by Logan Jacobs
William stood up and walked back toward our table, a look of glee on his face. My two companions looked fearful, and I knew it wasn’t entirely an act. I tried to decide if I would be able to shoot both Dean and William and then make a run for it, but then we’d never know where the prisoners were being held. Even if we made it all the way back to Peterborough and reported what we’d learned to Walston, one of Dean’s other thugs might take over and order the engineers killed before the army could mobilize.
We had to play this game a bit longer.
“Let’s go,” William ordered as he pointed the revolver in our direction.
“Enjoy your evening,” Dean said as we stood up.
“Yeah,” I muttered to the older man’s delight.
William didn’t even try to hide his satisfaction as the three of us trudged across the room. The woman at the cash register gave us a sympathetic look, but then quickly looked away when William scowled at her. The two men who had been sitting with Dean initially shook their heads, then moved back to their original seats. I felt like we were being led to the executioner’s block and no one cared that we weren’t guilty of the crime.
The rain had started to drizzle, appropriately enough, when we stepped back outside, and William and two new men armed with cricket bats and chains pointed us toward one of the spokes on the other side of the park. We trudged back through the high grass, past the meeting hall and a rusting swing set, and tramped down the narrow road as I started to worry that someone would finally notice the holsters beneath our wet clothing.
But the promised downpour didn’t arrive, and no one spotted the holsters beneath our jackets. William darted ahead of us as the men with the cricket bats pointed us toward a small parking lot. The building looked suspiciously like a school, and sure enough, as we drew closer I spotted the green sign with gold lettering that announced our arrival at the Coates Primary School. William tapped on the glass door, and a moment later, a woman with a giant 1980s ‘do and heavy blue eyeshadow opened the door.
“Three more for the night,” William announced. “Dean’ll make a decision in the morning.”
“You can put them in the cafeteria with the rest of the lot,” the woman said in a bored voice. “There’s some cots by the stage that have opened up after yesterday’s mishap.”
William nodded, and we were herded along a wide hallway lined with classrooms and displays of student art. There was a water fountain so low that my head would practically be at my knees if I used it and a stack of chairs that looked like they had been designed for gnomes. Or just really small children. We made a right, past the Principal’s office, walked by the library, and then made a left at the end of the hall. We found ourselves in front of a pair of double doors with slim glass panes designed to let the principal make a quick check on the kids without having to step inside.
It was a cafeteria, though most of the tables had been folded and stacked to one side. Instead, the floor space had been filled with folding cots, and a small army of adults now sat listlessly on the bed space, or in hard plastic chairs designed for kids. A few talked to each other, but mostly they seemed to all stare off into space.
William inserted a key into a bike lock that had been looped between the handles on the doors. He motioned us forward, and I reluctantly opened the door. The three of us stepped inside and stopped as almost everyone in the room turned toward us. Most had a look of terror on their faces, until the doors slammed shut behind us, and then those who hadn’t paid their taxes went back to staring at the walls or whatever quiet conversation they had been having. I counted twelve people in the room, but it looked like some of the other cots were occupied as well, though I had no idea where those occupants might be.
I looked around and saw a small stage along one wall, and a doorway that probably led to the serving line. The walls had all been painted in bright primary colors and happy cartoon characters floated through the splotches of color. There were a few adult sized chairs scattered around the room as well, though they didn’t look much more comfortable than the kiddie chairs. There was also, I was happy to note, two more doors that indicated bathrooms, so at least we wouldn’t have to pound on the doors and ask for an escort when we had to pee.
“So now what?” Becka asked as we looked around the room.
“Let’s find Brills,” I said.
“Jason,” Hae-won whispered. “There are the soldiers.”
I followed her glance and saw a man and a woman in uniform. The man was stretched out on one of the cots, and the woman sat on the edge of a cot that had been pulled closer and held his hand. She looked worried, and I could see why. The man, who couldn’t have been much older than me, was pale and breathing heavily. There was also a large, dark stain on his right shoulder and a bruise on his forehead.
The woman must have sensed our stares, because she glanced our way for a moment, and I saw the large bruise around her eye and the cut on her cheekbone. There was still fire in her eyes, but she turned away from us once she realized we weren’t part of Dean’s little army of thugs.
“Let’s go talk to them first,” I said quietly. “We’ll let them know Walston sent us and that we’re here for them and the engineers.”
The woman looked up as we drew closer and watched our approach with narrowed eyes. She didn’t trust us, that much was clear, and I wondered what had happened when she and her fellow soldier had arrived in the town. And what was still happening here in this room.
“Corporal?” I said when we were close enough to speak quietly. “Brigadier Walston sent us.”
She raised an eyebrow at the claim but didn’t say anything. Her eyes moved toward the Glock tucked beneath my shirt and jacket, and I realized she’d seen the bulge and recognized it. She glanced back toward the padlocked door, but she didn’t summon any jailors. I could still see suspicion in her eyes, but she finally nodded and turned her attention back to the man on the cot.
“We’re here for you and the engineering crew,” I added.
“That list just keeps getting longer,” Becka muttered as she looked around the cafeteria. “Who are all these people?”
