Chapter 24

"There is no way I am walking all that way!" Patsy cried, folding her arms and refusing to move. "We'll just have to stay here for a while. Maybe we can borrow some transport or hitch a lift. They have cars here, don't they?"

"Uh, no: I don't think so!" KC rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I haven't seen any televisions or mobiles either!"

"Well there's no way we can walk all that way. It's miles!"

"You know, people did actually walk places before cars were invented!"

"They were used to it!"

KC shook his head and threw up his hands. Patsy raised an eyebrow and held her ground.

"Fine!" KC said, eventually. "Why don't you go back inside and watch the pool game. I'm going for a walk."

"Fine," said Patsy, turning back to the saloon.

"Fine," muttered KC, sticking his hands in his pockets and walking off in the opposite direction.

The town of Liberty was a small place, in fact it was more like a village or some place out of the wild west. KC stopped in his tracks and a smile spread across his face. This place was like a wild west settlement. It was quite a distance from anywhere, not just the city. That meant there would have to be some form of transport, just not the kind they were used to.

He looked around, casting his eyes over each of the buildings in turn, looking for one that matched his requirements. Finally, he saw it. Right down the end of the road. Hurrying forward, he made his way to the tall wooden building and glanced inside. There were two horses grazing peacefully from a manger. KC chuckled and turned back to the saloon. Patsy might not like the idea of riding all that way, but she was enough of a princess to see the fun in being swept away on horseback.

xxxx

"Give me one good reason why I should help you, Ellie."

"It's not for me, Dal, it's for all the people who have disappeared!" Ellie stuck a foot into the doorway before Dal had a chance to react. "There's a group of us trying to find out what's happened. We need more people, though, to help."

"And I suppose this guy Jack is one of your 'group'?"

"No," said Ellie, shaking her head. "No, he's one of the ones who's disappeared. Him and Ebony."

"Ebony?" Amber said, walking up to stand behind Dal in the doorway. "Ebony Hayes?"

"Yeah, that's her," Ellie nodded, glad to have someone take an interest in her cause. "Do you know her?"

"Yes, I do: she's in my class," said Amber, easing Dal to one side. "I thought I hadn't seen her for a while."

"She's not the only one: there are loads of university students and employees who have mysteriously vanished. We think it's linked to the power cuts, but the police say they have nothing to go on and we don't have enough people to cover the groundwork."

"Who exactly is 'we'?" Dal asked.

"So far, just me, Dee, Patch and Luke."

"Luke as in your boyfriend Luke?"

"Yes," Ellie swallowed nervously. "A friend of his has disappeared too: her name's Salene. She worked... Um... She worked in that restaurant... You know the one..."

"The one where I found out you were seeing two other guys, yeah, I remember it!" Dal cut her off sharply.

"So will you help?" Ellie asked, trying to get away from the topic of old wounds.

"Yes, we'll help," said Amber.

"Great," said Ellie. "We're meeting up at the farm tonight. Eight o'clock. Alice says she'll make sandwiches but she doesn't have time to cook a proper meal for us, so eat before you leave."

"We will," Amber nodded as Ellie retreated. "We'll see you then."

"What did you have to go and do that for?" Dal cried once Amber had closed the door.

"What?"

"Say we'll help! I don't want anything to do with her!"

"Dal, something's going on. People are in trouble and we have the opportunity to help them, or at least help find out what happened to them and stop it happening to anyone else. We have a moral duty to take that chance and do our best with it, regardless of who we're working with."

"Yeah, right! And it has nothing to do with the fact that you've been trying to get me out of the house for the past week!"

"Nothing at all!"

xxxx

"Is it much further?" Jack asked, keeping his tone as light as possible.

"A little bit," replied Jetta. "But we should be there before the light starts to fail."

"A-and there was no other way to get here but walk?"

"None whatsoever. We don't have any mechanical transport and the horses are out with our traders."

"So, so there are animals here?"

"A farm would be a boring place without them. So would a forest."

"True, true."

"And we do still feel hunger and thirst here. This place is as akin to the real world as its creators could make it."

