The sun was high in the sky and the warmth from the sun was quite pleasant, not as hot as it had been over the past few months. Kayleb and Rowan sat lazily on the side of the well wondering what to do next. They both half hoped that their task had ended and somebody might come and collect them. Kayleb knocked a pebble over with his toe and disturbed a small lizard. The lizard scurried away and dived into the shadows of a withered bush.
‘Used to keep one of those as a pet,’ said Rowan, standing up.
‘Didn’t last long though. It sort of dried up.’
Kayleb looked suspiciously at Rowan. He couldn’t quite work him out. They were in this together and, like it or not, they would need to depend on each other. It was quite obvious their task was not yet over.
‘Were you going to leave me in the well?’ Kayleb asked Rowan cautiously. ‘Only, if you were, then I don’t think it’s a good idea if we do this task together.’
Rowan looked uncomfortable and was silent for a moment. He looked down at the ground to avoid Kayleb’s eyes. He wished he had left him behind.
I ... wasn’t sure which way to turn the handle. The rope was all knotted up.’
Kayleb looked at the rope attached to the bucket. He was confused. He wasn’t sure if Rowan was telling the truth. It was probably best if they stuck together; after all, there was supposed to be safety in numbers and Kayleb did not really like the idea of being left in the wilderness on his own. He would just have to be wary.
Kayleb bent down and opened a pocket on the leg of his trousers and produced two chews. He was really thirsty and he knew that Rowan would be too. ‘Would you like a chew? It will help ... until we find water.’
Rowan looked up at Kayleb. The awkward moment had passed.
‘Sure! We’ll have to find water soon though. The sun is getting hotter.’ He looked Kayleb up and down as Kayleb handed him a chew. Kayleb wasn’t wearing bedwear but had on utility trousers and a T-shirt. His trousers had many bulging pockets filled with all sorts.
‘How come you’re dressed, Kayleb? What have you got in your pockets?’
Kayleb smiled. ‘I’ve been ready for weeks. I was sixteen last month and from all the e-books I’ve read I know that anything can happen during our task. I realised it’s best to be prepared for any situation. The only thing I forgot to bring is a flamer,’ said Kayleb, looking a bit crestfallen. ‘Shoes might have come in handy too but I didn’t think we’d be drugged. I thought you’d have been ready though.’ Kayleb surveyed Rowan’s nightwear with a critical eye.
‘Well, I would have been, only I didn’t expect the task to take place today,’ said Rowan angrily. To think! Thought Rowan, Kayleb was already sixteen, sixteen before he was! Kayleb was the sort of boy that kept things to himself. He was a loner and had no friends ... well, none that he knew of. Kayleb was possibly of mixed descent. Helen, one of Kayleb’s mentors, had come from the wilderness, the very place where they were now marooned. Kayleb’s other mentor, Commander Heinz, worked for the law enforcement agency and was laboratory-reared. Unusually, though, Commander Heinz’s stature was of beastlike proportions and he was much feared, as he upheld the law with an iron fist. It was surprising that Kayleb had not been given similar genes, but then Helen, it was rumoured, had been pregnant when she entered London and had secretly given birth to Kayleb. The thought of pregnancy and birth made Rowan shudder. Laboratory incubator birth was so much cleaner and much more civilised. Helen had become Commander Heinz’s companion and he had adopted Kayleb as if he had come from the laboratory.
‘Why weren’t you ready? You knew you would have to do the task when you turned sixteen,’ asked Kayleb.
Rowan looked a little embarrassed and picked up a small stone and tried to skim it along the ground. ‘It’s my tubeyday, all right!’
‘Oh ... I see! Happy Tubeyday then.’
Things were a bit quiet for a moment and then Kayleb dived into a hip pocket and produced a small silver case. ‘Happy Tubeyday! You can have it ... I’ve got two.’
Rowan took the disc-shaped box from Kayleb, turned it over in his hands and wondered what it could be. It caught the sunlight and immediately a small screen appeared. The words ‘YOU ARE FACING SOUTH-WEST’ appeared on the screen.
‘Thanks, Kayleb.’ Rowan was genuinely pleased. ‘This is really going to help. ‘Which way is London then?’ The screen flickered a little and the message ‘LONDON UK IS NORTH’ appeared.