“People who didn’t pay their taxes,” the corporal replied with venom.
“What happened?” I said as I knelt next to the other soldier and peered at his shoulder.
It looked like he’d taken a bullet, and someone had tried to patch him up. I could just see the edge of a bandage beneath his bloody shirt, but judging by the sweat on his brow, an infection had set in. I thought about all the meds and alcohol we’d left in Peterborough and shook my head.
“Who are you?” the corporal demanded.
“Friends,” Hae-won replied.
I turned around as Hae-won took a seat next to the corporal. The soldier had hazel eyes that seemed to see right through any pretense, and dusky blonde hair that had probably been pulled back into a tidy bun when they left Peterborough, but now framed her high cheekbones with a halo of curls.
“We struck a bargain with Walston,” I said quietly. “We would come to Coates to find Brills and anyone else from the power plant and bring them back to Peterborough. In return, he would give us fuel and ammo for our trip north.”
“Where did you come from?” she said as she studied us.
“Cambridge,” Becka said as she finally sat down on the other side of the corporal. “I’m Becka, and these are my friends, Jason and Hae-won. We stayed on campus during the Easter holidays, but it was getting too difficult to stay in the city. We decided to head north and find my mum, see if we could find a place with fewer dinosaurs and more food.”
The corporal absorbed that for a moment, then looked around to see if anyone else was too close.
“I’m Corporal Grant,” the soldier replied. “And this is Corporal Terry.”
“So what happened?” I asked. “I take it Dean and his goons took you by surprise.”
“We thought they were the real authorities,” Grant sighed. “At least, initially. Dean can
be a smooth one, when he wants. We explained that we had been sent to find the engineers and bring them back, and at first, Dean said he would help. Said no one had been able to get out to the conference center, but maybe with our help, they could head out that way and see what had happened. We drove out there, and found the place was empty. There was some damage and some dinosaur tracks, but most of the cars were gone so we thought maybe most of the people had gotten away. We started to ask Dean a lot more questions, then.”
“Questions he didn’t want to answer,” I guessed.
“Terry pulled his sidearm and demanded to know what the hell was going on,” Grant replied. “Dean tried to talk his way out of it, but the whole time, he had some of his goons nearby. They’d followed us out there and taken up positions while we were inside the building. One of them had a farmer’s rifle and shot Terry. When I turned to find the shooter, Dean punched me.”
“Damn,” Becka muttered. “But surely he knows that the engineers are needed to keep the plant running? And he must want the plant to keep running, so why not let you just leave with the engineers?”
Grant looked around again and nodded to a pair of men who were slumped in chairs on the far side of the room.
“The bald one with the glasses and the large belly is Brills,” Grant replied. “The other man is part of the engineering crew as well. The rest of the surviving engineers are out earning their keep.”
“What does that mean?” Hae-won asked.
“It’s the real reason for this jail,” the curly-headed soldier replied. “It’s dangerous work, going out to collect the harvest or find food. So every morning, some of the men arrive and select the day’s lucky survivors. They take them out to a field to pull vegetables and cut firewood, or sometimes drive them to different spots to look for other supplies. The men have guns, including ours, and they shoot anyone who tries to run away. If the dinosaurs show up, sometimes they’ll shoot at it, but often they just let it attack the people who are doing the work.”
“O-M-G,” Becka replied, her eyes wide in shock.
“Are all these people from the conference center?” I asked.
“Many are,” Grant said. “It was full at the time, so lots of out-of-towners they could turn into slaves. There are some locals in the mix as well, people who tried to stand up to Dean.”
“How many people are in here?” Hae-won asked as she looked around.
“Including the ones who left this morning,” Grant said. “Thirty-four. But….”
“But?” I pressed.
Grant looked around again and then waved to Brills and his companion. Brills looked surprised, but he said something to the other engineer and then walked over to us.
“Mr. Brills,” Grant said when the engineer arrived. “Why don’t you tell the new arrivals your suspicions about some of the locals.”
Brills did not look like a man who had ever spent time in a gym, and the thick lenses in his glasses made his eyes look enormous, but he still managed to be nimble on his feet and there was a sharpness to his gaze that bespoke of an alert mind.
“And who are the newbies?” Brills asked.
The engineer’s voice was pleasant, but his gaze was less friendly. He rocked gently on his feet as he stood just out of range of any fists we might throw.
“Walston sent them,” Grant said.
“Ah,” Brills replied.
He took a step closer, then looked around the room before taking a seat.
“I gather the corporal has told you about the daily excursions,” Brills said.
“She has,” I replied. “I’m curious. Has anyone paid the tax?”
“One of our engineers did,” Brills said. “That first day. A woman by the name of Joyce Fellowes. She pulled out her wallet and offered the man everything she had. She promised to send more supplies to pay the ransom for the rest of us, then she got in her car and drove away. That was the last we saw of her. Did she make it back to Peterborough?”
I looked at Becka and Hae-won, and then shook my head.
“No,” I said. “As far as anyone at the power station knows, all of you are still here.”
“Damn,” Brills muttered. “She was a fine engineer.”
“Tell them what happened when you tried to escape,” Grant said.
