The Beneath (10 page)

Dane. Should I tell her that I saw him, even though he had begged me not to?

“So what was his plan?” I asked.

Aria looked up at me, then her eyes slid back down to the table. She looked as if she was about to start talking then stopped. Finally she took a deep breath. “I was supposed to find someone – someone special – down on the Tube platform. The idea was to take them back to the Community. Dane had a plan, but I didn’t really know the rest of it. I knew he had a map of the old Crop tunnels, and we used them to find a secret way up. I
waited until I knew that the Crop was busy and I took the risk, but then of course I got lost, and you found me.”

Was now the time to tell her? If I mentioned Dane wouldn’t that make things easier for her? I was about to say something when Aria continued, almost talking to herself.

“I’m beginning to wonder if Dane didn’t have a rather different plan in mind. Maybe I was supposed to fail. He lies so well – how can I be sure that he wasn’t lying to me?”

I shut my mouth. Had he lied to me too? I couldn’t know. I reached over and took one of her hands.

“Don’t get upset. You can’t change that now. What’s important is that you got away, and you found me too, which was a bonus. We’ve been doing OK, haven’t we?”

She nodded and looked up, and I could see that her eyes were moist.

“Come on then,” I said. “Tell me a bit more about today, not about things that are going to worry you. What else did you get up to?”

“I walked around a bit, trying to make sense of the area in my head. It’s how we learn the tunnels when we’re little.”

Lily laughs. “How did you get on with that then?”

“Not bad, I think.”

“You’re better than me then. I’m rubbish at knowing which way I’m going.”

“We have to be good at it,” I tell her. “There’s a test when we reach six. We need to be able to find our way from one end of the Community to the other.”

“Sounds tough for a six-year-old.” Lily laughs again, clearly trying to cheer me up. “I hope you didn’t fail.”

“No one fails. The Breeders make sure of it. If they raised kids with no sense of direction it’s not good news.”

Lily raises her eyebrows but asks no more questions.

“Your school – was that good today?” I ask.

“You know, for a change it was OK. I managed to get the better of Jenny in an argument, which was awesome.”

I remember Lily mentioning a Jenny, but not why.

“Is she one of your friends?”

“Ha, no! She’s the one who’s constantly making things miserable for me, sending me the mean text messages. I got one just after we met, remember?”

“Oh yes, I remember the one. She’s horrible to you.”

“But not today!” Lily beams, holding up her mobile. “Not a peep out of her.”

“And that is good,” I say, smiling back.

“So come on,” Lily continues, finishing the last of her sickly-smelling brown drink. “Is that all you did today? What else happened?”

I remember the best bit of my day, and smile.

“I met Will. We went for a coffee.”

I nearly spat Coke across the kitchen table.

“I’m sorry, did I hear that right? You met Will?”

“Yes, he was lovely. He took me for a coffee. Well, obviously I didn’t actually have one of those, just a glass of water, but he said that’s what he was having.”

I couldn’t believe it. I’d left her for just a few hours and she’d already had more of a date with Will than I’d ever managed – or ever would manage by the sound of it. Aria was sitting in the kitchen I’d sorted out for her, eating food I’d provided and was sleeping in a bed I’d made. The very least she could do was keep her hands off the guy I fancied.

“How was he?” I asked through gritted teeth, but she was oblivious to my discomfort.

“He was really great, really helpful in explaining where things are. We had a nice time.”

She gave me one of her sunniest smiles.

“Likely to see him again?” I said as casually as I could manage.

“Yes, I think so. He seemed very happy to help me understand the area.”

The late afternoon sun appeared from behind a cloud, bouncing off a window opposite and shining through the only gap in the net curtains, briefly throwing her face into shadow. I was glad I couldn’t see her expression as I jumped up to rinse out my glass, hoping that the activity would calm me down. It didn’t work.

“Look, Aria.” The words burst out before I could stop them. “Up here you don’t go picking up the boys your friends fancy, do you understand?” I gave her a pointed
look. “You know I like Will.”

“You didn’t tell me he was a special friend,” she said in a very even voice.

I still couldn’t see her face.

“OK, let’s make it clear now. I’d rather you didn’t make a move on him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Making a move – it means getting him to like you,” I said.

“I’m not ‘making a move on him’ then. He’s just explaining the area to me – where everything is.” She paused for a moment. “And he’s already promised to do some more of it tomorrow when you are out.”