‘This is brilliant! Come on, let’s go,’ said Rowan, swivelling around to the right until the screen typed up the words ‘YOU ARE FACING NORTH.’
‘OK, but I think we should take this bucket and a good long length of rope,’ said Kayleb, looking at the well. Kayleb got out a penknife and set to work, hacking at the rope that had brought him up from the dry well.
Rowan had gone off ahead and Kayleb had to run to catch him up. The bucket and rope were heavy but he was sure that they would be very useful.
Rowan and Kayleb walked along silently. The ground was quite hot to walk on and the sun looked as if it was going to get hotter. As they travelled, there wasn’t much change in the landscape; it was very barren and quite unattractive. Through the heat haze they could see hills ahead and they looked a bit more inviting. Perhaps they would find a village or some water. The chews had gone but Rowan was convinced that they would find food and shelter when they reached the hills.
A couple of hours passed and the ground had become more gravel-like, which was very difficult to walk on. Kayleb stopped many times to inspect the soles of his feet. It was incredibly hot underfoot, too, but the lure of the cool hills, and the thought of water, spurred Kayleb and Rowan on up the side of a hill.
After they had reached the summit of the hill they found that the track they were following seemed to fall away down into a valley. It did look much greener down there. They eagerly followed the track down into the valley, desperately searching for any signs of water.
Kayleb became aware that all around them had become soundless. The birds had stopped singing and it was almost as if time was holding its breath. There was an eerie silence. Warily, Rowan and Kayleb walked on further into the valley. The ground was now less uneven; it felt so good to feel grass under their feet rather than stones.
‘We’re going to have to get some shoes,’ announced Rowan. We could travel much faster if we had shoes’ Rowan was interrupted by a loud screech and they both stopped sharply and looked at each other. The ear-piercing sound had come from nearby. The bushes in the valley were much larger and could, without doubt, conceal something. Rowan looked uneasily at Kayleb. ‘What was ... ?’ whispered Rowan. Another screech shook the ground. Some kind of creature was only a hair’s breadth away. Rowan looked wildly about him.
Kayleb stood rooted to the ground, his eyes transfixed on a rock ahead of them. Some inner voice told him to lie flat on the floor – maybe he would become invisible that way. Kayleb dropped to the ground. Rowan did the same just as a huge eagle-like bird with the body of a tiger, at least two men high, strutted boldly out from behind the rock and then sped across the path and into the undergrowth opposite, its sharp talons tearing up the grass as it went.
The bird had mercifully not noticed the boys but it was minutes before Kayleb and Rowan felt brave enough to move. Kayleb was quite sure that the monstrous bird wasn’t a vegetarian. Kayleb scuttled over to Rowan who had rolled into a ditch next to the path. Just as he reached him, they heard angry shouts and fierce barks and then saw a band of ragged men run across the track with their dogs. They seemed to be after the bird that the boys had just seen. These men had crazy bloodthirsty eyes. They held home-made weapons – bread knives tied to broom handles and sharpened struts from railings – over their heads ready to attack the bird. Fortunately, the men and the dogs disappeared into the undergrowth, too, and did not notice Kayleb and Rowan lying in the ditch.
‘Did you see them?’ whispered Rowan. ‘I’m glad they didn’t see us. They all looked like madmen. They’ve got to be wasters. They must be the criminals that have been thrown out of the cities. We’d better avoid them if we can. Come on, let’s find a hideout for a while and find something to arm ourselves with,’ said Rowan, standing up.
Kayleb didn’t think it was wise to continue down into the valley either. Rowan was right: the people in the wilderness would not welcome them with open arms; wasters were renowned for being untrustworthy and violent. If he and Rowan had been left on an island, like the Isle of Wight, to find their way back to London, then the wasters would be A-grade criminals – murderers or the criminally insane, known as lifers. If they were just in the zone around the cities then these criminals would have committed lesser crimes but would still be potentially dangerous. Kayleb had not been prepared to see gigantic animals either; they were going to be difficult to steer clear of as well. He knew that the wasters were fed with London’s rejected genetically modified animals but he did not think they would be live monsters. What had the scientists been thinking of?
