The salt from the sea stung Kayleb’s lips. It had been difficult for everyone to walk down to the sea, as the beach was made up of large craggy rocks and they had to be careful not to slip between them; there was no moon that night and it was hard to see where they were going. Kayleb licked his lips and knew he needed water; his flask was almost empty. Carefully he perched himself on a boulder and sipped the last of his water, scanning the coastline for boats. He could see a waster settlement further along the coast and a light from a fire had been their guide.
Rowan caught up with Kayleb and sat for a moment on the same rock.
‘I can see some boats further up ... Do you see?’ Rowan asked Kayleb. ‘They’re just by that breaker over there on the water’s edge.’
Kayleb strained his eyes to see and could just see in the twilight two upturned boats, lying there like two beached whales.
‘Oh yes, I see them,’ replied Kayleb. ‘Have you told David yet?’
‘Yes, he knows, that stray dog of yours found them. Didn’t you hear him bark? I’m surprised that the wasters didn’t hear him.’
‘No, I didn’t notice,’ said Kayleb, looking towards the village in the distance. It was set back from the shore and he couldn’t see any wasters approaching.
‘That dog will have to stay here. He might bark when we go across the Channel and give the game away,’ said Rowan sadly.
Cornwall joined Kayleb and Rowan. She had overheard what Rowan had just said. ‘We can’t leave him. He is too tame to survive out here. We can tie up his muzzle; it won’t be for long. I don’t think it’s too far across the Channel,’ said Cornwall. ‘Come on, we must all get down to those boats.’ She continued on across the rocks towards David.
‘We’d better follow,’ said Rowan. ‘The sooner we’re away from this cyber-forsaken place the better.’
‘There’s enough boats for all of us. It will be easier to spot a patrol boat from the sea but we mustn’t get too close or they will pick us up on their radar. I feel guilty that we are taking these from the wasters,’ said David despondently. ‘They use these boats to fish with and if we take them they won’t be able to eat until they’ve made new ones.’
‘You must think of the bigger picture,’ Zordar interrupted. ‘If you don’t overthrow this ruthless authoritarian system that rules their lives, then they will be forced to live their barbaric lifestyle forever. By taking these boats, David, you will be able to change things and make everyone’s lives better, including those people’s over there.’ Zordar pointed towards London. ‘They may think that their lives are perfect but they have all been corrupted and do not realise it.’
David nodded. ‘I would feel better if I could repay the fishermen in some way,’ said David thoughtfully. ‘Rowan, you look quite strong; untie the smaller of the boats and wade out with it and then wait. You will know when to come back in. It is the least I can do.’
‘OK,’ replied Rowan with an air of apprehension. ‘What do you want me to do when I get out there?”
‘You’ll see,’ said David. ‘You won’t be out there long and you will feel a great benefit,’ continued David with a smile.
Rowan untied the boat, turned it over and dragged it out into the sea. The waves rolled into him and Rowan was surprised at the strength of the waves as they hit him. He had seen the sea on school trips but had seen it only from within the protective shield. He had always longed to touch the water and to swim in it, and now here he was almost waist deep in sea water, though the seabed was uneven and he was having difficulty standing up.
Instinctively Rowan felt that he had gone deep enough and he turned to see the others on the beach. They were all looking at David who was now standing with his arms outstretched towards the sky. He was looking up at the stars above. Rowan decided that he had enough and David was trying to make a fool out of him. He was just about to pull the boat back when he noticed that David’s hands were glowing. Rowan looked at his own hands. They were glowing too, with a strange white light. He watched incredulously as the white light travelled along the rope he held and then started to spread across the boat.
Rowan’s heart pounded in his chest. He knew something odd was about to happen. Something slimy and cold brushed his legs, Rowan cried out. The water was alive with living things. They seemed to be attracted to the white light that came from the boat. Rowan held his hands above the water, fearing that they might be bitten off by the creatures that swirled furiously below the surface.
Without warning one of them leapt from the sea and landed inside the boat. Rowan yelled out with fright; he looked into the boat and saw a large fish writhing in the bottom of the boat. Another fish landed next to it and soon the air was alive with flying fish. Rowan batted the air to stop them brushing his face and then lost his footing and disappeared into the swirling soup of frenzied fish. Rowan fought his way back up to the surface and scowled. He had had enough; he wasn’t going to be made a laughing stock. The white light was subsiding and now only one or two fish were jumping into the fish-laden boat. Rowan pulled the boat back to shore. The fish were now gasping and were less active. Rowan pulled the boat onto the shingle and waited for everyone to laugh and mock. Rowan looked at everyone uneasily, to see if they were laughing, but realised that they all had a look of amazement on their faces and did not notice Rowan at all. Instead they were all looking at David and the fish in the boat.
