by Jon Robinson
Anton held the phone against his ear.
‘No answer,’ he said with a sigh, and dropped his phone into the cup holder behind the handbrake. Alyn watched helplessly as he yanked his seatbelt across his chest and turned on the ignition.
Who were these people and what did they want with him? The fact they were carrying tasers didn’t exactly fill him with optimism. Alyn squinted at the small tattoo on the back of Pyra’s neck, barely able to keep his eyes open.
Maybe if I sleep I’ll be able to think straight, he considered. Just for a few minutes. That’s all I’ll need and then I’ll work out what to do next.
Alyn gazed at the grey sky pouring past the car window and before he knew it he was asleep. His dreams were dark and heavy, pulling him in all directions.
Harlan and Elsa had set off again in the early light.
After an hour of walking, Elsa spotted a thin needle of grey in the snow reflecting the morning winter sun.
‘A train track!’ she exclaimed, tugging Harlan’s sleeve. ‘You know what that means?’
Harlan shielded his eyes but Elsa was already speeding towards it. He ran after her, laughing, and stumbling clumsily across the snow on weary legs.
‘Come on, Harlan!’ She looked over her shoulder and gave an impatient wave, beckoning him to follow.
Elsa sprang over a sagging wire fence. Harlan hopped over, landing in her prints. He reached down and scooped up the ibis, which had fallen from his pocket.
‘Look,’ he said, showing her the blue light by the trigger. ‘I think it’s working again.’
‘Too bad I threw mine away. It would’ve been a pretty cool souvenir.’
‘A pretty cool souvenir? You already forgotten what it felt like to be on the receiving end of one of these?’
‘No one would be mean to me in school again,’ she said, and imitated firing at an imaginary foe. A part of her almost missed the ibis battles with the guards back in the prison.
Harlan looked concerned. ‘Who’s mean to you in school?’
Elsa’s cheeks darkened. ‘No one,’ she said. ‘I’m just saying, that’s all.’
The pair followed the tracks, side by side, for the rest of the morning. The countryside seemed to be repeating itself. Every post or pillar they passed made Elsa think they might be just a little closer to somewhere, but they continued trudging on, not crossing paths with another soul, freezing cold and weak with hunger.
‘I’m getting such a headache,’ Harlan said, holding a hand across his brow.
The pair rested beneath a tree. Even though seated, Elsa still felt the rhythm of the walk pulsing behind her eyes.
She watched as Harlan dug around inside his pocket and removed a silver coin, tilting it so that the light caught the edge.
‘You ever gonna tell me what that means, Harlan?’
‘It’s a coin,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t mean anything. Come on, let’s keep moving.’
The pair had not walked more than a hundred metres when up ahead, in a clearing beside the track, there was the sloping, tiled roof of a train station.
‘Look, people!’ said Elsa, spotting a man and woman dressed in thermal hiking clothes. ‘We should tell them everything … we should tell them what happened to us.’
‘Would you believe us? We’re not telling anyone, just like we all discussed. We need to get out of here without making a fuss.’
They hurried across the snow, brushing past the undergrowth, and hopped on to the elevated stone platform.
‘We’re really going home, aren’t we?’ she whispered, her words sounding dazed and disjointed.
‘We’re not going home,’ Harlan said. ‘We still need to wait for Jes and Ryan in London, like we agreed. Remember?’
‘Yeah, if they even turn up – that gunshot didn’t sound good.’
Thankful for their coats hiding their grey prison uniforms, the pair smiled politely at the hikers and peered at the train timetable behind a glass display.
‘Looks like we’ll have to make a few changes,’ Harlan said quietly, wiping away the frost. ‘I’ve never heard of half these places.’
‘What about money?’ Elsa whispered. ‘We don’t have anything!’
‘We’ll think of something,’ Harlan said uncertainly. ‘Now let’s just get on a train.’
A quarter of an hour later they were away, and the bare bone-white countryside was gliding gently past.
‘I’ve been thinking about that sound,’ Elsa said, making distracted squiggles on the foggy window with her fingernail. ‘The gun. You really think we might be the only ones left?’
