’s anything to tell. Was it just the once you dreamt it?”

“It’s been off and on for about five years.”

Like me. Although, lately I’d been reliving that dream almost every night. That, and the memory of that horrible white room. “Mum’s got enough on her plate at the moment. Let’s keep it between ourselves for a while.”

“Okay, if you say so, Sis.” He sounded relieved. “Hey, I’ve done a bit of digging on the net about the meteor shower and Dad’s right. Seems those in the know are a bit edgy.”

They weren’t the only ones. Excitement blazed in my brother’s eyes and I smiled, glad we’d left that tricky subject behind us. “Okay, what have you been up to, little bro?”

“A little sneaking, a little peeking.”

“Damnit, Dan. What if you get caught? Hacking is a criminal offence.”

“I’m not doing any harm.” My brother’s mouth set into a stubborn line. One that I recognised. “Dad and I believe in freedom of information and knowledge.”

I was right.
Dad.
“Shit. I should have known Dad was involved somewhere.” I tugged at my hair struggling with my frustration and then added, “Tell me.”

Dan turned the screen towards me. “This site is particularly interesting. There’s a lot of chatter about the strange signals from the meteors. The guys on this forum are really wired and talk a lot about state of emergencies and martial law.”

“Seriously?” I sat up and whistled. “Is this a government site you’re looking at?”

Dan nodded.

“That could explain the sudden withdrawal of our armed forces from overseas. Does it mention how bad they think it might be? Or the number of possible impacts? Where they’ll hit?”

“Not on this site. I’ve been trying to crack a back door to a US site.”

“One day, men in black commando suits will repel down from a chopper and you’ll be carted away.”

“They have to catch me first.” My brother fisted his hand and raised it above his head. He grinned. “Freedom to the people.”

I hooted with laughter.

The door opened and Mum entered.

I quickly shoved the sketchbook under the bed.

“Keeping an eye on the time, Tara?”

“Yes, Mum.”

She crossed the room to ruffle Dan’s hair. He bobbed and weaved to dislodge her touch. “What are you two up to?” Bending over, she looked at the screen.

“Oh I see.” Straightening, she turned and met my gaze. Grim lines were etched in her face making her look older and tired, as if for too long she’d been carrying a heavy burden.

My heart did this queer pang thing.

“I hope you’re taking this seriously now, Tara. Once the country is locked down under martial law, events will move fast.”

I plucked at the blanket. “I don’t see why and besides, Mum, nothing’s certain yet.”

“Time is no longer on our side.” Mum gestured towards the computer. “With martial law will come curfews and everyone will need to be accounted for at every hour of the day.”

I swung my feet to the floor and stood. Determined not to admit to my own rising anxiety, I blustered, “That sounds so extreme.”

“Both of you must be careful, now more than ever. If anyone asks too many questions, let either your father or myself know as soon as possible. Don’t give them any information, especially about our past.”