The reinforced Perspex and metal casing that houses the brain jolts and shudders violently as we are rocked by another explosion above us.
Kade's mom looks at her brain and I suddenly realize just how vulnerable she is and more importantly how vulnerable we would be trying to escape with it. Even the dummy brain back in Chicago required considerable effort to transport it.
She's about to speak but another sound from above interrupts her, "Helicopters and jets. I have only known them deploy their fleet once, when three followers escaped. They were captured after only twenty minutes of freedom. Thankfully, you have fly-packs, you're all armed and with Tony's exceptional fire arm skills you're at a distinct advantage to those unfortunate three," she says this with an up beat, optimistic lift in her voice.
Kade moves towards the brain, looking it over and I guess he's figuring out ways to bring it with us.
Noticing his distraction his mom moves closer to me and drops her voice to a whisper, "Tanya, I have to place a burden on you, but it is one I'm confident you can carry." She looks over at Kade, and when she sees he's totally immersed, she moves even closer, "You are their guide. You have escaped here once before, you can do it again. I know you journeyed back here from Chicago, but that journey was assisted. The journey back to Chicago will be like your first, furtive escape. You have to lead and they will follow. Do you remember the route you took?" She asks.
I cast my mind back to the early, dark days of my story. The Kade-Less days when I had no one to share my fears with. I recall my daily fitness regime. The jogs with my security guards: the pretty little village, the shop in which my mother and father duped me.
Back then I was fuelled by a frantic need to save myself. And now that feeling is multiplied ten fold by a desire to save my loved ones - my family.
I look reassuringly at Kade's mom, "Yes, I remember," I say. She smiles, appreciatively, "Just one more thing, Tanya," she says. "What's that?" I ask. Her eyes begin to fill again as she looks back at Kade and then me, "Look after my boy for me," she whispers.
......
Kade is seeped in sadness, but realistically resigned as we amble back to the others, "We won't make it with her brain, it's not logistically possible," he says, rubbing his face vigorously in a vain attempt to discard his pain.
......
Back in the living area, Kade takes a deep breath and composes himself, "Kelly, Troy, can you go seem mom, by her brain," he says. Both aware of the nature of this meeting, they pass us, heads bowed in sorrowful silence.
......
"Can I give you both a hug?" I know that hugs help when you are given bad news," says Tony. When we both smile and nod, he wraps his arms around us both and pulls us into him. And in his brotherly embrace, strong with protection and unconditional love, I vow to ensure we all escape this place and leave its toxicity behind.
......
Kelly looks drained of all emotion when she returns. Her face, nestled on Troy's face is kind of blank.
My parents offer no emotive words or gestures of support. They are busy, placing passports, documents and considerable wads of cash into our individual fly-packs.
My mother catches my eye as she stuffs cash into a fly-pack, "We must flee at first light," she says, emphatically.
While Kade and Kelly comfort each other I sit next to my mother while she continues working, "Do you know what Lucinda is, like how could they revive her like that?" I ask.
There is a rationale detachment in her response as she continues to check documents, "During our time here, they perfected the full body transplant. They can graft a living person's head onto a donor body. Clearly, Lucinda still had brain function, so they gave her a new body. Lucinda, The Nanny, the imps, all were used to perfect their transplantation experimentation."
She puts a final batch of documents into a fly-pack then looks at me, "They turn Science Fiction into Science Fact. I believe The Surgeon also developed a God Complex..."
.... Another explosion from above sends reverberations throughout the hideout.
Once settled my mother looks upwards, the worry etching deeper on her face, "And clearly they can't risk us exposing their exploits by allowing escape." She takes my hand, "There is a good chance we may not make it. Be prepared for death my child," she says, squeezing my hand.
A light flashes in my eye and I look down at my engagement ring, glinting in the dim light. The sight of it floods me with determination and I stare steely eyed at my mother's worried face, "We'll be leaving this place alive - trust me!" I say, assertively.
BOOM! Another explosion blasts above - "They're getting closer!" Hollers Lucindy, safely shackled out of harms way. My mother shakes her head, "You know, I truly believe she's mad, not bad," she says this with a definite hint of something like support for Lucindy.
I won't allow any such feelings for her enter my head. No, she's mad and bad and that's the way it will stay until I'm proven otherwise.
......
Kade wakes me with a shoulder shake and I jolt up!
He kisses my cheek, "I didn't mean to make you jump," he whispers, embracing me, "let's have five minutes holding each other," he says. I'm wide-awake, distracted and impatient, "We don't have time..."
..."Shhhh, five minutes - just hold me, Tan. I want silent peace, for five minutes," he says, wrapping his arms around me and rocking me, gently.
.....
But we barely get three minutes of bliss, because such a state doesn't exist in this place - "IS LUCINDY IN HERE?" Blasts Troy, exploding into the sleeping area like a human missile.
My blood runs cold and my body stiffens as her voice returns to me, "Watch your backs," she threatened, back in The Cryogenic Centre.
Troy throws his torchlight around the room, "She has to be in here," he shouts, whipping bedclothes from beds in a barely controlled frenzy.
Slowly, I attempt to pull away from Kade - but I can't.
I'm stuck!
Troy's torchlight searches out a low level sniggering sound. I follow the light and freeze as it illuminates a huddled figure in the corner.
I attempt to move again, but can't.
We're stuck!
Troy's voice lifts, "I knew you couldn't have got very far, although how you escaped those shackles, I'll never know. Stand up Lucindy, we need to get going," he says, satisfaction in his voice.