"Yeah, I know," Jack muttered. "I was one, remember. I-if only for a small part of the process."

"So what did they tell you about the program you were writing?"

Jack winced and pulled a face. The explanation he had been given at the time sounded rather more than just far-fetched in the cold light of the truth.

"They said nothing was as complex as the human mind," he said. "We were to build a program that could mimic the mind in as many ways as possible. Only the best would be considered for use in the project."

"But the project had been running for a long time before you came along. You must have added something new. Any idea what it was?"

Jack shook his head.

"We all had our own little bits. I wrote about the mall my Dad owns a store in. Programmed it to have hidden supplies and doors and security and all the things you might want if you had to live there in a world like this."

"So they described this world to you then?"

"N-not as such, no. They told us to imagine we were the only survivors in a major, world-wide disaster and create a place to live. One that, if we were to put ourselves into the program, we could manipulate and survive in."

"But surely, then, if you programmed this mall, you would have started out there, not the forest."

"I don't know: I didn't exactly choose to be put in here. I'm guessing I don't get to choose where I start out."

"Or maybe, they just didn't use yours. Maybe it just isn't there for you to start out from."

"I-it's possible," Jack conceded, reluctantly. "I hope not though!"

"Why?" Jetta laughed. "Too much of a dent in your ego?"

"N-no, i-it's not that," Jack stammered. "I-it's just... I-it's just that's kinda where I'm headed for!"

xxxx

Ved gulped down the meagre portion of creamed rice that Tai San had shared out between them. Lex and he would have to go out and try to find more food soon. Even with only the four of them there, their supplies were beginning to run seriously low. Everyone was tired, hungry and bad-tempered and Lex was worse than anyone! They had spent the past day exploring the mall and working out where everything was. So far they had discovered a bizarre contraption that produced clean water from somewhere, although none of the taps seemed to be connected to it, limited food and electricity and an old Game Boy which usually seemed to be surgically attached to Lex.

"Maybe we should try looking around that big old hotel?" Ved suggested.

"Have you seen the crazies round there, kid?" Lex replied sharply.

"They must be there for a reason."

"Yeah to beat up anyone who goes anywhere near them!"

"We have to find more food!"

"Agreed! Just not there!"

"Fine! You make a suggestion!"

"I'm thinking!"

"I wondered what the noise was!"

xxxx

Trudy surveyed the room with an expression of delight.

"It ain't much, but it's home," said a blonde haired girl behind her. Her name was Ruby, owner of the saloon, and Slade had persuaded her to let Trudy spend a night or two in one of her many rooms.

"It's wonderful!" Trudy replied.

"It serves its purpose, brings in a few chickens, the occasional can of petrol or bottle of booze."

"I'm just sorry I don't have any of those to give you in return," Trudy laughed. "This is a palace compared to the tiny flat we used to have, and it's certainly better than a hospital bed!"

"We?" Ruby tilted her head to one side.

"Me, my husband Martin..." Trudy paused. "My little girl, Brady..."

"Maybe he'll bring her to see you sometime," said Ruby, smiling gently.

"Oh, no," said Trudy, shaking her head. "He can't. He's dead."

"I'm so sorry. Were you both in an accident or something?"

Trudy grimaced awkwardly.

"Something like that," she said, turning away to look out of the window.

"Who's looking after your little girl now then? Your family?"

"His, actually," Trudy replied without turning round. "His brother, Bray. He's her godfather and her only uncle. He dotes on her. She'll be well looked after."

"Maybe he'll bring her then," Ruby stepped forward and put her hand on Trudy's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Trudy. I didn't mean to upset you. If you ever want to talk about it, though: you know where I am."

Forcing herself to smile a little, Trudy nodded. She felt the hand leave her shoulder and listened as Ruby's footsteps receded across the room and out of the door. Only once the door had clicked shut behind the young landlady, and Trudy could no longer hear her footsteps, did she let the tears burst forth. The comfort and warmth of the soft bed was lost on her as she curled up into a ball and cried herself to sleep.