“I’m not lying,” she cried weakly. “I just wanted somewhere warm to sleep.” She lowered her head to protect it from another attack.
“Okay.” The man sighed. He stood upright and stepped away from the chair. “I know we’re not getting the full story. Perhaps some time to think things through might do you some good. We’ll leave you for a short while, but when we come back you’d better be telling the truth,” he indicated to his colleague, “because we execute liars around here,” he warned as they turned towards the stairs.
Jason shut the door, then moved down the passage and quickly slipped outside. There, he quietly closed the fire exit until there was just enough of a gap for the tips of his fingers. Holding the heavy metal, he prevented the lock from catching. He waited until the double doors thumped at the far end of the corridor and all fell silent before creeping back inside and returning to the basement.
As he passed into the cellar, he stayed low. Moving down the stairs, as though each were a mine, he lowered his weight gently to make no sound. At ceiling level he stopped to check the room.
Sarah was alone. Struggling against the ropes which tied her to the chair, she strained the bonds to work them loose.
Jason quickened his pace.
“No, please,” she cried, as the bottom step groaned, betraying his approach.
“It’s me,” he hissed. He stepped around and slipped off the blindfold. Closer now he could see more injuries. Bruising below her nose had seeped to skin level when her teeth had torn the cheek.
“Thank you for coming back,” she choked. Her eyes filled with tears. As she blinked they brimmed her lashes.
Jason gently dabbed them away with the mask, before they reached her lacerations.
“I wouldn’t dream...” He stopped when a wave of guilt reminded him he had. “I couldn’t leave you,” he continued more truthfully.
As he started to release her bonds she looked back at him, her eyes wide with terror. “They’re mad. They would’ve killed me.”
He finished loosening the ropes and flung them away from the chair.
Sarah stood, rubbing her chafed wrists to return the circulation.
“You deserve an explanation,” he said; now was the time for honesty. He paused, still reluctant to reveal his origins. His machine had been a secret for so long it was hard for him to discuss it with anyone, except Jessica.
She looked at him expectantly.
He took a deep breath, then plunged on. “I know it sounds insane, but this timeline you accept as normal is the result of my actions. I built a time machine to travel back to 1930 to carry out what I thought would be a harmless alteration. When I returned home I knew something had gone wrong because everything was different.”
He stood staring throughout his confession, watching her reactions, but Sarah never flickered. She hadn’t called him mad; she hadn’t started to laugh; that was enough for now. “I’ll tell you the rest outside.” They couldn’t afford to linger. “Come on, let’s go.” He took her by the hand, leading her up the stairs. At the top he stopped and listened. The passage beyond was silent. Opening the door he peered outside. “Come on,” he said.
“Leaving so soon?”
Shocked, Jason jumped violently at the man’s voice. Everything seemed to slow, especially his reactions. With nowhere to run, he tried to lash out – but only hit air. The perpetrator was too quick. He tried again, still unable to see who had spoken. And again he failed to connect. The third chance never came. A brief blur created pain, then the world around him suddenly turned black.
Chapter Seventeen
Jason opened his eyes, then quickly closed them again. Squeezing them tightly shut, he tried to block out the pain. It made no difference; in fact it made it worse. He waited a while, then tried to open them again. This time he found he could bear the light even though that was about all he could really see. Everything seemed to be dazzlingly bright, a situation made worse by colours flashing at his peripheral vision like miniature camera bulbs.
As more of his senses came on board and a slight feeling of sickness died down, Jason found the brightness started to fade and the room slowly came into focus.
He tentatively blinked and moved his eyes around, taking in his surroundings. He was no longer in the basement, but lying on a couch in an office instead. His head felt like it had been used as a football and his ribs hurt if he breathed too deeply.
“Pleased you’re back with us,” a familiar voice to his right said.
He gently turned his head to look at Sarah. Even this simple movement produced pain. He wanted to smile – he was happy to see her – but his head, his jaw and his chest hurt too much to muster an expression of joy. “You all right?” he asked. His voice was hoarse. His throat ached when he spoke. He raised a hand, touched his neck and found it tender.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She brought him up-to-date. “You landed on your head.”
“Figures.”
“You were kicked in the chest, then after that they both just laid into you. I thought they’d never stop,” she said fearfully. “I thought you were dead.”
“Now I know why I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.” He winced when a wave of pain washed over his scalp. He waited until the sharpness of the spasm eased before speaking again. “I was telling the truth in the basement. If you came to Ponteland, you would see my machine. I’m not mad, you do know that don’t you?”
“I know you’re not.” She gave a wry smile. “Crazy as it sounds, it’s the only thing you’ve said that actually rings true. There was always something about you not right. I now know what it was: you look too healthy. The war was obviously on a global scale. There’s been no air traffic and no radio transmissions since we were bombed. There’s no way you would have escaped the level of pollution a worldwide nuclear war would have caused.”
Jason twitched his mouth. He was pleased she believed him. He was afraid she would distance herself and he’d be left to continue with his quest alone. It was a frightening world and he’d felt some comfort when Sarah had joined him.