“Doesn’t he have to go to school?”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“It seems to be finished, or that’s what he said. Honestly, we had a lovely time. He thinks I’m funny, you know.”

There was a smile in her voice.

“He thinks you’re funny.” I repeated her statement slowly, trying to keep my emotions under control.

“Uh-huh, and he’s really happy to help me again. He said so.”

The damage was done then. There was no way that he was going to look at me now, not if he thought he was getting somewhere with Aria. After all this time, all the plans I had for Will, she had snatched him from under my nose. And added to that, she seemed to have no idea of
the pain she was causing me.

“Why couldn’t you just leave him alone?” I asked, knowing how whiney I sounded but unable to stop. “Why did you have to arrange a date with Will? I’ll have no chance now.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so upset. I’m not doing any harm. It’s not as if I’m about to breed with him!”

For a moment I was speechless.

“Do you have any idea of the effect you’ll be having on him?” I finally managed to whisper.

“What do you mean? What effect?”

“You’re stunning, Aria. Every boy we pass has his tongue hanging out, including Will. You’re just leading him on and he’ll be disappointed in everyone else, especially me!”

“Why? What are you talking about?”

I knew I was being unreasonable, but I couldn’t stop.

“It might suit you to come swanning up here and steal other girls’ boyfriends, but it’s just too unfair, especially when you have a gorgeous boy of your own begging you to come back!”

There was a stunned silence as I realised I wasn’t supposed to tell her I knew that.

“What do you mean?” Aria’s voice was low and expressionless.

There was no way to avoid telling her.

“I met Dane. He wants to see you.” I paused for a moment. “He says he loves you.”

“What?” Her voice was suddenly icy.

“He found me earlier and we had a long chat. He wants you – he says he loves you and he wants to meet.”

“He wouldn’t say that. He just wouldn’t,” she said slowly.

“Well, he did!” I exploded. “So go and get him and leave Will alone. Having both is just unfair!”

Aria sat there, saying nothing. I could feel my frustration boiling over.

“I’ve had enough. This is all too weird – you’re too weird. I’m going home and so should you!”

I didn’t want to cry in front of her so I turned my back as my eyes filled up. I could hear her start to protest but the words were lost as I slammed the kitchen door behind me.

CHAPTER 9

I woke up the next morning to a gaping feeling of loss, as if someone had crept into my room during the night and stolen all my possessions. Life was going to be easier without Aria, that was obvious – I wouldn’t have to sneak about avoiding Nan, I wouldn’t have to find her food or worry about what I would do if she was discovered by the authorities. But still something left an empty hole in me, a hole that was rapidly being filled with guilt. I wondered where she would go and who she would be with – Dane or Will. Deep in my heart I knew the answer.

Cross with myself for not even being able to get through breakfast without feeling guilty, I grabbed a hoodie and my school bag and was about to leave the house when I saw the little purse I had given Aria sitting on the doormat. She must have posted it through the
letterbox earlier.

I picked up the purse and could feel a small amount of change and the front door key to the flat safe inside. She had gone, and it didn’t look as if she was planning on coming back. The blanket of guilt got much stronger. I was suddenly appalled at just how unprotected she was against all the horrors of London. What was I thinking, letting her go off into the night? What if she had gone back to the Tube but been picked up by one of those men they kept warning us about in school? She wouldn’t know any better and would end up in a drug dealer’s bed before she realised what was happening.

Putting the purse in my back pocket, I glanced at myself in the hall mirror. A messy, tired and spotty figure looked back at me.

“Some friend you are,” I said to my reflection before swallowing hard. The unease I’d been feeling about where she would end up circled around me.

No, it couldn’t be too late – I had to do
something
, to go and check at the places we had been, see if I could find her, come up with a proper plan about where she could go. Maybe she was still sitting in the park or on the Tube platform, wondering what to do next. I had to check.

Slamming the door behind me, I ran down the steps and turned towards the station. As I started up the road I saw Dane coming round the corner and froze in my tracks. Our plan had been for me to bring Aria to the
coffee shop where she would feel safe and he could talk with her. He wasn’t supposed to be on my road.

When he saw me, he stopped dead for a second, then took his hands out of his pockets and marched towards me. An ugly scowl was etched on his face and he gave me an icy stare. I stepped back as he reached me.

“Dane? Is everything OK?”

“What have you done? I thought we had an agreement?”

