Alpha Force: Untouchable Part 3

A vehicle pulled up under the arc lights. A couple of figures got out and then it drove off. A door opened and a red light appeared briefly. The sound changed, as if the treble had suddenly been turned up on a hi-fi. Music: fast, tinkly synths. The door closed again and it had gone.

'It's a rave,' said Hex.

Paulo groaned. 'Don't say we've got to haul her out. I'm too young to be a party p.o.o.per.'

'Let's look at this logically,' said Amber. 'She's fourteen. What would her parents say if they knew she was going to a rave?'

Alex took out a small torch and they began to walk towards the entrance.

'You know those horrible prefects who are always spoiling your fun, telling you off for running in corridors?' said Li. 'I feel like that.'

'We've got to get her out,' said Alex. 'She's not even old enough to go into pubs and buy drinks. We're supposed to be looking after her.' He grimaced. 'I sound so square.'

At the entrance was a circle of people waiting to pay. Their faces were painted with glitter and they wore strings of fluorescent beads around their necks and backpacks with cartoon characters. One by one they put their hands to their mouths and swallowed, then pa.s.sed around a bottle of water. Amber caught a glimpse of lips closing around a white pill.

She leaned across to the others. 'There are drugs here we've got to get her out.'

Hex looked at her. 'Stop jigging like that.'

Amber hadn't realized she was moving in time to the music. She nudged him. 'Go on, loosen up a bit.' He glared at her.

The group in front of them was now being searched by a pair of burly figures in black. Li looked down at her cut-off jeans and hiking boots. 'I think we're a bit underdressed. Do you think they'll let us in?'

Alex felt the urge to laugh. After all the dangerous things he'd done this was the first time he'd been searched for a weapon on the way into a party. He was glad he'd left his knife at the hostel.

The music was cras.h.i.+ngly loud, like overhead thunder. A strobe light threw blue-white flashes around the cavernous room. The air smelled of sweat and warm bodies. The ravers carried glow sticks fluorescent tubes swinging them in patterns as they danced.

Paulo stopped and stared. The last time he'd seen so many glow sticks was when they had been trapped by an earthquake in Belize during a night of dust, rubble and death. Seeing a ma.s.s of writhing bodies drawing circles with them in a darkened railway tunnel was like an eerie flashback. He looked at Li and caught her eye.

She mouthed at him. 'Deja vu.'

He nodded.

It was impossible to talk. Alex turned to the others and they used hand signals. They'd split up and search the room.

Hex and Amber made for the crowd of gyrating bodies. Amber was definitely grooving, an enormous smile on her face. Any moment, thought Hex, she would explode like a dervish and be lost in the ma.s.s of bodies. He followed, and before he knew it he was taking steps in the same rhythm. Everywhere were these glow sticks, like radioactive bars of candy. He looked at the girls carefully, at the swinging ponytails, the glittery faces.

Alex picked his way to a quieter area, where people sat cross-legged on the floor, drinking water, sucking lollipops. He saw a pet.i.te figure sitting with her back towards him and touched her on the shoulder. She turned round and offered him a bracelet made of Dolly Mixtures. It wasn't Tiff. Alex shook his head and moved on.

At the other end of the room he ran into Li. She looked back and pointed at Paulo, who was moving with a kind of speeded-up salsa step around a group of girls.

Li had attracted some attention. A guy in baggy jeans with a chain hanging out of his pocket was offering her a bottle of water and putting his arm around her. She was clearly rejecting him but the guy persisted. If he went much further, thought Alex, Li might have to do something rather unfriendly.

Alex went up to her and grabbed the bottle. Li put her arm around him and gave his waist a squeeze. Alex nodded at the guy and took a swig of water. The guy looked annoyed. Still, he got the message and went away.

Li mouthed a word at Alex. 'Tiff?'

Alex shook his head.

