Chapter 50
‘Is he going to be okay?’
Stella looks up at Sadie through thick-rimmed glasses. ‘I’m a mortician, not a doctor. Living patients aren’t my specialty.’
‘That’s good to hear,’ her dad mumbles from the sofa.
Sadie squeezes his hand. ‘We didn’t know who else to call.’
After Dad collapsed, Sadie had tried to wake him.
He had groaned and his eyelids had fluttered, but he hadn’t come round right away.
Sadie had wanted to take him to the hospital, but Davey had shaken his head: ‘If you take him there, he’s not coming out.
Trust me. I’ll call Stella. She’ll know what to do. ’
Sadie hopes he’s right. She’s scared. Seeing Dad like this, the fear he might not wake up. It was too much. She blinks back the tears biting at her eyes.
‘He’ll be okay,’ Stella says in a more reassuring tone.
She leans over Dad, peels back his eyelids and shines a light into his eyes. She checks his pulse, listens to his chest, and then she opens her case and takes out a pair of bolt cutters.
Dad’s eyes widen. ‘What are those for?’
‘Hold up your arm.’
He glances at Sadie and she nods. He holds his arm up.
Stella takes hold of the Serenity bracelet and wedges the cutters beneath. ‘We need to get this off … both of you.’
‘Why?’ Dad asks.
‘For a start, they can track you with these. But also, they amplify the signals from the Hub. If we stop that, you should feel better.’
She squeezes the cutters, and the bracelet pops off.
‘Removing the bracelets will alert them, but we should have some time.’ She looks at Sadie. ‘Arm?’
Sadie holds her arm out, and Stella cuts the bracelet off. Stella picks up both bracelets and chucks them to one side. Then she reaches into her bag again and takes out a bottle of aspirin. She hands it to Sadie’s dad.
‘Take two of these.’
‘Why?’ Sadie queries. ‘Has Dad had a stroke?’
‘It’s possible your dad has suffered a small TIA or possibly some localized swelling in his brain. Without further tests, it’s impossible to tell.’
‘Great,’ Dad mutters.
‘There’s no need to panic,’ Stella says. ‘TIAs are common. Some people have them and don’t even realize. But we want to prevent any more attacks if possible. That’s why I removed your bracelets.’
‘You think they caused it?’ Sadie asks.
‘What has Davey told you about the bracelets?’
‘I didn’t have a chance—’ Davey says.
Stella nods. ‘Okay. The bracelets do more than just open doors or buy groceries. They regulate sleep, ensuring everyone goes to sleep and wakes at the same time.’
Just like Ramona said, Sadie thinks.
‘I noticed just from just hanging around here,’ Davey adds. ‘This whole town just shuts down at night … except for some of the medical staff and the sheriff – oh, and the white-suit dudes.’
‘The guys with the ice-cream van,’ Sadie says.
‘Yeah. They’re out most nights with the van. Like they’re patrolling.’
Sadie swallows. ‘That’s why you called me?’
‘Yeah. I’ve seen them take people away before.’
‘Shit.’ Her gut twists into a tighter knot.
‘While people are sleeping, the bracelets are doing something else,’ Stella continues. ‘We don’t know what exactly. But they’re receiving transmissions of some sort.’
‘But I’m still wide awake at night,’ Sadie points out.
Stella shrugs. ‘Some younger people seem to be immune, at least for a while. And other people don’t respond well to the transmissions. Like your dad.’ She squints at Sadie’s dad. ‘You have trouble sleeping normally?’
‘Yeah. I’ve always been an insomniac.’
‘Well, that might be it. Your brain is fighting harder against it.’
Sadie frowns. ‘Why do they want to control people’s sleep?’
‘Our brains are more susceptible to suggestion while we’re sleeping.’
‘They’re brainwashing people?’
‘I think it’s more like a form of hypnosis. You notice those weird-ass pictures hanging in your house?’
‘Yes,’ her dad says fervently.
‘I’m pretty sure they’re part of it. Like the music they play everywhere. It’s all designed to keep people compliant and unquestioning.’
‘Plus, if everyone is asleep at night, they can do what they want without anyone noticing,’ Davey adds.
Sadie lets that sink in. ‘But it doesn’t work on everyone?’
‘No. I think the younger you are, the more resistant you are. And you two are new. They’ve had less time to work on you.’ She nods at Davey. ‘And of course Davey doesn’t have a bracelet.’
‘I guess they must have removed it when they took me away.’
Sadie looks at Stella. ‘Did your dad know about Davey being alive?’
‘I think my dad kept a lot of secrets. And that’s probably why he’s dead.
’ She pauses. ‘When I took over, I started to notice the accidents. Most folk who died, I was told not to bother with an autopsy. Just prepare the body for the funeral. I tried to ignore it, but once you notice something, it’s like pulling a thread on a jumper.
You can’t help picking at it. But I had no one to go to. No one I could trust.’
‘Couldn’t you talk to someone outside of Serenity Falls?’ her dad asks.
‘Well, aside from people thinking I was batshit crazy, every time I tried, something would stop me leaving. I’d get a call or there would be an accident on the highway, or my car wouldn’t start. Always something.’
‘Like they knew,’ Sadie murmurs.
‘Yeah.’ Stella sighs. ‘And I’m not immune to these.’ She holds up the wrist with the bracelet on. ‘After a while, it’s a struggle to keep pushing back.’
Sadie gets it, she supposes. Red pill. Blue pill.
Davey clears his throat. ‘We should hurry. The Conservators will have noticed your bracelets aren’t checking in by now.’
‘But we can help,’ Sadie says.
Stella shakes her head. ‘You need to leave. Unless your dad gets away from Serenity, even without the bracelet, he could have another attack. You can’t risk it.’
‘What about you?’ Dad asks.
Stella purses her lips. ‘Not your concern. We probably shouldn’t have dragged you into this.’
‘So why did you?’
‘Because you’re the first new people here in a long time.
And it seems like you’re important to the Conservators.
’ She pauses. ‘I guess I thought if you started asking questions, we might just crack the dam and maybe get some justice for Frankie and the others …’ She shakes her head.
‘But it doesn’t matter now. Okay, is there anything you need to get from the house? Clothes? Passports?’
‘We’re packed,’ Dad says.
‘Well, then …’ Stella breaks off and glances at Davey.
‘Shit,’ he mutters.
Her dad frowns. And then Sadie hears it.
The distinctive chimes of an ice-cream van.