Harlan shook his head slowly and shrugged, and Elsa seemed to shrink into her seat at his uncertainty. ‘I’m not trying to scare you.’
‘Well, you have. You’re supposed to say, “Oh no, everyone’s fine. It wasn’t a gunshot; it was Rayner falling down the hill and breaking his stupid leg.” ’
Harlan grinned. ‘Let’s hope you’re right about that. I just want you to realize how important this is. We can’t make any mistakes –’
‘Look who it is,’ came a voice from behind them. ‘I thought I might see you two here.’
Both Elsa and Harlan jumped as Julian emerged from the aisle.
‘Julian?’ said Elsa, excited to see a familiar face. ‘I could hug you.’
Julian held up a hand in protest. ‘I’d rather you didn’t.’ He sat down beside Harlan. ‘I assume you both heard it –’
‘Yeah,’ said Harlan. ‘We heard it.’
‘That must mean it’s Ryan.’ Elsa looked alarmed. ‘Or Jes …’
‘Or Alyn. Maybe Adler finally caught up with him,’ Harlan said.
‘Last I saw of Adler, he won’t be catching up with anyone,’ Julian mumbled, remembering how Jes had snapped and fired her ibis at the defenceless guard repeatedly until he began shaking and eventually fell still.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Elsa looked at Harlan, puzzled, then spotted an elderly ticket inspector rattling slowly down the aisle towards them.
‘An inspector,’ she said under her breath. ‘He’ll throw us off if he catches us without tickets. What shall we do?’
Julian smirked. ‘Follow me,’ he said, and scurried out of his seat.
Harlan looked back over his shoulder as the inspector shuffled closer. The inspector tapped the female hiker on the shoulder, who woke with some alarm and began silently foraging through her bag for her ticket.
Julian pulled open the toilet door and darted inside. Harlan fell in behind him and only just managed to get in before he slammed the door shut.
‘Elsa’s still outside,’ Harlan said. ‘If she gets thrown off, I’m going with her.’
He reached for the door but Julian grabbed his hand. ‘There’s not enough room in here for her as well, no matter how small she is.’
‘I’m not leaving her by herself,’ Harlan hissed.
Julian elbowed him in the ribs. ‘And I’m not leaving this train, so shush!’
They waited for a moment. Then there was a faint cough from the other side of the door. ‘Come out, please.’
Julian and Harlan looked at one another.
‘After you,’ Julian said, gesturing for Harlan to step out.
Harlan hesitantly emerged to meet the inspector’s waiting gaze. ‘I’m sorry,’ he flustered. ‘I was just – I –’
‘Ticket, please,’ the inspector commanded, holding out his hand.
‘That’s the thing,’ Harlan said. ‘I just lost my ticket, I –’
Desperate, Harlan looked around and spotted something on the floor by his feet, a scrap of paper. With no other option, Harlan leant down and handed it to the inspector, willing him not to notice that it was nothing but an old receipt. At that moment he felt a little woozy. He put his hand to his head as the train jolted, and the inspector was thrown against the wall.
Staggering, the inspector cursed under his breath and peered out of the window.
‘Must’ve been something on t
he track,’ he mumbled. ‘These old trains feel every bump.’
He pushed the useless scrap of paper back towards Harlan and marched back down the carriage, rubbing his shoulder. Harlan released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
‘What were the chances of that?’
‘How fortunate,’ Julian purred, still inside the toilet. ‘Well, I don’t see Elsa anywhere. I guess the little runt got caught after all.’
Harlan looked up as a freckled, anxious face peeked out from the overhead luggage compartment.
‘Who are you calling “runt”?’ she said.
8
It took Alyn a few hazy moments to realize he was lying face down on a dirty carpet in a cheap hotel bedroom with his wrists bound.
His head felt thick and slow, as though moving underwater. What happened? he thought, trying to piece together the last hour or so. Have I been asleep? Did I pass out?
‘You think we should ask the kid what he knows about the Pledge?’ he heard Pyra say from across the room.