“I’m sorry I ruined your life.” He averted his eyes, unable to look at her as he said this. He had to say it. He’d confessed and now must say sorry.
“I forgive you, but only because you took this beating for me.”
He looked back, smiled, “Good.”
“Did you find what you were looking for in the library?”
“Yes. I was involved in a scuffle just before I left 1930, which resulted in the deaths of two men. In my timeline one of those men, Adolf Hitler, was responsible for starting a war which escalated into a second world war. Do you recognise that name?”
She shook her head.
Jason shrugged. “I didn’t think you would. During this war, the atomic bomb was developed – more than twenty years earlier than it was in this timeline – and used on civilian targets. Because of this, the horrors of its use on a population were realised. In this timeline there was no war. Therefore the effects of the atomic bomb remained laboratory statistics instead of firm facts, paving the way for its potential use as a military weapon.”
They both jumped when the door to the office suddenly opened. Jason fell silent as a tall, silver-haired man wearing an officer’s uniform walked into the room.
The atmosphere immediately changed and as the air temperature seemingly dropped, Jason got the distinct feeling this was a person who was not to be messed with.
“Hello, I’m Captain Briggs,” he said, as he walked over. “It’s nice to see you’re recovering. Not too much of a headache I hope. Our doctor examined you, and apart from slight concussion, he thinks you’ll be fine.” Then he smiled.
It seemed to Jason this was no more than a contraction of the facial muscles; a reaction which never reached his eyes, carried out without any genuine feeling or warmth.
Briggs retrieved a chair from the corner of the room and sat down next to the couch. “I want to apologise for my men’s serious misconduct. Whi
lst I was out with the platoon and a work party, they spent the morning interrogating some ex-council officials who’d been found hiding in a shelter beneath the library.”
At the mention of the words ‘work party’ Sarah noticeably winced.
Either Briggs didn’t see it or he simply chose to ignore it, but he offered no reaction.
“They were sure the councillors were aware of the location of a food bunker, which is supposed to be nearby. They broke into the shelter and tortured the councillors to try to get the information they wanted. Unfortunately, by the time I’d returned, all the councillors were dead. It seems you two,” he glanced at Sarah, “got caught up in that incident. The men involved will, of course, be executed for their insubordination,” he added casually.
Briggs had just finished speaking when another soldier walked into the room. The captain looked around and beckoned the new arrival to the couch. “This is Sergeant Andrews.”
Andrews nodded before pointing to the bruising on Jason’s face. “Hope it doesn’t hurt too much.”
“No, it’s okay,” Jason lied. He immediately recognised Andrews from the roadside and remembered his casual, throwaway attitude to human life. He had no intention of engaging with this man.
Jason glanced at Sarah when he noticed her shuffle uncomfortably.
Her gaze had dropped and she was surprisingly pale, even for her.
A putrid, sweet smell of decay had entered the room along with the sergeant. As Andrews suddenly coughed – a deep, throaty, infected cough – there it was again.
The door opened once more and a squaddie walked into the office. She stood to attention in front of the two men.
“Take the lady to the restroom and give her something to eat,” Briggs instructed.
Sarah looked nervously at Jason. He could see she didn’t want to go.
“I’m sure she’d rather stay here,” Jason said. He smiled, as best he could, to defuse any tension. He didn’t want to aggravate these men.
“She’ll be perfectly all right,” Briggs told him firmly. Then to Sarah he said, “I just want to have a private chat with your friend. He’ll be along shortly to join you.”
His tone unnerved Jason. “Go have something to eat,” he urged, feeling Sarah would perhaps be better off out of the room after all. “I’m sure we’ll not be long.”
Sarah stood and reluctantly followed the soldier out of the office, with Andrews close behind.
Once they were alone, Briggs moved his chair around so that he could look directly at Jason. “You were overheard by one of my men talking about a machine which can allegedly be used to travel through time.” Briggs’ light blue eyes seemed to pierce straight through the scientist and see directly into his soul. “This sounds more than a little far-fetched to me,” he continued, “but still, I would be interested to hear what you have to say about it.”
Jason knew he was being watched for a reaction. He laughed out loud, but his attempt to ridicule the idea sounded strained and false. “I think your soldiers must’ve found a stash of alcohol,” he snorted. “Someone’s got a wild imagination, haven’t they?” He could feel a cold sweat forming on his skin.
Briggs ignored the remarks. “History books were found on a table upstairs,” he said, leaning forward. “What exactly were you looking for?”
“Nothing to do with me,” Jason said. He tried to return Briggs’ stare, but found it impossible to hold for more than a few seconds.
Briggs casually looked Jason up and down, then stood briefly and felt the material of his jacket.
Even battered, Jason knew he looked too healthy – Sarah had said so.
Suddenly Briggs stopped his examination. He sat back, then unexpectedly began to laugh. Jason jumped, alarmed by the surprising turn of events.
“Of course it’s all rubbish,” he bellowed. “I just wanted to hear you say it. Now come, I’ll take you to join the lady.” He helped Jason to his feet. “It’s obvious you had no part in what took place this afternoon, so you can both go. Are you staying in town or were you heading somewhere?”