“I don’t know what to say,” I protested quickly as he opened his mouth to speak again. “She’s not here any more. I’m so sorry. I sort of mentioned meeting you and we had a bit of a row and now she’s gone, and I don’t know where.”

“I know she’s not here. She went home.”

“Really?” Relief washed over me. “So she’s safe – that’s good news.”

I gave him a nervous smile. He seemed nothing like the friendly, vulnerable boy I’d spoken with yesterday.

“Safe? That’s not how I’d describe it. She’s made her way back and he’s going to punish her for her disobedience. What were you thinking? Why didn’t you do as I asked?”

A gaping, sick feeling opened in my stomach and I grabbed at his sleeve.

“Why? Why would they do that?”

“Didn’t you ask her anything about the Community? I wanted to talk to her here, to make sure she stayed safe!
Didn’t you
listen
?”

He shook me off as he turned away.

“Wait, Dane, don’t go! How did she find her way back down?”

“So she did tell you then? About where we live?”

I nodded miserably, biting my lip.

“She went to the warehouse. I’ve no idea how she found it but she did, and one of the other Listeners caught her. He took her back down immediately.”

“What warehouse? What are you talking about?”

“It’s how we get up Above and back with the food,” he said dismissively. “Only the Listeners use it.” He paused and raised his head to look at me. “And now the Farmer has her.”

Something about his tone suddenly made me very afraid.

“What is he going to do to her?”

“You really don’t want to know that,” he said, dropping his gaze.

I grabbed both his arms then, and shook him as hard as I dared.

“What’s happening to Aria? TELL ME!”

A woman approaching with a pushchair heard the raised voices and stopped, wondering if I needed help. Dane shushed me with a look.

“OK, OK, keep it down. I’ll tell you,” he said, shaking off my grip effortlessly.

“Are you all right, love?” asked the woman, glancing
between us.

I stood back and faced him, arms crossed, pausing briefly to nod at her.

“Thank you, I’m fine.”

She raised her eyebrows at me but then nodded back.

“If you say so. Don’t let him give you any grief, all right?”

She took a tighter grip of the pushchair and gave Dane a wide berth as she passed. He waited until she was well out of earshot before he spoke again.

“She was caught last night and taken to the Farmer. Did she tell you about him?”

“A little,” I said cautiously.

“He’s trying to find out how she got up here, and as soon as he breaks her, he’ll…” He stopped abruptly. “I’ve said enough. It’s too late now anyway.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, instantly worried about the Crop.

He was as white as a sheet, his hands shaking, and as he looked over my shoulder into the distance I could see the pain in his eyes.

“She’ll be going for trial tomorrow.”

“And…?” I prompted as he continued staring into space.

“She’s got no chance. He’ll get what he wants from her and then make a spectacle out of her. It’ll be a good way of keeping everyone else in line.”

I felt as if I had turned to ice. “I – I don’t understand.
What does that mean?”

“He won’t let the rest of the Community think it’s OK to try and come here. He has to show his authority. People are sent to the Crop for less – much less.”

What had I done? My mouth worked silently for a moment before I was able to continue.

“Why don’t they just send her back up here? Back to me?”

In that second I knew that I’d been a complete cow in turning her out, that a proper friend would have let her stay however difficult it was. I wanted her back to prove that we could make it work, to say sorry.

Dane gave a short, humourless laugh.

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s been re-Assigned to Feeder. It’s our ultimate punishment.”

“Feeder? Does that mean she’ll be in the kitchens or something? Like a cook?”

“She didn’t give away all of our secrets then. No, the Feeders have an entirely different role, one that is vital to the Crop.”

He paused for a moment as if weighing up whether to tell me, then he took a deep breath before pressing his lips together in a thin line, choosing to remain silent.

I felt my world shift as his words sank in. “Do you mean…”

I couldn’t speak; my mouth was suddenly too dry.

“Everyone gets to be a Feeder eventually,” he said, his eyes glazing as he looked down the road. “It’s the
last Assignment for us all, and we accept that. And we all know that people who are too ill, or who break the rules, get re-Assigned. It’s the best way of maintaining control.” He gave a weird smile. “Of the people
and
the Crop.”

“That can’t be right,” I whispered. “It can’t possibly be right.”

As I spoke I was screaming inside –
she’s going to be fed to the Crop! Sacrificed!
How could this possibly be happening? My hands were clammy and I took several shallow breaths to stop myself from retching.

Dane just stood there looking over my shoulder, his expression unreadable. I wanted to jump up and down and shout, thump his chest and pummel him into helping me, into helping Aria, but something told me I’d be wasting my time. He’d given up.