A wave of artificial smoke began to creep through the crowd, lit up in spots by the glow sticks and strobes. That would make it even more difficult to see who was there. Paulo emerged from the glowing fog like an apparition. He was closely followed by an emphatically grooving Amber and a jigging Hex.

Alex looked at them enquiringly. They shook their heads. He gave another hand signal: go round again; split up.

Again they disappeared into the flas.h.i.+ng fog. Through the throng of bodies, in a strict search pattern, pus.h.i.+ng past girls wearing b.u.t.terfly wings, inspecting their glittery faces.

So many people; how long would they have to search?

Alex suddenly felt as if he'd closed his eyes for a minute and been rebooted, like a computer. What was he doing? He looked at the people dancing around him, their eyes half-closed. He'd spoken to that girl with the pigtails, the girl next to her with the gla.s.ses... Had he been there for days? No, it felt like he'd just arrived.

It was all familiar, but nothing was the same. With all these glow sticks it was like being back in Belize. All these bodies... but here there were far more of them. The faces around him turned into a group of schoolchildren and teachers, the people they'd been trapped with during the earthquake. Some of them were dead before he even found them; some of them died before he could get them out. Hex had been lost for hours that night. The relentless pulse of the music became like a sinister countdown. And yet all these people were staying here, dancing, the strobe picking out one after another like a hand of fate. Get out Get out, he wanted to scream to them. It's not safe. You're all going to die It's not safe. You're all going to die.

Alex leaned against the rough brick walls and breathed deeply. What was happening to him?

Hex came towards him, a pink glow stick in his hand. It was so good to see him alive. Alex wanted to hug him, but then Paulo appeared with Tiff. She was trudging along as usual, a white circular glow stick pulled down over her head like a fallen halo.

Get a grip, Alex told himself. Get some air Get some air. Gratefully, he led the way to the exit. As the door closed and cut off the music the cold air hit him like a shower and he saw that the others were out there too.

'Are you OK, Alex?' asked Li. 'You look a bit weird.'

Alex nodded. 'It was hot in there. I'm fine.'

Tiff was sticking next to Paulo, her mouth chewing. Aside from that her expression was blank, as though she was trying to mentally withdraw. With the glitter on her face and the pink streaks in her hair, she looked like a mannequin. Paulo looked closely at her did she seem normal? Had she taken something? She stared back at him. He decided she was just her usual sulky self. He had been intending to give her a piece of his mind but if he said anything he'd just get that stony stare. At least she was coming without an argument.

At last the hostel was quiet. Tiff had gone to her room in silence. That was the only time she made any kind of noise when she slammed the door. She refused to answer their questions about where she had found out about the rave.

The others went to bed but Alex's nerves were like live wires. He got dressed and went outside, but instead of absorbing the stillness of the moors, he couldn't keep still.

He patted his belt for his survival tin, which he carried everywhere. It contained an a.s.sortment of useful kit such as dry kindling and waterproof matches. What he was looking for was the tiny torch and the b.u.t.ton compa.s.s. He replaced the lid and fastened it with waterproof tape. In his other pocket was his mobile. Now he could get moving.

He jogged down the drive and onto the moors. He could hear so many sounds: the wind blowing in the heather like a mini-gale; a lone car in the distance, its engine impossibly loud; the piercing cries of owls out hunting. His breathing deepened into his running rhythm and he felt better. Underfoot he felt rocks and springy turf and rocks. He ran, on and on.

A freak gust of wind brought a sound to him like the deep booming ba.s.s of the music in the rave. With it came images of smoke and glow sticks. The smoke turned into falling rubble, then rock dust, the glow sticks scattered like broken toys. The faces became still and stared at him, their dead eyes saying, Why did I die? Why did I die?

Alex slowed to a walk. He put his hands over his eyes, but the images were inside his head; they wouldn't go away. 'We couldn't save you all,' he whispered. 'We did all we could.'

Ahead of him was a lighted window. He had come to a building. It was golden and welcoming, a normal-looking thing. Maybe the light would chase these demons away. He stumbled towards it and peered in.

