✅ Younger Than You Think?

"F: Coach"

"Is she asleep?" Lyle was the one who asked, as Seamus handed Iriña back to Mary on the way to the plane. The little girl tried to shake her head, but she didn't have the strength. She was just a doll to them now, and there was no way she could try to escape.

"No. Just a little exhausted. I don't think she'll make any more trouble."

Iriña couldn't move at all in the time it took them to board the plane. She found herself strapped into a child seat, much like the ones she'd only recently stopped using in the car. And then the plane was moving, taking them to a city whose name she'd never even heard before. A flight attendant stood up and gave them a standard speech about where the emergency exits were and how long the flight would last. Iriña gave her full attention because there was precious little else to keep her entertained. She was stuck between the two adults in a row of three seats, with the teenager watching her from behind. They must have been planning this for a long time, and they hadn't left anything to chance.

Once the plane was in motion, a hand appeared in front of her and set a picture book on the tray table, where Iriña could just about see it. Even if she'd really been four years old, the giant splashes of primary colours that made up the images would have been embarrassingly simple. It would provide no entertainment value at all, and even less when she couldn't raise a hand to turn the pages.

"How about that, Kelly?" Seamus's voice intruded on her thoughts. "Can you see the sheep? What noise does a sheep make? You can find it if you look."

Iriña tried to give him a withering glare; one expression she was very practised in. But she couldn't turn her head, so the only part of him she could see was a hand pointing at the garishly illustrated board book in front of her. She made do with rolling her eyes instead, and even that was a struggle. Her tormentor must have been bored stiff by this ritual as well, because every sentence was followed by an elongated pause, never quite long enough for her train of thought to properly switch back to something useful. He was probably reading his own book, and making only a token effort to pay attention to the "baby".

"Look, Kelly!" he tapped the book again. "Can you see that letter? That's a 'B'. You know what noise that makes? Can you say 'buh'? Buh, buh, buh. You try..."

She didn't make the slightest effort. She was capable of reading the word "Baaaa" without any adult help, even when it seemed that her eyes were out of focus as well. But she couldn't have made a sound if she wanted to, and this just seemed to be rubbing in how helpless she was.

"Can you shut up?" Mary interrupted. "She's clearly tired after a long day. Maybe if you stop trying to teach her things that are beyond her, she'll be able to take a little nap and we can enjoy the flight in peace. At least until the trolley comes round, I'm starving again."

"You mean you want the first of many tiny bottles of gin?" Lyle corrected.

"I mean there's no point keep on trying. We've had a week and she doesn't listen to you at all. If she doesn't start responding, you should let her rest. She'll be jet lagged at the other end anyway."

"No," Seamus seemed pretty sure. And Iriña could practically hear the gears spinning in his mind. She knew this was something he was taking seriously, and she hoped that whatever he had to say would give her new information, or at least a clue of how they expected this to go.

"Seamus, please. Everybody can see you're being a good father figure, looking after your niece like this. But if she's not appreciating it then what's the point? She'll be cranky if she doesn't sleep."

"No, Jeremy sent me a data sheet before we left. She's missed a dose of her meds, and we probably won't have more for her until we reach the farm. So we should at least pay attention to the 'withdrawal' section in these notes. And it says she needs stimulation to keep her awake. Once it starts to wear off, she can't be allowed to sleep until this stuff is completely out of her system."

"Like... is she going to puke as soon as she nods off again, like in the car?"

"Way worse." Iriña caught a glimpse of the tablet screen as it was passed over her head. A drug safety data sheet; the kind of thing that was designed to be read by pharmacologists, not anxious parents. But it would tell them enough to keep them from trying to sedate her again, so she could breathe a sigh of relief. At least, she could have done if she was able to move that far.

"Wow. I've never seen anything like this. What are they treating, that these side effects would be acceptable?" And that line was enough to give Iriña a little smile. Mary had slipped out of speaking in code for a second; admitting that she didn't actually know the medical history of the child in her care. It wasn't a big thing, but the more worried she was, the more likely she would be to make some mistake in the presence of airline officials. Maybe there was even an air marshal on the flight who would spot something amiss. Her parents must have realised something was wrong by now, and surely her picture would have been circulated. She could only hope.

The flight got slightly better when she could move again. She could tell that Seamus was starting to worry when she just sat there unresponsive; because he knew now what would happen if someone who'd recently stopped taking those drugs fell asleep without a specialist on call. He didn't know that Iriña's natural asomnia made her immune to those particular consequences, and he didn't really need to know, but right now he was a little more worried than he needed to be. And he would do his best to ensure that her brain was engaged right through the flight, in case sleep crept in like a silent assassin.

When she could turn her head and nod, she could see how relieved he was. She couldn't talk yet, but she didn't need to. She knew that at least one of these kidnappers cared about her to some degree; or more likely knew how much trouble he could be in if she died. Someone who could get their hands on drugs so easily, and had a whole catalogue available, must have some kind of logistical support. These three weren't alone, they weren't just snatching children at random. And the first drugs he'd guessed when she said she needed something... they were always in stock at the Titansville pharmacy. There were dozens of people across the country who might be sixteen, eighteen, or older and still look as small as Iriña due to various genetic or other medical issues, and quite a lot of them relied on the same drugs for vaguely related reasons.

The more Iriña thought about this, the more sure she was that this group was specifically trying to pick up kids who were older than they looked. But why? Was she going to be brainwashed as a sleeper agent who seemed innocent to sneak into anywhere? She could think of half a dozen stories, but none of them seemed remotely believable. In any case, she knew that there was somebody else behind her abduction. Some kind of organisation. Someone that Seamus didn't want to upset, and perhaps didn't want to risk exposing if there was some kind of scene.

He kept on pointing at simplistic picture books, hoping to engage her attention. And when she showed no interest there, she could tell that he was really worrying. She wasn't about to tell him there was no danger, not yet. After a while he started trying to tell her stories. Starting out with weird, half-remembered fairy tales, and then improvising when he wasn't sure of the details. Some of them were slightly amusing. Better than staring at the back of the seat in front of her, in any case. And eventually Iriña might have given a little smile at one tiny sliver of absurdity or another.

She was still terrified, dreading what they had in store for her. And she still hated the thought that the rest of her life had been snatched away, just like that. But nothing awful was going to happen to her right this minute, and it was clear that they wanted to keep her alive. So for a few minutes on the flight, it might be possible to let herself relax a little.