“Well, we tried a number of times in the beginning,” Brills sighed. “But these bastards always seemed to know what we’re planning. They’d burst in and put an end to it. It took a few times, but we finally realized that Dean must have a plant among us. Since then, we’ve tried to be careful about who we talk to, but Dean and his lot still seem to know. The corporal here has tried, and nearly paid for it with her life.”
“You’re not suggesting we just sit here and wait to be led out to some field as dinosaur meat?” Becka asked.
“Well, you’re welcome to do what you want, but you should know that the odds are not in your favor,” the pot-bellied engineer replied.
“Do you have any idea who the rat is?” I asked.
“We suspect a pair of the locals, but we’re not entirely certain,” Brills said.
“They why not get rid of the rats,” I suggested. “And then break out before Dean can plant someone else?”
“You mean… kill them?” Brills asked in disbelief.
“Well, yeah,” I said. “Kill the rats, break out of here, and kill anyone who tries to stop you.”
“Oh, well,” Brills huffed as he looked toward Grant. “Of course this kind of idea comes from an American, but what tools are we supposed to use for this massacre? Our bare hands? Or the dull knives they allow us to use when they bother to bring us food?”
“Guns,” I said quietly.
“And where, pray tell, do we acquire guns?” Brills asked just as quietly.
I tapped the Glock that was still hidden beneath my shirt, and Brills’ eyes somehow went wider. He looked toward Grant again, who gave him a nearly imperceptible nod.
“I don’t know,” Brills muttered. “Shooting someone seems…”
“Necessary,” I supplied. “Sometimes it’s the only way to deal with bullies and thugs. And Dean and his lot are definitely bullies and thugs.”
“Well, yes, they are,” Brills agreed. “But I’m not sure shooting them is the way to go.”
“I’m not hanging around here any longer than I have to,” I said. “I’ll shoot whoever gets in my way when I’m ready to leave, and I’m taking you, the corporals and anyone else from your staff who’s still alive with me.”
Brills blinked, and though he still looked uncomfortable with the idea of shooting our way through Coates, he nodded.
“We’d best have a plan, then,” the engineer said. “And move quickly. Before the rats can turn us in.”
Chapter 8
“We bought ourselves some time,” I noted. “At least until tomorrow morning. I don’t want to make a move until everyone is back here.”
“It may be a few hours yet,” Brills replied. “Depending on what they’re doing today. They do seem good about having everyone inside by nightfall.”
“What about Corporal Terry?” Hae-won asked. “We will need to move him.”
“He can move on his own,” Grant replied. “It’s the drugs they’ve been giving him that make him sleep. But I let them do it because the witch who runs this place claims it’s an antibiotic.”
“Then no more medicine for the corporal today or tonight,” I said. “We’ll need to figure out what type of schedule the guards have.”
“It’s not always the same lot,” the curly-haired corporal replied. “And they almost never come in here once the lock is in place unless they’re searching for something, or breaking up an escape attempt.”
“Are there any other doors?” Hae-won asked.
“The one in the kitchen,” Brills said. “Where the deliveries were made when this was a school. But they’ve got that blocked off with something heavy, and we’ve never been able to move whatever’s on the other side.”
“So the door we came through, then,” I murmured. “Which means we’ll have to go through the hallways.”
“They always seem to have guards in the hallways,” Brills noted.
“We need to move fast,” I said. “We’ll have to lay down covering fire until everyone is out of the building.”
“And then what?” Grant asked. “I have no idea where our vehicle is, and we won’t have the time to hotwire enough cars to drive out of here.”
“We’ve got that covered,” I said. “Just follow us.”
“When do we do this?” Becka asked. “When they come back tomorrow morning to give us our assignments for the day?”
“I’d rather not wait that long,” I said as I looked at the group of locals scattered around the room. “They guards will be more alert by then, and I doubt they’ll want Corporal Terry here to miss too many of his doses. We need them to stage a raid tonight, after everyone’s back.”
“Ah,” Brills said with an edge of excitement as he guessed my plan. “Well, I wouldn’t do anything so bold as to just start chatting up the other people in the room if I were you, especially since you’ve been over here talking with us. Everyone’s probably guessed that you were looking for either me or the soldiers. But, I think I can spread the word that you might be up to something without being too obvious about it.”
“Good,” I said. “For now, just stay here with us. Let’s play up their suspicions about who we are and why we’re here. Once everyone is back, you can start hinting that we plan to escape.”
Brills nodded and smiled, and he even patted Corporal Grant on her shoulder. The soldier tried not to grin, but I saw the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. I tried to look reassuring, even though the plan, such as it was, made me nervous. I would have been happier if we didn’t have to go back through the building, but our options were limited, and as I had told the engineer, I had no intention of staying here any longer than I had to.
We stayed huddled around Corporal Terry’s cot, quietly discussing everything from favorite foods to dream vacations, though we were huddled so closely together, no one could have overheard us without drawing close by. Whenever someone did come close, we would go quiet and wait for that person to leave again. By the time Corporal Terry stirred and stared at all the people gathered around his cot, rumors of our escape plan had been firmly planted among the other people in the cafeteria.