Two men were inside. Their mouths and noses were covered by green surgical masks. Their hands were bleached to corpse paleness by rubber gloves. One of the masks was moving, talking quietly to the other. There was blood spattered on them, and on the gloves. It was like the masks had taken over their faces, dissolved their lips. The other mask talked. It sounded like a low rumble, like gurgling blood. When the man took the mask off his mouth would be a bloodied hole.

Alex gasped and flattened himself against the wall, looking out into the night, breathing hard. By his feet, in the pool of light from the window, was something dark and quivering. He looked at it. Grey-pink snakes glistened in the shadows. They slithered in a heap, tying themselves in endless knots. Suddenly they made a high, piercing noise like a squeal of feedback. Beside them, a heart the size of a baby's fist beat on the rocky ground with a deep, heavy throb. As the snakes writhed and squealed Alex saw other fleshy items the missing lips of the men inside. He glimpsed something round with an edging of white. It was worse than he thought. The men's eyes were starting to dissolve too and were being discarded out here.

Once the men had been absorbed, the masks might come and get him too. Alex stumbled away.

6.

LONG N NIGHT.

Hex closed the bathroom door and went back to his bedroom. That's funny, he thought. I didn't leave the light on.

Suddenly he was ambushed. He caught a glimpse of Alex's blond hair, then he was engulfed in strong arms. Hex prepared to break free until he realized this wasn't a judo hold. It was a hug.

'Mate,' said Alex, 'it is so good to see you alive.'

Hex froze. Something was really, really wrong. Alex wasn't the touchy-feely type. That sort of thing made Hex cringe too. It was why he liked computers so much. They did what you asked; no complicated stuff.

He disengaged himself from Alex's hug and held him at arm's length. 'Alex, what's happened?'

His friend's expression didn't look normal.

'Alex,' said Hex firmly, 'look at me.'

'You're alive,' said Alex, and made to hug him again.

Hex dodged and looked at Alex's eyes. The pupils were wide black holes and the eyes were flickering from side to side. He was grinding his teeth together.

'Alex, did you take anything at the rave?'

Something seemed to click in Alex's brain. For a moment he looked lucid. 'I am having,' he said, 'the most horrible trip.'

That cold sensation spread all over Hex's body again. They'd all been drinking water at the rave had Alex's been spiked? And with what? It was the only explanation. Hex didn't know much about recreational drugs but he knew that they tended to enhance whatever was going on in your head. If you were worried, a drug would make you pathologically paranoid.

He steered Alex to the bed. 'Sit down. Stay there, I'm going to help you.'

Alex obeyed, like a child.

Hex knew he had to check first if Alex was in danger. He listened to his breathing. It was a bit fast, like someone who'd had a scare. It didn't look as though his airway was about to close.

Alex began muttering, 'I'm so sorry. It took us so long to find you.'

Hex sat back and looked at him. Alex didn't need a doctor there probably wasn't an antidote anyway and a doctor would just tell them to keep an eye on him.

Alex hung his head. 'We looked for so long. So many dead people.'

Something was going on in Alex's head, thought Hex. What could he do about that? His palmtop was on the bedside table. That might do the trick. Hex put the cordless Bluetooth headphones over Alex's ears.

Alex looked at him. 'We didn't know where you were. The earthquake had brought down the room.'

Hex suddenly realized that Alex wasn't talking paranoid gibberish; he was talking about the earthquake in Belize.

'Alex,' he said severely. 'Quiet. I'll have you sorted out in a moment.' The one thing Hex didn't want to do was to relive those memories.