“Send her back to me, now, forever. I’ll make sure she’s OK,” I said.

“It’s too late. There’s nothing you can do, even if you could get down there. It’ll all be over soon, so just forget about her.”

My heart felt as if it was being squeezed in a vice. What had I done?

“Please, Dane, there must be something? This is all my fault and I have to put it right!”

He finally turned to look at me.

“You’re right. You have ruined everything. All the plans we had in place to change things are now in
tatters, every route closed, and he’ll be even more paranoid than before. There’s nothing you can do. Nothing. I only came here to tell you to forget that the last few days ever happened. Get on with your life.”

As he finished he gave me a look I couldn’t fathom, but before I could say anything else he turned on his heel and disappeared around the corner, leaving me shaking so hard I had to lean against the wall.

Aria was about to die.

It’s very dark and I don’t know where I am or how long I’ve been here. My head feels as if it’s been stuffed with wads of material, pressing down and pinning me to the ground. I don’t remember anything at all. Under my fingers I can feel the damp rock, and then the smell comes to me. It’s a smell I didn’t realise that I had been missing: the smell of home.

I ran without thinking, away from the house, from Dane, from everything I knew, desperate to do something but utterly lost as to what. How could the Community do that to her? Why hadn’t I kept her safe? What sort of people live like that? The questions kept building, unanswered, as I stumbled into the park, not knowing what to do next. I slumped down on one of the benches and put my head in my hands, but that just made things worse. I had to keep moving, to keep thinking. Pacing helped a bit, but not much, as I tried to think of what I could have done
differently. The whole thing was just a nightmare.

“Maybe I should go to the police?” I muttered to myself.

Would they believe me? I had no proof of any of it. The army? Surely the Crop were a danger to the population? What if they got out? Someone
had
to be interested in that. But I didn’t even know what sort of animals we were talking about. Ones that smelled bad and made a strange slithering noise? They would laugh me out of the room. But I had to try. I had no idea where the nearest police station was so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled 999. A woman’s voice quickly answered, asking which service I wanted.

“Police, please,” I said, trying to keep my breathing steady.

There was a long moment when all I could hear was an empty clicking noise, and then there was another brisk female voice, asking for my name and mobile number. I gave her both, still trying to breathe.

“OK, Lily, tell me what’s happening.”

“It’s my friend. I think she’s about to be killed.”

“Where is your friend?”

“This is the difficult bit. She’s a member of a strange cult and she’s disobeyed their rules.”

The voice was still calm but persistent. “And where is your friend?” she repeated. “What’s the address?”

“Her cult lives in a community below the Tube network in old tunnels.”

“I see.” A hint of disbelief was creeping into her voice. “And how do they get in and out of these tunnels? Where is the entrance?”

“I don’t know!” I wailed, realising that I should have made Dane tell me.

“Keep calm, Lily. How about you tell me your friend’s name?”

“It’s Aria. I never asked her if she had a surname.”

“And what makes you think that they are going to harm her?”

“She’s going to be punished, and it’s all my fault. They’re going to feed her alive to … to …
something
. I just don’t know what.”

The woman’s voice was turning icy. “Wasting police time is a criminal offence, Lily. I’m sure you know that.”

“I’m telling the truth! There are hundreds of them and they’ve lived there for years, protected by some sort of wild animals…” My voice faltered as I realised that I was making things worse. “Please, I’m telling the truth!”

“If you can’t tell me where your friend is and how we get to her, we can’t help, can we?”

No, I mouthed silently as I pressed the button on my phone, cutting her off. You can’t.

I felt horribly sick but had no idea what to do. The only person who could help me was Dane, and he’d gone. I slumped back on the seat and pressed my hands against the old wood of the park bench, not knowing what else to do with them. My friend was in desperate trouble and
it was all my fault. I had to find a way to help her, I just had to.

“Lily? Are you OK?”

The voice behind me made me jump. I’d been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn’t seen Will approaching. He was carrying a long red lead, and a ball on a bright-yellow string, and looked worried.

“You were pacing up and down like a mad thing. What’s up?”

“It’s Aria,” I said, trying not to sob. “She’s gone.”

He frowned as he sat down next to me on the bench. Foggy continued rummaging around in the bushes nearby.

“Gone already? That’s a shame – for you, of course. But she was always going to go home sometime. What’s the big deal?”