by Sarah Dalton
*
The group pressed on through the day, stopping only for ten minutes to eat a handful of berries and drink a cup of water. Hard, cracking skin formed over her dry lips. It flaked painfully. Her breath came out in ragged gulps. She’d never been so tired in her entire life. She could fall asleep on her feet. Her mind blocked everything out except for one thought… left… right… left… right. She moved each foot as she thought it, otherwise she would stop and never start again.
On and on they went with little noise except the shuffling of feet. Even the Moorlanders stayed quiet. They must be feeling the pain now, Angela thought. They had to. Unless they weren’t human. Every now and then she glanced over at Cam, but he kept his head down. She saw the red streaks of angry sunburn on the back of his neck. It made her flinch. She’d not seen Sebastian or Ginge for hours. They remained at the back of the group.
The sun set and they trudged on up a steep hill. The moors became grassy fields. Four times Angela struggled over a stile or a rusted gate that wouldn’t budge. Her knees cramped from the effort. She stared at her feet – willing them onwards. Harry kept the pace, occasionally checking back to hurry them along. He reached the top of the hill first, just as the sky became dark. Angela struggled on, ignoring the hateful glances from the Moorlanders. Cam tripped over his feet yet never fell. She found herself counting her steps, telling herself, just one more… nearly there… a few more… until she reached the top of the hill, standing almost side by side with Harry. She gazed down at the landscape below and her heart soared. Lights twinkled in the dark valleys. Area 14 lay less than a mile away.
Harry led them into the night, and Angela found a new energy. She gulped in the cooler air and pushed on, smelling the earthy scent of night. Her feet carried her on. She was home. She thought of her mother and what she would say to her. But then fear took hold of her heart like a fist – what if she didn’t remember her? She shook the thought away. It was no time to think of such things, she had to get to Area 14 first. They had to find Sebastian’s father and get out of the ropes and chains. She wanted to reach out and hold Cam’s hand, tell him that everything was going to be okay, that it didn’t matter what the Moorlanders said, he was brave to her and always would be. Her feet stumbled on, quickly now, her guard had to rush to keep up.
The hill flattened out onto a straight road leading towards the Border patrol. Harry waved a torch to alert the Enforcers. It was a clear night with only a sliver of moon to light the way. Angela focussed on the torch light, following Harry’s footsteps. She was glad not to see Cam’s expression anymore, it had haunted her all day, and now all she wanted was to get to Area 14. The place she’d been so desperate to leave all those months ago.
“Hey!” Harry yelled out into the dark. “Heyy-OO! Moorlanders here. Got yer a little present.” Angela felt the presence of his malicious grin in his words. “Come on then.”
She heard the creak of the Enforcer uniforms as they approached. “State your names and intentions.”
“State me name?” Harry said with a laugh. “Well, it’s ‘Arry, mate. An’ me intention is t’hand over yer Commander’s son, that’s me intention.”
“You have Commander Cole’s son?” the Enforcer said with an incredulous tone to his voice.
One of the Moorlanders dragged Sebastian into the torchlight. He limped along with his mouth twisted in a grimace. The Enforcer shone a torch in his eyes and Sebastian squinted away from the bright light. They mumbled something to each other and one jogged in the opposite direction.
“Has he gone to get my father?” Sebastian blurted out with a raw voice. Angela saw him try to clear his throat and wince. They were all suffering from dehydration.
“What about the others?” asked the Enforcer.
Harry shrugged. “I’m sure the boy is valuable t’yer Commander but I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about the others. We can sell ‘em t’Dales folk.”
“No,” Ginge shouted from the back. “You cannae do that’ ye said––”
“I said what?” Harry’s eyes were terrifying in the low light; milky and bloodshot; wide and hard. “I said I’d get yer t’border an’ I have.”
“Yeah but ‘Arry,” the Moorlander nearest Angela spoke. “They’ve only just made it ‘ere. Look at ‘em. They can ‘ardly stand. If we try an’ sell ‘em to the Dales folk they’ll laugh in our faces.”