At the moment in time, the lack of meat was a big problem in London, though everyone had been advised by Kayleb’s mentor, Commander Heinz, on digi-screen that the scientists were making great progress towards creating the ultimate ‘meat creature’. All of London’s food problems would soon be solved.
After walking for a short while, keeping to the vegetation along- side the path, Kayleb and Rowan found a hollow tree and crawled into it away from the scorching sun. It was a bit cramped but at least it was secure. Kayleb searched his pockets and came across a tab of gum. He knew that the search for water was now a priority. There had to be water nearby; the wasters and lifers, after all, had to be getting water in order to survive. Kayleb broke the gum in half and passed half to Rowan. Kayleb was breathless, adrenalin was still coursing through his veins, from seeing the feral men and the freaky bird earlier. He had been anti-asthma zapped a day before and he hoped his asthma would not give him any problems for at least six months but nonetheless his chest felt tight. Hopefully they would be home in a few days, Kayleb thought. He wondered what lay ahead of them. The boys who returned were not allowed, or at least seemed unable, to say what they had been through while completing their task.
‘I was just thinking,’ he finally said to Rowan, who was looking pensively out into the woodland, ‘we don’t know what’s out there. We’re at risk! This task seems quite barbaric, anyone would think that London would prefer us not to get home at all!’ said Kayleb, plucking at a bit of loose bark.
Rowan shrugged. ‘All I know is that the boys that make it back are the stronger ones and, if you don’t see a friend again, then they haven’t made it and they’re losers. The authorities cover up any casualties by saying that the mentors and their child have been moved to another area. That’s what my mentors say anyway.’ Rowan scowled at Kayleb.
Kayleb was a bit put out. Was Rowan having a go at him? Or was Kayleb just becoming paranoid? He knew he wasn’t the fittest of boys but he was sure he could beat Rowan at any logic trial he cared to name and he knew that intellect alone would get him home.
‘Right,’ said Kayleb, trying to create an air of authority. ‘We can’t take the wasters on,’ he hoped that they were wasters and not lifers, ‘or that bird with a bucket and a penknife. We need to camouflage ourselves, and not get seen; that’s our best means of protection until we can find some proper weapons. You’re going to have to get rid of that white bed shirt; you stick out like a wind turbine. It’s quite thick; we can turn it into shoes.’
‘Get lost!’ snorted Rowan. ‘I’m not giving up my shirt for shoes. I would look even more conspicuous wearing white shoes ... Perhaps we can make shoes from bark and string,’ he continued, pulling off a big chunk of bark. ‘You’ve got string.’ They both looked at the coil of rope from the well that lay at Kayleb’s feet.
The sun was starting to set and was quickly melting into the horizon. The sky was streaked with orange and red and promised another scorching day. Between them, Kayleb and Rowan managed to make sandals from the bark and tied them onto their feet using strands from the coil of rope. Somehow Kayleb managed to end up with one sandal larger than the other but at least he would be able to walk without finding every jagged stone imaginable to step on. They were both very thirsty and quite hungry.
‘When it’s dark, we’ll creep out and try and find water,’ said Rowan. He was feeling cooped up and longed to stretch his legs. It was all right for Kayleb, being so puny. He looked quite at home in the hollow tree, tucked up in the corner like a microscopic gerbil.
Rowan wondered how far they were from London and he also wondered what his friends would be up to. He decided that, as it was Sunday, his friends were probably getting virtually high, in the 16 + Interactive Cyber Experience (ICE) centre. Some of his friends who had already turned sixteen had been there and had spoken endlessly about what they had experienced – the awe- inspiring hoverboard races, exploring fantasy worlds or even fighting evil tyrants. Each zone was different and so lifelike that they ended up finding it hard to distinguish between reality and virtual reality. Tonight should have been Rowan’s first ICE experience to celebrate his sixteenth tubeyday, and he wondered what his quest might have been. Suddenly a thought occurred to Rowan; maybe all this was nothing more than an ICE experience. He smiled to himself. Perhaps this was all just virtual reality; he could do anything he liked and not get hurt. Rowan picked up the penknife and pricked his finger with it. It hurt and blood started to trickle down his finger. That brief moment of relief slipped quickly away. This task wasn’t virtual; it was for real after all.
