Jackson, Deborah: Heaven's Children (Earth Totem)

When Anna first approached her, she should have told Andrea, warned them. Everything she wished for must have happened for all the right reasons. They were the only family she knew. She heard them following her, pleased that she’d done something right. Whatever happened now, she knew she still had to face Andrea and the thought of it made her lose her footing. Clumps of grass and stones crumbled behind her, and she heard a gasp of breath.

‘Watch it, you idiot!’ Seth growled.

‘Seth!’ Nettles scolded.

‘Take it slow Amber; feel if the rocks are secure first before pulling on it. Do you see the ridge above you? Wait for us there.’ Amber almost screamed with joy at the normality of Nettles’ voice.

‘Okay,’ she called back. She felt a sudden surge of energy pushing towards the small depression and sat down triumphantly, looking in the direction of Seth and Nettles. They were close by and although Nettles didn’t say anything else for a while, she seemed calmer. Roots from the trees at the top spread out teasingly. They were so close.

‘Y’know, this would be a good time to test your totem.’ Nettles whispered to Seth. The words seem to hang in the air, and even Amber looked at her as if she were crazed.

Why did she have to bring that up now?

She heard Seth grunt, and then shake his head.

‘I can’t do it, not yet.’ He peered round Nettles to look pointedly at Amber. ‘It feels tainted.’ Amber reddened at the way he emphasised the last word and instinctively leaned back. At least he wasn’t pushing or threatening to kill me, she thought miserably. In the distance, they could make out the roof of the fortress and, until now, never realised how large and imposing it was.

‘Can you see anything?’ Nettles asked nobody in particular.

‘Nope, just the prison. I don’t get it. Why turn off the alarms?’ He gave them a sideways glance before picking up a rock and tossing it down.

‘I mean, why go to all that trouble of catching us and then not chase us? Jeezus, I’m more confused now than I was in the first place.

Amber breathed out loudly, and they both turned towards her.

‘You okay?’ Nettles frowned. Amber looked pale and even though she nodded, her hands were trembling. Instinct told her Amber was holding something back.

‘What’s wrong? What aren’t you telling us?’ she asked, her voice rising slightly, but enough to make Amber start nibbling at her nails.

‘Amber, no more games. If there’s something we need to know – spit it out.’ Her voice was like iron now. Seth groaned next to her, shaking his head.

‘Jeezus, I told you, didn’t I tell you?’

Nettles dug him in the ribs.

‘Look at me Amber. Is there anything else we should know?’

‘They’re back; those weather things are back.’ Amber blurted pointing back at the fortress.

Nettles shivered. ‘What are those things anyway?’

‘They control the weather. That’s what this has all been about, control.’ Amber shifted her knees up again, wincing as the dried blood on her knee broke.

‘I still don’t get it.’ Seth said, his voice whining. ‘What did that have to do with us?’

‘Nothing’ Amber felt a sense of shame then. She never really understood either. Now, being here in the outside, smelling fresh air, everything was starting to make sense. The snippets of conversation; the whispers when they thought no-one was listening.

Nettles looked at her evenly. ‘Amber, you didn’t answer my question. Is there anything else we need to know?’

Nettles felt like hitting her when she concentrated on her knee again, and breathed deeply.

‘Amber?’

She didn’t look up and Amber gritted her teeth, breathing in loudly. She almost missed the soft voice of Amber.

‘Maybe…it might be nothing but I think I know where Anna has gone with all of us here and no-one there.’ Her voice dropped to a raspy whisper.

Seth and Nettle froze.

‘Eden. They talked about creating a new Eden.’ She mumbled. Nettles stared at her, the enormity of her statement taking its time to sink in.

‘What? Eden? You mean Adam and Eve stuff?’

Seth gave a weak laugh.

‘Amber, now you’ve seriously lost it.’

‘Weather, Eden, Totems – they’ve been creating an ark but who is Adam and Eve?’ She was thinking aloud, trying to make sense of it herself, even though part of her felt like she was letting her angel down.

Only now, did she comprehend the last few days, before all of this had happened. The fortress had been strangely empty and some of the stronger trancers, the ones that have been turned or followed willingly, were gone. She never seriously thought about it until now – the ark. Where is this place? She looked at the fortress in panic, a look that didn’t go unnoticed by Nettles.

‘Amber, you have to tell us.’ Nettles pleaded, but her voice was drowned by the sudden crack of thunder followed by a peel of blue lightning.

It made them all jump, especially Amber who hid her head between her knees.

‘Amber – tell us, please.’ Nettles pleaded. She crouched beside her and Amber visibly paled. Their plan, her angel and Anna’s, were bigger than everyone thought.

‘Forget about her, we have to get out of here,’ Seth’s voice faded against another deafening roll of thunder. He scrambled up the next incline and wedged his feet under a root. No-one had noticed the sudden change in weather and when lightning hit a nearby tree, they all dived for cover. Sheets of rain fell on them, and it wasn’t long before they fell, the earth beneath them crumbling.

‘It’s going to give way.’ Seth shouted scrambling upwards. He turned back towards Nettles holding out one hand. Sheets of rain slashed at their skin, and Amber felt herself slip further down. All it took was one wrong step and she would be history.

‘Form a chain. Grab my hand,’ Seth screamed, his hand flailing desperately for Nettles hand. She grabbed his and turned towards Amber, but the distance was too far.

‘Try and get closer.’ she shouted, but Amber stared past her in horror as another flash of lightning split a tree. Within minutes, the three of them were engulfed in branches and leaves. The mudslide carried them back down the hill towards the outcrop of trees and the field surrounding Harp headquarters. Amber choked, swallowing mud and tried to clamber upwards fighting for air. As her throat expanded, the mud wedged itself further in, clogging her throat and airways. She scratched her neck, trying to push it out and was on the point of blacking out, when something hard hit her from behind. The clogged mud flew out of her mouth and so did everything from her stomach. Gasping for breath Amber blinked in the darkness, pawing desperately.

She felt a shoe and pulled on it. It came loose. She sobbed then. Not knowing whose it was, made it worse somehow. She pushed both hands round the perimeter, using one twig that stuck out as a point of reference. When her hands had turned the circumference, she realised then that she was in a mud coffin. How deep she was, she didn’t know, but apart from the crackling of her shallow breathing, everything was silent. The lack of air made her weak, and the last thoughts as she fell into unconsciousness were of her angel smiling at her.

Back at the cabin, Andrea, Claudine and Caro made beds for those recovering. The Ecos had tried to bring back most of the frozen group. Their pain was etched on their faces. Elula, one of the leaders, told him that they last saw Amber with two others. Judging by their description, it was Seth and Nettles. Hawk frowned, wondering why it was taking so long to find them and sensed them a message. The flow of mumbled conversation that echoed around the cabin started to quieten down as some disappeared. Only Hawk remained quiet, unmoving, near the window watching the sheets of rain. His face was guarded, and Andrea tapped his shoulder.