“North,” Jason replied, avoiding eye contact with the officer. “We’re just heading north.”
Briggs nodded, “Outrun the radiation.” He opened the door and led the way from the room. “I’ll have two of my men take you to the edge of town.”
In the corridor Briggs snapped his fingers and pointed at two soldiers, to indicate they would be their escorts.
Sarah was sitting on a couch in a small office at the end of the passage, drinking her first cup of tea in over a month. Here for the first time since her world had been obliterated, she could almost fool herself into thinking everything was normal.
Jason was relieved to find her looking relaxed and happy when he entered the room. He was saddened he had to take her away. If things had been different; if he felt she would be safe, he would ask her to decide, but there was serious danger here and to leave her behind was unthinkable.
Sarah looked up and smiled as he crossed the room towards her. “Come on, we’re leaving. Captain Briggs has organised…” He turned as two armed soldiers entered the room.
“We’re your escorts out of town,” the younger of the two said.
Sarah raised her brow and glanced at Jason questioningly, then began to gather their belongings.
Jason, his head down, quickly helped her to pack.
Outside they made their way at a comfortable pace towards the edge of town.
Jason and Sarah walked in complete silence, unnerved by their escorts who carried their guns in a relaxed but ready position.
The soldiers, walking about ten feet behind, talked in low, hushed voices on a subject the pair couldn’t make out.
As they left the last of the houses behind and arrived on the wood flanked road, Jason stopped and turned to face the young men. “Well thanks for the escort. This is the edge of town. I suppose you’ll be leaving us now.”
“We were instructed to take you to the edge of the woods, then kill you,” the older of the two said. His face showed no emotion as he conveyed this brutal fact.
Jason’s mind raced as his heart and body struggled to catch up. There was no way he could reach his own gun before they would kill him and the trees were still too far away for them to run for cover.
The younger man spoke. “We’ve decided to let you go. We’re sick of the killings. I don’t know why Briggs wants you two dead, but it can’t be for any good reason. He told those men to interrogate the councillors. Then when the platoon returned and they’d carried out his orders, he had the soldiers shot because the councillors had died before they’d got the information Briggs wanted.”
The older of the two shook his head sadly. “I was friends with one of those men. We’d worked together for five years. Briggs isn’t even our commanding officer. Captain Harrison was killed in an explosion not long after Briggs showed up. I’m convinced Briggs somehow staged the explosion, although it’s impossible to prove. Briggs then elected himself captain with the backing of Sergeant Andrews. Sergeant Andrews was always a really good NCO and he’d told us, at the time, Briggs was okay, but since Briggs’ arrived Andrews has changed. God knows what’s got into him. We don’t like the way they get things done. Since Briggs took charge any kind of moral code has completely disappeared.”
Jason felt himself jump when the younger man seemed to be reaching for his gun. He regretted the involuntary action when the soldier retrieved his caddy instead.
“It was Briggs who introduced the work parties.” He took a swig of water. “Everyone who was fit had to help with disposing bodies and clearing bomb damage. They were basically told if they didn’t work, they didn’t eat. One night Harry Dobson, a private in our platoon, was caught sneaking food out for the old people who live in the town. When Briggs found out he had Harry shot for insubordination. Since then a few other soldiers have gone missing, but no one’s prepared to talk about it, and we’re all terrified of Briggs and Andrews now.”
“If you know what’s best for you, you’ll get as far away from this place as you can. We’ve no intention of going back.”
Jason nodded. “Thanks.” He took Sarah’s hand and slowly moved around. As they walked in the direction of the trees he waited for the shot. He remembered his forehead and how it had stung. If he were shot through the heart, how much more would it hurt? The anticipation was unbearable, but as they passed beyond the trees and there was still no pain, still no crack, he dared to think they could make it. “Run,” he hissed.
His muscles, which had begun to stiffen, now screamed out in agony, but he forced himself on, dragging Sarah behind. A lumbering lurch was the best they could manage and he knew the young men, well fed and uninjured, could easily catch them up. His anxiety decreased with their distance from the road, but still he ran on, until, “Stop, stop,” was gasped from behind.
Sarah, gulping in air as fast as her lungs allowed, bent double the moment her hand was released, then slowly slipped to her knees. As the heat cooled, and desperate heaving calmed, she lifted her head and searched the woods for danger.
Jason was looking back towards their route through the trees. “It’s all right, we’re not being followed.” He offered a hand and helped her to stand.
She dusted herself down. “There were some seriously scary people back there.”
Jason nodded. “I’d like to say Briggs is nuts, but the worst of it is, I don’t think he is. He’s a predator, perfectly adapted to survive in this environment. He’s too controlled to be crazy.”
“The sergeant who came into the office, Andrews.”
“Yes.”
“He was the one who beat me up.”
Jason’s face hardened. These people had to be stopped. “We have to get out of here.”
As they turned to continue through the woods, two shots were heard from the road behind. They froze in terror and turned towards the sound.
“Maybe they’re making out they’ve carried out their orders?” Sarah whispered. “You could hear that at the library.”
“Perhaps,” Jason replied distractedly. “Either way, let’s keep moving.”
Time Split Page 12