The palmtop was on, the screen glowing. He brought up folders of music. Something nice to chill him out was what Alex needed. Most of Hex's collection was a bit dark; bound to make Alex worse. He clicked through the alb.u.ms he had on MP3. Aim: Cold Water Music Cold Water Music definitely chilled, but a bit edgy, and track nine, 'Demonique', would scare the w.i.l.l.i.e.s out of him. Autechre: definitely chilled, but a bit edgy, and track nine, 'Demonique', would scare the w.i.l.l.i.e.s out of him. Autechre: Amber Amber no, too mysterious and a bit dark. He tended to listen to that when he was in a grim mood at school. no, too mysterious and a bit dark. He tended to listen to that when he was in a grim mood at school. Buddha Bar 1 Buddha Bar 1 a friend had sent it electronically by File Transfer Protocol and he hadn't got round to deleting it. But track one was celestial choirs, gentle percussion and harps. Definitely calming. He hit a friend had sent it electronically by File Transfer Protocol and he hadn't got round to deleting it. But track one was celestial choirs, gentle percussion and harps. Definitely calming. He hit PLAY AND REPEAT PLAY AND REPEAT. The familiar patterns of the first track leaked out of the headphones in a tinny voice.

Hex sat down cross-legged on the floor. Alex looked scared, like a rabbit caught in a car's headlights. Was the music too ethereal, too freaky? Hex couldn't think of anything else to try.

Then Alex began to look calmer. He lay down on Hex's bed.

The track reached the end and started again at the beginning. Hex stayed where he was, sitting on the floor, watching his friend.

When Alex woke up, his mouth was dry and his jaw ached. Someone was knocking at the door. He sat up. 'Yeah?' he said. He suddenly realized he wasn't in his own room.

Amber came in. 'Hex, it's our turn to do breakfast...' She trailed off as she saw Hex sitting with his back to the wardrobe. 'Unusual sleeping position.' Then she spotted Alex. 'Did I miss a slumber party?'

Alex realized he had something on his ears. Hex's Bluetooth headphones. He took them off and noticed that on the bedside table the lamp was on and Hex's palmtop was showing the 'battery dead' symbol. Then he remembered.

'Alex got drugged at the rave,' said Hex.

Amber's eyes went wide. 'You whaaat?'

He got to his feet. 'You sleep a bit longer if you need to, Alex. I'm going to get a shower.' He grabbed a towel from a chair.

Alex subsided back on the bed.

Li looked down at Paulo's legs poking out from under the Range Rover, and nudged him with her foot.

Paulo slid out from under the vehicle, then wished he hadn't. He wasn't on a small trolley, like the one he used at home to tinker with vehicles on the ranch. He was lying on the hard gravel drive. He'd have gravel rash for days.

Li was holding out a mug of coffee; Hex and Amber, behind her, were clutching theirs.

'Conference,' said Li. 'Before Tiff gets up. Did you feel OK after the rave?'

Paulo got to his feet, rubbing his sore back, and took the coffee. 'Huh?'

'Alex's water was spiked,' explained Hex. 'I found him having hallucinations. And flashbacks to Belize. Did you feel OK when we got back?'

Paulo nodded. 'Fine. Is Alex all right?'

'I think so. Just tired and bewildered now. I had a quick surf around the web and it looks like one of these designer drugs ecstasy mixed with something.'

'It was that guy.' Li's mind went back to the previous night in the rave. 'This guy was. .h.i.tting on me, trying to get me to drink something. Alex drank it instead to scare him off.'

'What did he look like?' said Paulo. 'Maybe we can track him down.'

'He was a dork,' said Li. 'He was too sappy to be a drug dealer.'

'Anyway, he could have come from anywhere,' said Hex. 'I did some sleuthing last night and that rave had been advertised in a web community. Tiff probably knew about it for ages. No wonder she didn't complain when she had to stay.'

Paulo groaned. 'When's the next rave? Maybe she's doing the tour.'

'Not for a while,' said Hex. 'It's in Liverpool in October.'

They heard footsteps on the gravel. Alex was coming out of the kitchen, his hands curled around a mug of coffee. He looked pale, there were hollows under his eyes and he was moving gingerly.