“Then we’ll eat ‘em,” Harry said. He revealed his yellow teeth. Angela shuddered, imagining those teeth on her skin. “The black ‘un’s fat enough fer us all.”
“Or we could see ‘ow much they’re worth to these Area lot,” said the Moorlander. Angela had hated him before, but she could kiss him now. “Trade fer proper food.” He licked his lips. “I have a family, ‘Arry. I need t’get them food that in’t going t’go bad on the way back.”
Harry hesitated. “All right. We’ll see what they’ll trade fer. Mark my words; if it’s nowt… we’re tekin’ ‘em an’ carvin’ ‘em up.”
Angela sucked in a long breath, trying not to cry. Sebastian stumbled forward with panic in his eyes. He had no idea what his father would do for them, Angela could see it written in his expression. Apart from Sebastian she was the only one of the group who’d met Vincent Cole, and she remembered his emotionless face with a shudder.
Two sets of footsteps approached, and she held her breath. Sebastian’s father followed the Enforcer wearing a dark suit buttoned to the neck, almost making it appear that his head floated along disjointed from his body. His grey hair stood out like snow on tarmac. Did he have grey hair last time they met?
“What’s going on? Where’s my son?” he demanded.
“I’m here, father,” Sebastian said, his nerves betrayed by the tremulous edge in his voice.
“You came,” said Mr Cole. “Matthew gave you the message.” He moved towards his son and stood a foot away. He didn’t hug Sebastian, but he did sound pleased to see him. Angela couldn’t tell if it was a bad sign, but she breathed out at last. “Who do you have with you?” He stepped around Sebastian to stare at the group. “I don’t know either of you. I know you, though.” He moved from Cam and Ginge to Angela. “Yes, I remember you.” He glared at Angela, and she cowered under the ferocity of his dark eyes. “You’ve not brought Mina.”
“N-no, sir,” Sebastian said. “I thought you just wanted to see me.” His voice was small and the darkness almost swallowed it up.
“As touchin’ as this reunion is,” said Harry in a sarcastic voice. “There’s the matter of payment, Commander. Seein’ as I just brought yer long lost son to yer.”
“Quite right.” Mr Cole directed his attention to Harry. “First I want my son and his people to cross the border onto our land.”
“They can do that. We’ll just stay right ‘ere behind ‘em though,” Harry replied.
“Fair enough,” Mr Cole said. He motioned for them to approach.
Angela struggled with her aching legs as she shuffled closer to Cam. Ginge’s legs shook so hard that Sebastian had to help her walk. They moved behind Mr Cole.
“Right then, we’ll be ‘avin a cart of food t’take wi’ us. Bread, wine, water, dried fruit, figs if yer’ve got ‘em…” as Harry continued his list Mr Cole nodded at an Enforcer, “tea bags, sugar––”
Without any warning, the Enforcer shot Harry in the heart and blood sprayed out onto the road. Angela screamed as Harry crumpled to the floor like a punched paper bag. The Moorlanders stood in horror, staring down at their murdered leader. Mr Cole nodded once more and guns fired, short bursts of laser streams lit the darkness, and bullets flew. Most of the Moorlanders didn’t even get a chance to shoot back. It was a blood bath.
After all of them hit the ground one of the Enforcers walked towards the bodies and calmly shot each of them in the head. Angela could no longer hold back her tears. She cried until her cheeks were soaking wet. Cam pulled her to him, his eyes white and stark in the dark night. His body trembled, and she’d never known Cam tremble e
ver before.
Mr Cole turned to leave. “Put my son and the others in a cell. We don’t set deserters and Clan folk free in my town.”
An Enforcer dragged her away by the elbow.
19 ~ Daniel ~
The car careened around a dark corner and pulled up alongside an overflowing skip. They’d lost the Enforcers by veering through narrow alleys in the night. Daniel prised his stiff fingers from the hand holds on the cart. He’d gripped on so tight that his knuckles turned white.
“Everyone out,” shouted the insurgent. “We need to run from here.”
Daniel helped Hiro out of the car and held the small boy to his chest. The man from the Resistance piled dirty cardboard boxes over the car.