There's a pause before Troy exclaims, "Kelvin, it's you," disappointment returning to his voice.
My head shoots up and I glance over, "It's Kelvin, 'sniveling' in the corner."
I gently elbow Kade, "Can you move?" I ask.
"Yep, course I can," he says, rolling onto his back and stretching his arms out.
"I thought she'd escaped and stitched us together," I explain, relief rushing through me.
Kade chuckles, I wondered why you froze all of a sudden," he says, getting out of bed and ruffling his hair and rubbing the sleep from his face.
Troy's light continues to search every crevice of the room, "She may not have stitched you together; I don't know how she's managed it, but she's escaped," he says, concerned.
......
We are all assembled in the living area, dressed in our protective flying gear.
Kelly managed to console little Kelvin after his upset about leaving his wife's brain behind and now he is bouncy and buoyant as Tony puts baby Belinda in a sling and secures her tightly to Kelvin's chest - he's ready for his big adventure.
My mother is a mix of sad and suspicious, "I do not know how she could have untied the ropes herself," she says, looking at us all individually, for signs of guilt. None of us show it.
I can't imagine how she escaped, either. I wondered whether she coerced Tony into freeing her during the night while we all slept. But then I also know Tony cannot lie.
But - I don't want to think of her. I'm happy she's gone. Now it's our turn to flee this place.
......
Tony is first to fly up through the open trap door. I'm next.
Looking up, through my rotors, I can see that the sun is beginning to rise behind a grey sky. Once the rotors are fully engaged I rise upwards and welcome the blast of fresh morning air that greets me.
"That was fantastic, flying gives a great feeling of freedom," says Tony, as his feet gently touch back down.
Once we're all assembled my father instructs that we fly in the same configuration in which we marched, with one exception: I lead.
......
I rise up into the steely metal canvas of sky; followed by: Tony, Kade, Troy, Kelly, my mother, Kelvin and baby Belinda, and finally my father.
Our route will take us over The Forever Garden and sacrificial Centre, onwards to The Change Range then to the village, where we will land and change into our civilian clothes and make our way via public transport to the small local airport. From there, we'll fly to the international airport where our freedom awaits.
At least, that's the optimistic theory. We are sure it will not be that easy, and the obstacles: plenty.
......
We slither through the sky like a snake searching stealth like for safety and freedom.
......
Occasionally I look back to see Tony, his rifle outstretched and ready to take down any attacking craft.
As we travel quietly onwards, I find myself unnerved by the fact we have not yet been attacked. Our journey this far has not even been disturbed by a single imp.
This is too easy.
I look back and strain to catch Kade's eye, but no, I can't see past Tony.
......
The familiar family of trees that surround The Forever Garden comes into view. "Brace yourself, we are approaching highly dangerous territory!" Shouts my father from behind.
The smell of smoke and soot hits me hard, stinging my eyes.
......
I'm the first over the tall trees and see it - the devastation.
All that remains of The Forever Garden is sporadic smoking embers. It is a smoldering, desolate, devastated ground.
"Descend!" Shouts my father. I hear the bewilderment in his command.
......
The ground is still hot beneath our feet. The only sound is the pop and crackle of dying embers.
"They've bombed it into obliteration," says Kade, looking around in astonishment. He turns and points toward nothing, "The Twin's glass platform used to be over there, and The Sacrificial Sanctuary." He shakes his head, in disbelief - "They've razed it all to the ground." He looks at my parents, "Why would they do this?"
My parents are as shell shocked as the ground we stand in. My mother doesn't answer; instead she points and says, "Look there." She reaches out her hand, "Come to me my child," she gestures.
It's the familiar, long and flowing figure of Lucindy. Her billowing dress has been blackened by soot and she floats toward us like a ghostly figure in mourning.
Little Kelvin with Baby Belinda, huddles into Kelly who puts a protective arm around them both. Troy, in turn, puts his arm around Kelly.
As Lucindy glides closer, Kade stands next to me in a show of togetherness and solidarity.
We stand in this crackling, desecrated space and watch as the forlorn figure of Lucindy glides ever closer.
It's Tony, a voice of finely tuned logic that answers Kade's question, "Their bombs were not seeking us. They were erasing their wrong-doing."
But his answer still begs the question: why?
......
Lucindy's face is smudged with make-up and soot. She stares at us and raises her left arm. Her right hand grasps her raised arm and she twists it violently creating a cracking sound.
Her face shows no emotion as she removes her left arm and trails it on the floor, "All my limbs are removable, only my torso and head are really me, human."
I'm hit with a slap of sympathy for her - she's another of their experimental guinee pigs.
She uses her disembodied, prosthetic arm like a stick, swinging it across the smoldering ground, until the hand scoops up a mound of embers. Holding the arm out and allowing the scorched earth to fall through the fingers, she says, "I had to come when the bombing stopped. This was my childhood home. Happy times were had here, with my Twin, The Nanny and all our baby tree imps." There is a sincere softness and sense of loss in her voice.
She snaps the highly realistic, prosthetic arm back into place and looks around, "The Forever Garden is no more. Removed from the world." She smiles at us all, knowingly, "Without evidence of wrong-doing - no one will believe you."
My mother steps forward, "Lucindy, where is The Surgeon and all her people?" She asks.
Lucindy doesn't look back at us, just stares, trance like into an empty distance, "They are returning to Chicago - because your good people are coming here..."