‘Not yet,’ Anton answered. ‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Don’t want to scare him off, do we?’
Alyn kept still, his eyes fixed on the torn wallpaper round the radiator beside him. The wall was streaked with mould.
‘Anyway, I’m gonna turn in,’ Pyra said. ‘See you later.’ Her footsteps padded softly across the carpet.
‘You could’ve given me a pillow,’ Alyn said weakly some moments after the door closed behind her.
Anton got up. ‘Sorry, mate, here you go,’ he said, placing a pillow under Alyn’s head.
‘You could untie me too. I’m not going to run.’
Anton chuckled. ‘You must think I’m a fool, Alyn.’
‘I can barely feel my hands,’ Alyn said. ‘Just five minutes.’
The intake of breath suggested Anton might be considering his request. Eventually he gave an indistinct nod and walked over to his prisoner. ‘I do have a weapon. Just so you know.’
Alyn squinted at the silver taser. ‘I don’t want to run. I could have told you that earlier. You’re heading south, right? That’s exactly where I need to be. It’s either this … or I freeze to death out there. So I think I’ll stick with the warm room and the nice car, thanks very much.’
Anton fumbled with the cord. Alyn felt it loosen and exhaled.
He examined the deep pink furrows across his wrists. ‘So who put you up to this? Was it her? Susannah?’
‘Susannah?’ Anton frowned. ‘I don’t know any Susannah.’
‘I think you do. The teacher, she practically runs that place …’
‘I’ve told you, I don’t know her.’
Alyn sighed. This is going to be harder than I thought.
‘When Pyra found you, she said you were rambling about some girl. A friend of yours?’
Alyn bit his tongue and shrugged. ‘I – I was confused, that’s all.’
Anton watched his captive with some suspicion. ‘And now?’
‘Still am,’ Alyn conceded truthfully. ‘Who do you work for?’
‘We’re members of a group. We call ourselves the Guild.’
‘And what does your group do?’
‘We’re a training order. You really don’t have a clue why you were in that place, right, Alyn?’
Alyn shook his head. ‘By now I’m not sure I even care any more,’ he said. ‘I’m just glad I’m out of there.’
Anton walked over to a table and poured a glass of water from the jug. He gave it to Alyn, who drank it down, spilling most of it on his grey uniform until he erupted into a fit of blustery coughs.
‘The people who put you there are our enemies too.’
Convenient, Alyn thought. He couldn’t help but feel there might be more to the story than Anton was keen to share. ‘Who are they?’
‘You know all those crazy government conspiracies you hear about?’ said Anton. ‘Well, they aren’t one of those. From what we know, the Pledge is more powerful than the government. I bet the government doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. Or if they do, they’re powerless to stop it.’
Alyn failed to hide his scepticism. ‘Really. So there are two secret groups out there: the Pledge and you guys. The Guild.’
‘Yup.’ Anton chucked him a towel and took the water back.
This stuff doesn’t happen in real life, Alyn thought.
‘What’s that?’ Anton said, noticing the folder poking out beneath the zip of Alyn’s coat. He snatched the folder and turned through a couple of pages, looking at the names and photographs. ‘Where did you find this?’
‘In a hut, near the prison. Give it back.’
Anton smiled. ‘No chance.’
Defeated, Alyn rested his head back against the carpet.
‘This is a list of everyone,’ Anton said to himself. He drew a finger along a list of home addresses. ‘Of everyone in there. This will come in handy, Alyn. Thank you.’
He stood, tucked the folder under his arm and gave his prisoner a smile as he left the room and locked the door behind him.
9
‘Wakey, wakey,’ said Julian, watching the sleeping pair.
Harlan and Elsa slowly opened their eyes. After making several changes, the group had been fortunate enough to not encounter any other ticket inspectors until a concerned attendant at the last station approached the group. A fast-thinking Julian declared they were on a school trip to London, had got separated from the rest of their class and were looking for a telephone. When the attendant headed inside to make the call on their behalf, Harlan, Elsa and Julian darted inside the train for the final stretch of their journey.