“We’re a few streets from the church.”
Matthew and Jonathon dragged a half-conscious Ali through the dark. Daniel followed with Hiro, moving swiftly. Distant sirens wailed on in the background, and his heart pounded.
“Nearly there, Hiro,” he whispered. The words soothed him as much as the boy.
“I know,” Hiro said. “I see it in his mind.” He meant the insurgent.
Daniel powered on, striding out across the ground. Sweat dripped down his forehead as they rushed through the alleyway, all the time the sirens coming closer.
The street widened to reveal the church; little more than a misshapen shadow in the night. The Resistance guy flew up the steps and rapped on the door while the others caught up. There was a rap back and he knocked three times. The door creaked open as Daniel carried Hiro up the steps, his back beginning to ache from the effort of the boy’s extra weight. He set Hiro down on the steps and turned to help the others with Ali. Jonathon handed Ali over to Daniel and staggered up the steps holding his chest. The fast walk and extra weight had taken its toll on the older man. Daniel felt Ali’s muscles trembling through his Enforcer’s suit. Matthew whispered words of encouragement in a slow voice.
“There’s someone hurt,” said a girl’s voice from inside the church.
Daniel hurried through the wide church door with Ali on his arm and a short, white haired priest shuffled around them to bolt it shut – holding a torch to light the way. Daniel helped Ali onto the floor and propped up his head with Matthew’s jacket. A blur of blonde hair knelt down beside him.
“Help me take off his helmet,” she instructed.
At first Daniel had expected the blonde haired girl to be Kitty, but as she spoke he realised Kitty was still in her fake Enforcer uniform and standing with Mike a few feet away. As Matthew and the blonde girl removed Ali’s helmet, the others followed suit, letting them clatter to the floor.
“We need to get everyone in the basement,” said the priest.
“We’ll have to carry him,” said the blonde girl. “You – help him up,” she instructed Matthew.
Ali’s head drooped to one side as he lost consciousness. A pale and sickly sheen turned his brown skin to a dirty grey. It was a bad sign. Matthew lifted him from under his arms while the girl took his feet. The priest cleared away the helmets, and Enforcer paraphernalia left by the group.
Daniel’s throat tightened as he scanned all the religious artefacts like crucifixes and stained glass windows. They stood in the opening of the church nave, with the pews lined up towards the altar. Flashes of his mother’s ornaments came to mind; a plastic Jesus, rosary beads and a wooden nativity scene. He forced himself through the church, hugging his body against the chill. Kitty carried Hiro and walked alongside him.
The priest led them through a lounge, another door, a hidden trap door, and down a steep set of stairs to a dingy basement below the church. A bare light bulb swung overhead like a pendulum – casting fleeting shadows across the faces of the men, women and children living in the gloom. The priest rushed over to a table and pulled it closer for them to put Ali down.
Daniel helped them lift Ali onto the table. It was only just long enough to accommodate his tall frame.
“Is he going to be all right?” Matthew asked. Daniel heard the tears in his voice, even if he didn’t see them in the dim light.
“I’ve not seen the wound yet,” she replied. She worked on his clothing, unzipping the jacket with nimble fingers. Blood seeped through the leather onto the table. It dripped down to the stone floor like a leaking tap.
“Medical kit. Now!”
A scruffy young kid rushed towards us with a first aid kit and eyed Daniel warily. It was his first realisation that they’d invaded a home and brought danger with them.
The girl cut through Ali’s clothes to reveal the wound – a large gaping hole of red mess, with the bone visible – that made Daniel’s stomach churn. The girl didn’t flinch. She poked through the exposed flesh.
“No bullet,” she said. “His muscle’s been torn open by a laser. I don’t think anything’s hit the bone and his arm isn’t broken. That’s good. I need to clean the wound and stop the bleeding. He’s going to be okay.”
Her eyes met Daniel’s and she lost her focus for a moment. She was very pretty but her staring blue eyes made him feel uncomfortable. He blushed and looked away. The girl’s cheeks reddened and she got back to work on Ali’s wound.