Kayleb looked at Rowan sucking his finger. He wondered if the heat had got to Rowan. Kayleb decided that it would be a good idea if they left the hollow tree and went further into the valley to find water. It wasn’t pleasant being cooped up with somebody that liked stabbing themselves with a penknife. Perhaps Rowan wasn’t only mean but was mad as well; he was going to have to watch his back.
‘It’s dark now; we’d better get a move on,’ whispered Kayleb. ‘If we work our way through the bushes by this track, we should be all right. You’d better put dust on your top to camouflage yourself.’ Rowan wasn’t keen on obeying Kayleb. Who was he to order him about like this? Rowan longed to go back to London and be rid of Kayleb; he was like a thorn in his side. But really he had no choice; he had to comply with Kayleb. Rowan spat into his hands, picked up the earth around him and smeared it down himself. Kayleb did the same and rubbed dirt onto his face. Rowan thought that Kayleb was going too far. Finally they left the tree and continued down the track, using the bushes as cover.
It was hard-going and the two boys kept getting their sandals caught in the brambles and the bushes scratched their skin. They felt sore and weary and were beginning to feel sorry for themselves.
The track twisted and then forked out into several tracks. The moon lit their way but the direction pointer did not work as it was solar-powered. After a while, they realised that they had been walking in circles. Their mouths were really dry now and the dust from the paths made their throats hurt. Feeling tired made concentrating difficult and eventually they lost the track completely.
Kayleb and Rowan found themselves in a thicket; it was difficult to wade through the undergrowth as it was so much denser here.
‘It’s no good,’ panted Kayleb. ‘We’re going to have to stop for a moment and think this through.’
It was at this moment that they thought they heard footsteps behind them. There was a distinct sound of twigs snapping as something approached them. Kayleb and Rowan held their breath, the moon letting them sink back into the shadows. Minutes passed and then there was silence. Whatever it was had passed them by. The trees rustled gently and a cool breeze washed over them, making them shiver.
‘I think we should keep on going,’ Rowan said quietly. ‘If we stay here, we might get eaten alive. I think there might be water near here; the ground feels damp.’
Kayleb felt the ground. It was muddy. He nodded in agreement. They continued further into the thicket and found that they had to climb up a bank. On the other side of the bank the ground sloped down to a clearing with a pool in the middle. This was a most welcoming sight. Rowan eagerly walked down to the edge of the water and bent down to scoop up some water with his hand. Kayleb followed, but he was feeling anxious.
‘Don’t drink it, Rowan; it might be contaminated.’
‘It smells all right.’ Rowan was becoming impatient.
‘Hang on, I’ve got test strips to dip into it,’ said Kayleb, undoing a back pocket. Kayleb took out a test strip from a bag and dipped it into the water. He stood up and looked at the strip carefully. He held it up in the air at arm’s length.
‘Damn, it’s too dark to see what colour it’s gone. We’ll have to wait until daybreak.’
Rowan let the water drain through his fingers. This was complete torture. If he had been on his own, he would have probably drunk the water without thinking about it and he was pretty certain that he would have come to no harm. He was annoyed at having to obey Kayleb again. Things were getting out of hand.
Trust you to spoil things!’ Rowan said sulkily. ‘So, you’re going to make me sit here for hours looking at water, when we are almost on our knees from dehydration. This is just great!’
‘That’s about the long and short of it, unless you want to be a human guinea pig?’ said Kayleb, his tongue now sticking to the roof of his mouth from thirst. How could Rowan be so ungrateful, he thought. Perhaps he had even just saved Rowan’s life! ‘We’ll have to find a safe place to wait; we need to find a bush or some- thing to hide in.’ Kayleb pointed to some bushes on the crest of the bank. ‘We really need to get some sleep.’ Kayleb was very tired and just wanted to sleep if he couldn’t drink.
Kayleb and Rowan climbed up the bank and found that the bushes were several holly bushes clumped together and there was a space in the centre of them. Kayleb removed the odd dried-up prickly leaf and then they both crawled into the middle of the bushes. There was just enough room to lie back to back. Kayleb had a thin thermal blanket, which he offered to share with Rowan. Rowan refused, saying he was hot; sleeping under the same cover would have been too humiliating.
Sleep came quickly and the warm night brought others down to the pool to drink. Exhausted, Kayleb and Rowan did not hear them and slept on.