Free Blood Ransom by Sophie McKenzie Page B

person you are, I hated myself for what I had to do, but it was Elijah , so . . .’ He tailed off.
    I shook my head. Nothing could excuse what Milo had done. Nothing.
    ‘Okay.’ Milo wheeled himself backwards, towards the door. ‘I just thought you’d like some fresh air. If it were down to Elijah he’d leave you in here for days on
end.’ He paused. ‘You know Elijah. He acts like he owns us because his science created us. I mean all those experiments he did to make the cloning work in the first place.’ Milo
shuddered.
    What experiments?
    I bit my lip, my thoughts fighting with each other. I couldn’t bear the thought of spending time with Milo. It was humiliating to think how easily he’d tricked me. On the other hand,
I was desperate to get out of this room. Most importantly, I was never going to find a way off the island if I didn’t know more about it. And Milo was, clearly, a good source of
information.
    Milo opened the door.
    ‘Hold on,’ I said. ‘I’ll go with you.’
    Milo nodded. He waited while I put my shoes on, then led me out into the corridor. Glancing up and down I could see no windows.
    ‘What’s this building used for?’ I said.
    ‘It’s where Elijah, me and the two guards eat and sleep.’ Milo glanced at me. ‘There’s a kitchen along the corridor – I prepare the food, it’s all
really basic. I think the building used to be some kind of farmhouse. Goodness knows what they farmed here, though.’ We reached the main door. Milo pushed it open and light flooded in. I
shielded my eyes as we stepped outside.
    Blinking against the glare, I followed Milo along the path. Paul was on duty at the gate, dressed in jeans and another rugby shirt.
    He nodded at Milo, who nodded back.
    I looked round as we passed the gate. We were surrounded by moorland – wild and green. The land rose up into hills on either side and up ahead, meeting a bright blue sky. Milo led me
through the trees that surrounded the fence round the house. As we emerged on the other side, my mouth fell open. The rest of the island was bleak and scrubby but here the land dropped sharply,
leading down to a long, smooth sandy beach. The sea sparkled beyond. It was beautiful.
    As soon as I saw the water I started planning how I could slip away from Milo and swim out to sea. Surely another island – hopefully an inhabited one – couldn’t be far
away?
    ‘Awesome, isn’t it?’ Milo said with a grin.
    We went down onto the beach. Milo couldn’t take his wheelchair onto the sand, so he stayed on the path, but I walked onto the sand and peered out to sea.
    ‘The nearest island is fifteen miles in that direction,’ Milo said, pointing to our right. ‘Also deserted.’
    I sighed. So much for my idea of swimming for it.
    ‘And there’s a cave over there.’ Milo indicated a line of rocks that separated the beach from the trees beyond. He smiled, clearly enjoying his role as tour guide. ‘The
cave’s cool, but wait till you see the view from the hill in the middle of the island.’
    I nodded. Getting the full lie of the land would definitely be useful. I followed Milo back along the path. Beyond the house the land rose steeply. My heart beat faster. The little jetty where
we’d docked before was just over this hill. Maybe there were other jetties and other boats. If I could work out how to start the motor I’d surely be able to steer a small boat until I
reached land.
    ‘I’m going to go down to the sea over there.’ I pointed to the coastline. It was partially hidden from view by trees. Milo wouldn’t be able to see me.
    ‘That’s fine, but just so you know, you won’t find a way off the island, Rachel,’ Milo said, shielding his eyes from the sun. ‘John – the other guard –
he’s taken the boat to the mainland for supplies and even if it wasn’t miles to the nearest island there are rocks everywhere. The jetty we tied up at is the only place on the island
where you can get close enough to