“The most important thing to do is stop the bleeding and let him heal. Someone needs to boil water. I’ll wipe the wound with disinfectant and bandage it for now,” she said. “I’ll wash it properly when I need to change the bandages. I think he passed out from blood loss. I don’t know how much blood he’s lost, but as long as his pulse stays stable he should be fine. We’ll keep an eye on him. I think he just needs rest to let his wound heal.”
Matthew leaned across and took hold of the girl’s hands. “Thank you.”
She nodded and let him hold her for a second before getting back to the job. They stripped Ali to the waist and she bandaged his shoulder. Daniel let out a sigh and moved back to stand away from the others. He felt the eyeballs of the Resistance watching him and slunk back into the shadows. If only he could disappear into them like a ghost.
A dark skinned man crossed the basement. He held out a hand for Daniel to shake. It took Daniel a few moments to realise that this was their insurgent. The man’s full lips parted into a friendly greeting.
“I’m Des,” he said. Daniel took his hand. “I’m the leader of the St Francis squadron.”
“Daniel. Thank you for helping us. We wouldn’t have made it into London without the Resistance.”
“I’m sorry Ali was injured,” said Des. “He’s a good man. We communicate on the Plan-Its sometimes.” He pointed to a shorter man in a baseball cap and thick glasses. “Dale here arranged the meet up. I’ve been posing as an Enforcer for some time now. I don’t think I’ll be back now, though.”
“S-sorry about that,” Daniel said.
Des shrugged nonchalantly. “No matter. The best laid plans and all that. Besides I’m sure K has another mission for us soon.”
“K?” Daniel asked.
“My, you guys really are kept in the dark, aren’t you? K runs the Resistance. We are just a tiny fraction of a huge organisation.” He passed his arm over the people in the basement. Daniel followed the direction of his hand, noting just a few dozen people, many of whom were families – not soldiers. “I just thank God we are all alive.” He kissed his finger and pointed to the ceiling.
Daniel stiffened. The last person he knew who thanked God also prayed for Him to take her son away from her. He tried to ignore his old prejudice, but couldn’t help it – he was suspicious of anyone who thanked God for anything, and another scar itched on his arm.
Daniel might have imagined it, but he felt the atmosphere cool with Des, and his expression darkened. Was it Des? Or was it something else?
The man opened his arms. “Where are my manners? You’ve had a long journey. Let me feed and water you.” He clicked his fingers at some of the people around them, and they scurried off towards a tiny kitchen. “We don’t have much, but I offer what we have to our guests. There is a bath beyond the screen in t
he far corner, food and drink in the kitchen, and bunks along the walls.” He wrapped an arm around Daniel’s shoulder, ushering him away from the others. “Luce will care for your friend. He’s in safe hands.”
The blonde girl had a name. Luce. Des dropped his arm when they reached the kitchen and he introduced himself to the others. Hiro hung back with Daniel.
“Don’t trust him,” Hiro said. “And don’t tell him what I can do.”
20 ~ Mina ~
“There’s one more place I want to show you, Mina. And then I think it’s time for a break and a cuppa.” Mum squeezed my shoulders in excitement.
I followed at her heels; tripping over myself; unable to concentrate on what I was doing. Elena Darcey. What was she doing here? Why had she silenced me? The image popped up in my head as bizarre and wrong – Elena holding a toddler. It just didn’t fit with her. Elena wasn’t the kind of girl to get a career in the GEM; she was the kind of girl to go to modelling competitions and beauty pageants. Elena always did surprise you when you least expected it. When you thought she was a bully she’d help you, when you thought she was dim and shallow, she’d tell you how she wanted to be a vet, and when you thought she was away in the GEM district, she emerged in the ghettos and risked everything to save you. I had to suppress a snigger, despite how messed up everything seemed. First Mrs Murgatroyd and then Elena – who else would I find lurking around the corner of the GEM hallways?
“Are you listening, Mina?” asked Mum. “This is a very important aspect of the new career I have lined up for you.”
“Career?” I frowned. A cool feeling spread over my skin, and my legs trembled. Perhaps the flu still hadn’t left my body. “What do you mean by career?”