Rowan tied up the boat and shivered. He was cold and had trouble controlling his teeth from chattering. He thought of Ledbetter. Maybe this is what he had meant when he had said that he, Rowan, was going to swim with the fishes, but somehow, deep down, Rowan knew that there was a more profound meaning. Rowan looked up at the night sky. It was full of stars and he was so immersed in contemplation that he did not hear David approach.
‘Thank you for going out for me,’ said David. ‘I am not as young as I used to be; otherwise I would have gone out myself. There is enough fish in that boat to last the wasters for weeks. It will give them enough time to build new boats. I am sorry that you were frightened.’
‘I wasn’t,’ said Rowan defensively. ‘I was surprised, that’s all.’
‘I know. It was a good thing that you did. The night is warm and your clothes will soon dry. We must find a station, where the patrol boats are docked as soon as we can. We need the cover of darkness,’ said David as he started to help the others pile the fish on the beach above the tide level. ‘Zordar and I will then row over to the jetty, approach the boat with our hands up, I will be able to protect Zordar if need be and we should be able to overpower the guards – that is if there are not too many, Zordar has insisted on helping me. Everyone should hide until I give you all a signal to come and join us. I will go and tell everyone the plan.’ David left Rowan and went off to update the others.
Rowan looked back up at the stars. As far as he knew there were no fish up there. He longed to be up there with them, far away from his so-called life.
Kayleb was in one of the two rowing boats. They were now all looking eagerly for the patrol boat station. He looked wistfully across the Channel. The dog was sitting quietly by him, gnawing on a piece of fish that he had found under one of the seats. His muzzle had broken but thankfully the dog had not barked. Prozac spotted a patrol boat station further down the coast and silently the two boats headed back to shore using a breaker as cover.
David and Zordar gathered everyone around them and went over their plan to capture a patrol boat. The dog nuzzled Kayleb’s shoulder, it was good to have such an attentive friend. He hoped that the dog could stay with him in London. Kayleb looked at the dog carefully. He looked healthy and showed no signs of disease. His eyes were bright and he was sure that Conrad and Helen would like him. Kayleb looked forlornly across the Channel; it would be a long time before he would see them both again.
‘What’s your name?’ Kayleb whispered to the dog. ‘Cornwall named her pigs, so I guess you should have a name too. How about Woolwich or Cola?’ suggested Kayleb, watching the dog to see if he responded.
‘I have a dog like yours at home,’ said Indigo. ‘He’s called Michelangelo. Home ... God I hope Robin is feeding him. Home seems such a long way off ... He looks like a Max to me.’
Kayleb looked intently at the dog. ‘Yes, Max. It suits him,’ said Kayleb, stroking the dog’s head. ‘Do you think we’ll get across the Channel to London? You’d think you’d see the lights in the distance.’
‘London is inland, isn’t it? You wouldn’t see it from here, would you?’ asked Indigo.
‘You should be able to,’ said Kayleb. ‘London covers the whole of England. You must know that, surely?’
Kayleb and Indigo watched David and Zordar row out towards the boat station, luckily there was only one boat docked there so there wouldn’t be too many guards to deal with.
‘There’re two patrolmen on the boat,’ said Indigo. ‘David is quite old and he is tired. I am not sure he will be able to overpower both of them. I think Zordar sees this and that is why he wants to assist David.’
‘I think he will be all right,’ said Kayleb. ‘Did you see him with those fishes? He was amazing.’
‘David and Zordar are rowing out to the patrol boat,’ announced Cornwall, crawling over to them. ‘David says we’re to stay low and watch out for them to signal to us.’
‘I know,’ replied Kayleb. ‘We’ve been over the plan so many times.’
We’ve got to make sure the dog is quiet,’ continued Cornwall.
‘He’s called Max,’ said Kayleb proudly.
‘I’ve found some more string. You need to make him a muzzle,’ said Cornwall anxiously. ‘We don’t want him to blow our cover, do we?’
Kayleb shook his head. ‘Thanks.’ Kayleb thought that Cornwall was making too much of a fuss. He had a sinking feeling that David and Zordar would be unable to overcome the patrolmen. They were used to being ambushed by convicts and were highly trained in self-defence.
‘I don’t think David and Zordar realise what they’re getting themselves into,’ Kayleb whispered.