Muster

‘We’ll have to get some more food on the way,’ said Kim. ‘There’s nothing much left to eat. Joe - hurry up and get dressed, we need to get going.’

‘We’ll get sandwiches at the petrol station - it’s about the only thing open this early,’ Joe called back over his shoulder as he slowly climbed the stairs. His knee was  playing up and he needed to hang on to the bannister to pull himself up each step. Much good he was going to be, but he couldn’t let Kim take the girls on her own.

While Joe was upstairs, his wife had another good look in the utility room, while she was mustering a bag of things she thought they might need. The packet that held Solution A was definitely missing. She pulled out everything on the shelves to check, just in case it had dropped behind a box or something. It hadn’t.

‘Girls,’ she called out, ‘could you pop in here for a minute please?’

Obediently Delphine and Emma appeared in the doorway.

‘Have either of you taken anything from here? A box or a package - or anything really?’

They shook their heads. 

‘What have you lost?’ Emma was already computing what the problem might be. ‘Or has Xavier taken something you need?’

‘I don’t know how you do that - practically read my mind - but yes, I think he has. When Xavier was delivered, in that box, he came with-’

’a syringe of lethal solution.’ Emma and Delphine spoke together.

‘Is that’s what’s missing?’ said Emma.

Kim nodded. She watched the girls exchange glances in the way she had come to recognise. They were sharing information somehow.

‘That’s not good, is it?’

‘No Kim. There’s only two reasons he would take that. To prevent you using it on him or to neutralise one of us. In fact, clones were usually shipped out with more than twice the amount of the solution that would be required, to make absolutely sure it was effective. So he has the means to stop probably two or even three of us.’

Kim was appalled. ‘Surely he wouldn’t do that? To people like himself? That’s awful.’

Delphine stepped forward, her eyes moist. ‘Thank you.’

‘For what?’ Kim was taken aback.

‘For acknowledging our identity as people. You said-’

‘You don’t have to thank me, I know what I said. You are people, of course you are. Now come on, help me put this stuff in the car.’