"The Chosen (part one)" by Bethan Jones

It was darker than I expected and colder.  The moon was covered by clouds and there was a cold breeze.  I zipped my jacket right up to my chin and continued at a fast walk down the path towards the woods.  I checked my watch just to be sure; ten to midnight.  If my parents woke up now I was completely screwed.  My mobile rang, the noise muffled by my jacket but still loud enough to hear in the dead silence of the woods.  It was Bryony, no surprises there.  I answered in a whisper.

            “Yeah?”

            “Where are you, we’re all waiting?”

“I know, sorry, my dad went to bed late.”

“How far away from you?”

“A long way, but I’ll be there in a minute!”

“Wayne said not to risk it remember!”

“Since when did I ever listen to what Wayne says?”

I ended the call before Bryony could complain and headed into the darkest part of the wood.  I stared up at what little of the sky I could see through the branches.  The solid weight of the bracelet round my wrist made me feel a little better.  I had intended to fly all along.  I took another deep breath and visualised my self becoming weightless.  I felt my feet leave the floor and as soon as I was completely in control I zoomed up towards the sky.

No matter how many times I do it I will never get used to the thrill of flying.  You want to flap your arms or try and swim through the air or something, but all you need to do is picture yourself flying and it just happens.  It almost makes the danger worthwhile.  Almost.  I soared up through the branches and started winging my way north at full speed.  The woods shot by beneath me, followed by the main road then woods again.  At last on the edge of the trees what looked like an abandoned factory came into view.

Everything about the outside of the building was derelict and rusty.  The roof looked like it might cave in at any moment; the abandoned machinery in the yard had been stripped down and there were patches of oil everywhere.  I landed in the yard and headed for the main building completely ignoring the mess.  The buildings had once belonged to a processing plant that had been closed down because it was so far from anywhere.  The road was still in use but it was very rare to see any cars.  However the main building had a different use.

I opened a rusting side door and walked inside.  The distant whirr of air conditioning could be heard above the murmur of voices.  It was like walking into the 23rd century.  Everywhere you looked there were computer screens, complicated bits of technology and little oddities that made the whole place feel like something out of a cartoon.  In the centre of the room was a worn couch and small TV screen, around the outsides were banks of computers and behind a screen in one corner was a bed.

Sitting on the couch sipping a can of coke and looking half asleep, was Bryony.  Her short brown hair was rumpled like she had just got out of bed, which she probably had.  Standing behind her leaning on the back of the couch was a tall willowy girl with long blonde hair.  As always Emma looked picture perfect.  In her hand she held what looked like a modern walkie-talkie.

A voice came through the speaker sounding surprising clear.

“Sound any better?”

“Much.”  Emma replied, waving at me to show she had noticed my arrival.  “What did you do to it?”

“Banged it on the wall.  We’re coming back through.”

“Ok”

Emma put down the walkie-talkie and waved her hand at the small fridge behind the TV.

“Need a drink?”

“Caffeine would be good!”  I muttered walking over to it and extracting a coke.

The door to the next room opened and Wayne, Aimee and Bex appeared.  Where most of us still looked half asleep Bex looked as happy as if she had just got full nights sleep.  She grinned at me and headed straight over to the couch, jumping over the back and landing lightly next to Bryony, who hurriedly put her hand over the top of the coke can to stop it spilling.  Wayne and Aimee followed more slowly, Aimee also holding a can of fizzy drink. 

“About time!”  Aimee said shooting me an indignant look.  “Some of us have to get up in the morning!”

“So do I!”  I said indignantly.

“Bethan, your Saturday morning starts at about 10:30!  I have to be up, dressed and ready to go by 7:00.”

“I got here didn’t I?”

Wayne raised his eyebrows slightly and shot me a look which said I was going to be in trouble later.  He knew I’d cheated.

“Let’s get started then!”  He said pulling over a chair.                     

We all knew what we had to do it was just the doing it that was going to be interesting.  Emma handed out versions of the walkie-talkie things to all of us.  They were about the size of an mp3 player and looked like something out of Start Trek.  Bryony and I exchanged looks before clipping them on to our shirts.

We were all dressed in black and wore soft soled shoes.  We couldn’t have looked more like cat burglars if we tried!  Wayne ran through the mission briefing again.  I was starting to feel like I was in the army.

“Has everyone got it?”  Wayne asked staring round at us as though daring us to say no.  We all nodded.

“Any questions?

Aimee raised her hand as though she was in school.  Wayne gave her a look that could have killed and she put it down again.

“What is it Aimee?”

“Who’s driving?”

The old jeep parked round the back of the building had seen better days.  The tyres were worn, the paint scratched and faded, but it still worked.  The seats inside were ripped and springs stuck out at odd angles.  Emma gave one of the doors a hard jerk to get it open and then stood aside to let everyone in.  We all just looked at each other for a minute then Bex sighed and climbed in.  Reluctantly I followed, then Emma and finally Bryony squished in the back.  Giving us smug looks Aimee and Wayne climbed into the front – Aimee was driving.

It took us a good 40 minutes to reach the outskirts of London.  The jeep really was on its last legs and it skidded round the corners with a worrying screech of tyres.  In the back we were all jolted to pieces and even Wayne was holding on for dear life.  At last we spun round one last corner and the building came into view.  It looked like any other block of flats or offices.  The jeep shot past then swung into a small backstreet and jerked to a stop.

For a minute we all just sat there, trying to slow our breathing.  Aimee turned round and grinned at us.

“I told you I’d been practicing!”

“On what?  Bumper cars?”

“Playstation game.”

“That’s it, next time Bex is driving!”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re calm and safe and…!”

“Quiet.  Someone’s coming”

We all fell silent and stared out of the car windows into the gloomy road.  After a few minutes we all relaxed again.

“There’s no one there.”

“I know.”  Wayne said with a shrug as he opened his car door.  “I just wanted you all to shut up!”