Resurgence Read Online Free Page A

sand. He points to a spot in the centre. ‘We’re here, right?’
    ‘Okay . . .’ I agree.
    He points to a spot outside the oval that is Martindale and then the woods that separate the village from the gully. ‘We found most of your stuff pretty easily but the only area I know
really well is close to the woods where we used to hang around.’ He puts another cross about an eighth of the way around the oval. ‘We saw a Kingsman here.’
    ‘In the woods?’
    ‘
Past
the woods, on the edge of the gully.’
    From his crude drawing, I try to figure out where he means. ‘Isn’t that just trees there?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And it’s not even on the Martindale side?’
    Opie looks as worried as I feel. ‘No.’
    ‘Was he on his own?’
    Opie nods. ‘He had this thing with him. Me and Samuel were at the bottom of this pile of junk and he couldn’t see us but there was this bird-like thing buzzing around him.’
    ‘He had a bird?’
    Opie is struggling to explain himself and makes a triangle shape with his fingers, trying not to make it obvious how frustrated he is. ‘Sort of. It was hovering next to him and he was
holding a grey box thing.’ He nods at the one in my hand. ‘Like that.’
    I try to think of what it might be but I draw a blank. There is very little technology I saw at Windsor Castle that I didn’t understand but this sounds different. Opie is watching
expectantly, as if I can explain what he saw.
    I pocket the device and take his hand. ‘Show me.’
    Opie leads me along the trail of rubbish towards Martindale, making quick work of a journey that might usually take up to an hour because of the rough terrain and steep piles of rubbish. We are
only halfway there when I grab his arm and pull him into a gap between two piles of fridges.
    ‘What?’ he says, rubbing his arm.
    I hold a finger to my lips and roll my eyes upwards, keeping my voice low. ‘Is that what you saw?’
    Above us, there are three metallic objects that each look like overlapping diamonds. From a distance they would be easily mistaken for birds but from underneath, there is a red dot flashing on
what would be a tail.
    Opie nods, whispering too. ‘What are they?’
    I tug him deeper into the nook, sheltering underneath a flap of something jagged and dangerous-looking. ‘At Windsor Castle, flashing red lights meant cameras.’
    Opie grips my arm hard. ‘How did they know we were here?’
    ‘They probably didn’t but it’s not a bad place to start. There’s no way they would have been able to search this area on foot unless they sent in hundreds of Kingsmen.
Even then they wouldn’t know the area well enough. If those things are filming, they can fly over huge spaces in no time.’
    We watch as the metal birds hover overhead, dancing in and out of each other’s paths before zipping off in three separate directions.
    I expect our journey back to the camp to be a panicked one, ducking in and out of hiding places to avoid the strange bird-like objects. Instead, the sky is clear and everything is as it was when
we left. Imp, Eli and Felix are playing hide and seek on the far side of the clearing.
    Opie bellows at them to get inside, predictably having to tell Imp off for talking back to him, and we gather everyone in the makeshift shelter. Briefly, we explain about the bird shapes in the
sky and tell them we have to stay indoors, at least temporarily.
    It is over an hour until I begin to relax. Imp is trying to tickle the backs of my knees and people’s conversations have become louder than a whisper. Pietra has separated herself from
Hart and waits until I am by myself before sidling across.
    ‘How is he?’ I ask.
    Pietra smiles coyly. ‘Can you make him ill again? I didn’t realise how cheeky he was until now.’
    I smile, remembering the old Hart from before he became an Offering. Back then, he was the kid everyone knew around the village. Strong and fun. Cheeky is certainly the word.
    ‘You make a good