Harlan had been dozing lightly for the past hour, snatching slivers of sleep every so often and feeling none the better for it. Elsa had passed out for almost the entire journey and was gently snoring. By the time they entered London, the train was filled with passengers.
There was a clattering of bags and the clicking of luggage clasps being fastened as they came to a stop.
Julian climbed to his feet and stepped into the aisle.
Elsa rubbed her eyes and yawned. ‘Are we really here?’
‘See for yourself,’ he said, and gestured to the sign for Euston station outside.
The doors opened and the three shuffled on to the crowded platform, soon engulfed by a swarm of shoving passengers.
Elsa gazed around at the station. The place seemed to pulse with noise. She zipped her hooded coat all the way to her throat, hiding her grey prison uniform beneath.
‘It’s time we figured out a plan,’ said Harlan. ‘We’re supposed to be waiting for Jes and Ryan –’
‘Hold on,’ said Julian. ‘We?’
‘Yeah. We. You’re in this with us, whether you like it or not.’
‘That doesn’t mean I answer to you,’ Julian snapped. ‘Or you,’ he said, poking Elsa’s forehead. ‘Or anyone.’
‘But you can’t go it alone,’ Elsa said, pushing away his finger. ‘We have to stick together; that’s why we’re waiting for them!’
‘I wouldn’t hold your breath,’ Julian muttered, looking at the trains. ‘Not after what I heard in those woods.’
‘We’ll give it three days,’ said Harlan. ‘If we’ve not met up by then, we’ll move on. But we can’t go home. You know we’ll end up putting everyone in danger. That’s the first place they’ll go looking for us.’
‘We could be really careful,’ Elsa said. ‘I mean, we could sneak home at night and tell our families and –’
Harlan shook his head. ‘No, Elsa. Not even if we’re careful.’
‘Three days,’ Elsa murmured. It sounded like a long time to be alone without anywhere to sleep. ‘What are we going to do? We don’t have any money …’
Julian made sure no one was watching and showed them a leather wallet. Inside was a wad of notes.
Harlan’s eyes widened then settled into a look of disappointment. ‘You stole it.’
‘It was practically falling out
of his pocket.’ Julian shrugged. ‘If I hadn’t taken it, somebody else would.’
‘Keep telling yourself that,’ Harlan said with a snort. ‘Do you have any morals?’
‘When my belly’s full and I have a roof over my head, I have plenty –’
‘Lend us something, Julian,’ Elsa cut in. ‘Just enough for us both to get something to eat. To keep us going. I’m starving!’
‘If you want money, you’re going to have to find it yourselves.’
‘We’re not stealing,’ Harlan said accusingly.
‘Good luck finding a job.’ Julian looked at Elsa. ‘I’m sure someone’s looking for a chimney sweep and at least you’re the right size for it …’
‘You’re scum, do you know that, Julian?’ Harlan said.
‘Why? Because I stole a wallet … or because I won’t give you any of it? Besides, it’s not up to me to provide for you. You’re going to need to think on your feet – to live by your wits. I’m sure you have some between the two of you …’
‘Julian –’
Julian patted Elsa on the arm and zipped up his coat. ‘Meet me back here the same time tomorrow. If not, I’ll assume the worst.’ He gave them both a nod in parting and followed a man in a suit to the ticket barriers, walking quickly through behind him.
10
Snow was smothering the prison. Groups of children, all in the same grey uniforms and hooded coats, stood in the yard, watching as three guards repaired the fence. A few whispered to one another – Do you think they really escaped? – and checked to make sure no guards were listening.
‘This silence is a little disconcerting, Claude,’ said Susannah, as she and Rayner sat in the infirmary.
Rayner held the gauze against the cut on his forehead. ‘They’re all innocent,’ Rayner said. ‘We’ve kidnapped a hundred children. We’re telling them they’re criminals, but they aren’t. They’re innocent.’
‘Innocent,’ she said, pondering. ‘A strange word to use, considering your friend is lying dead in a corridor –’
Rayner slammed his fist into the wall with such force that she flinched. ‘They didn’t do the crimes we were told they had. Correct?’