39. Encounter

Valley Park

Emilie Turner was finding life in Valley Park difficult to adjust to. She’d been happy in The Cliffs, the place she’d lived all her life, but then her stupid mother had to ruin it all by changeing jobs, and here they were, at the far edges of Beacon, with the rest of their family and friends a three-hour shuttle ride away.

The lake at the furthest edge of the community was the one place she felt happy here. You could fish here – she still had fond memories of the freshwater fishing they had done in The Lakes when she was younger – and it was a great place for their dog, Rocky, to run around. It was always quiet as well, which meant it was a safe place for Emilie to think.

And a safe place for her to cry. She nuzzled Rocky and let her tears fall into his soft warm fur. He was panting underneath her, eager to run off and play. She sniffed, took a deep breath and wiped her eyes.

‘Go on boy. Off you go’.

She watched him scamper around, freely. He was so happy here, and her mum and dad seemed much happier too. Even David was adjusting well to his new school and making lots of new friends.

Why couldn’t she be happy too? Why couldn’t she see whatever it was the rest of her family saw in this place. All she could think about were the people she missed – her sister and brother, her nephews, her friends…

…Ivan…

‘Penny for them?’

Startled at the voice behind her, Emilie sprung to her feet.

‘What?’

‘Penny for them. Penny for your thoughts’.

‘What does that mean?’

‘I don’t know really’, the boy laughed, ‘it’s something my mum says. It’s an old world saying I think’.

‘You’re the new girl, aren’t you?’

Emilie wasn’t sure whether to feel unnerved or flattered by this.

‘Yeah, been here a few weeks now. We came from The Cliffs’.

‘Ah, The Cliffs. Lovely place. So, you been cliff-walking yet?’

It was a bone of contention for Emilie that she hadn’t been allowed to go cliff-walking back home – back in The Cliffs, she had to stop thinking of it as home now – as she was under fourteen. And now she was fourteen, she was living here. She shook her head, trying to blink back the tears threatening to form.

‘But you’re old enough, right?’

‘Yeah, fourteen. But only just. You?’

‘Well, we’ll have to go cliff-walking sometime. I’ll be sixteen soon, and then I’ll have a few more privileges’.

I won’t, Emilie thought, but bit her lip.

‘Tyler, by the way. Tyler Healy.

Emilie regarded this Tyler Healy for the first time. He was a little taller than her, maybe a year or two older than her. And drop dead gorgeous.

‘Emilie Turner’.

‘And who’s this then? Hello boy’.

Rocky was sniffing at Tyler enthusiastically, pleased to have made a new friend.

‘Rocky’.

‘Well hey Rocky, nice to meet you’. Tyler turned back to Emilie.

‘Rocky, that’s an old world name, isn’t it?’

Emilie shrugged. ‘I dunno’.

‘Sure it is. Your parents are old-worlders?’ Seeing Emilie’s blank face, Tyler said ‘you know, they’re bred’.

‘Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah they are’.

‘Mine too’.

‘You sure seem to know a lot about the old world, Tyler’.

‘You don’t?’

‘Not really’.

Jane and Michael rarely talked about it, and although they’d had a little education about it in school, it was all hazy to Emilie, just a story really.

‘But one day we’ll be joined to them. Aren’t you curious? I want to live there one day, I want to be one of the ambassadors. What about you?’

‘I dunno. I haven’t really thought about it much. I want to work with animals’.

‘Well, Emilie Turner, I think you’ll be very good at that, won’t she Rocky boy?’

Emilie blushed.

‘Say, Emilie. What are you doing tonight?’

‘Tonight?’

‘Yeah, you want to see something special?’

‘But I can’t be out late’.

‘Me neither. Technically. But I’ve never been caught yet, so I don’t see why tonight would be any different’.

‘What about your parents?’

‘They sleep soundly. Never hear a thing. I have a ground-floor room, big windows, it’s easy’.

‘What about the cameras?’

‘I don’t know. But I do know I’ve never been caught. So, Emilie, what do you say – meet me here at 12?’

‘OK’.

Emilie sounded hesitant. She was so afraid of being caught, of the punishment that might ensue – but she saw Tyler beaming at her, wearing a grin of confidence, more confidence than she’d ever seen in another person, and she knew she wanted to find out what he had in store. For the first time since moving here, Valley Park seemed like an interesting prospect. She beamed at him, this time more assured: ‘OK. 12 it is’.

The hours until it was time to come out had passed so slowly. It had been agony waiting until 11 when she heard her parents click off the lights and head to bed, and the next hour had passed so slowly, every second feeling like an hour as Emilie watched her bedside clock pass the time. But eventually it had been time. She’d slung up her window and eased herself out – then softly, she’d padded across the lawn, down the road and onwards, her heart pounding all the time, and now she was here, she found her heart pounding even more – she felt like she did when she was with Ivan – except more so because Tyler was older, he was newer, he was unfamiliar, and there was something about the thought of the adventures he might lead her into that sent a shiver up her spine.

He was waiting for her already.

‘You made it’.

‘Of course’.

As she stood in front of him, she felt a wave of heat shoot through her body like electricity.

‘Ready?’ Tyler asked and squeezed her hand. Emilie felt her whole body tingle at his touch. He led her towards the rocks at the side of the lake, where she saw, for the first time, a cave mouth.

And as they entered the cave, Emilie knew she was embarking on the biggest adventure of her life so far.

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