Chapter Eight
The trip back to my cell was a blur. I vaguely remembered them prising my hand from Taylor's grasp and leading him in a different direction.
"Will we be going together?" I whispered to Laurie as she showed me back into the cell.
She glanced up at the camera in the corner of my room before whispering back. "Yes, they send out new convicts once a week. Together." And she was gone.
Great, I was a convict. But at least Taylor and I would be together, we could keep an eye on each other.
There was a glass of milk on the table. I strode across the room and downed it in one before collapsing on the bed. Sleep could have me.
When I woke, there was no new tracksuit but my SubWar uniform had arrived. It comprised of a black and grey camouflage-print pair of thick, waterproof trousers and a matching coat. There was a dark green vest top to go underneath and a pair of sturdy black walking boots that buckled up tightly around my calves.
I got changed and surveyed myself in the mirror. The uniform I had seen so regularly on the news looked strange on me.
I pulled my long hair back and tied it tightly behind my head, taking a steadying breath. I concentrated on my reflection, forcing back the tears that were trying to escape and letting my expression harden. I wasn't going to let this beat me and I sure as hell wasn't going to die in some filthy pit with a group of criminals.
The suction release sound of the door opening drew my attention from the mirror. Laurie stood in the doorway with three other Wardens lurking in the corridor behind her, their backs to me. She was taller than me and looked formidable, as all Wardens did, but there was a softness to her face. Her mouth turned up at the corners as though waiting for an excuse to smile and her brown eyes sparkled.
I was glad to have Laurie to escort me. I really needed to see a friendly face even if she didn't have a choice about it.
"Ready to go?" she asked brightly, like we were off for a day out.
"If I say 'no' do I get to stay here, maybe go back to my apartment?" I asked, glancing around to see if I'd missed anything. Obviously I hadn't.
"You could give it a go," Laurie said. I looked from her mischievous grin to the gun at one hip and taser at the other.
"Maybe not," I said, walking from the cell without looking back.
It didn't take long for me to realise we were heading to the cable cars.
"No more helicopters?" I asked. Laurie glanced at the other Wardens before answering.
"No. You will be transported by underground vehicle to the SubWar complex," she said quietly.
"How do they know there aren't contaminants there?" I asked as they escorted me along the Walkways.
"It's a specially selected area which had a very low contamination reading originally and has been made safe for use in SubWar. It's protected like the city, though without concrete walls."
"Why don't people just run away then?" The other Wardens all gave me a stern look. "Not that I'm considering it, but the people who actually have to fight..." I trailed off.
After a long pause Laurie answered.
"Because the SubWar site is a safe zone but it is surrounded by an extremely dangerous contamination area. Only an idiot would run."
"Oh."
We had reached the cable cars on the north side of the city and were heading straight to the air lock.
"No biohazard suits?" I asked.
"Don't worry, the landing areas are safe zones. You only had them on before because you were heading into an untested area," Laurie said, but I still hesitated.
"Do you really think we would be going down there without suits if it was dangerous?" she asked, clapping a hand on my arm and steering me into a waiting cable car.
The ride down still took my breath away but the excitement I had felt before was replaced with fear. I wiped my sweaty palms on my trousers and counted my breaths in an attempt to stay calm.
At the base of The Wall where the cable cars turned around, a small group of people were gathered. I noticed some of them getting out of the car ahead of ours and could make out people in the car behind us too. They were all dressed like me and were surrounded by Wardens.
There were plenty of scars and bulging muscles coupled with grimaces on faces that looked in no way approachable. I wondered if any of them weren't Dwellers. I hadn't been planning on making new friends anyway.
The Wardens were fanning out to create a circle around the prisoners.
The door slid open as we reached the ground and Laurie pointed me towards the other prisoners. I stepped out and felt the softness of the dusty ground beneath my feet and the wind blowing in my face. It was like learning to breathe all over again. I had never noticed how stuffy the city was but suddenly it was clear. At least I would get to experience a bit more of the outside world during my sentence.
I peered around, looking for Taylor. He wasn't hard to spot standing to one side of the group. I swear he was taller than I remembered. At least six foot maybe even more, with his brown hair still falling into his eyes.
I made my way to his side and he put an arm around me.
"Did they let you see your dad before you left?" I asked.
He nodded. "After the trial. Mom too."
"I guess orphans don't get visitors," I smiled bitterly.
"They said they were going to try and see you after they left me." Taylor held me at arms' length and looked into my eyes with an annoying amount of concern. I shook him off.
"I've been alone since I was twelve, don't start giving me the poor little orphan look." I walked away from him towards the rest of the group. Taylor trailed behind, trying to wipe the pity from his face before I smacked it off.
The last cable car came to a stop and a group of Wardens twice the size of those that had escorted me, including Unibrow, disembarked. They were surrounding a huge man who was held between them by hand and leg manacles attached to chains. His arms were roped with tattoos of various violent looking weapons and he was actually snarling like some kind of animal. He was tugging on the chains as though determined to cause as much difficulty for his captors as possible.
His head was shaved completely bald and he had a nasty gleam in his eyes as they darted about, taking measure of all the other convicts. His gaze connected with mine and I took an involuntary step backwards. I quickly turned away.
"Time to move." Laurie had appeared next to me and I jumped a little as she spoke.
"Where to?" I asked.
She pointed across the open area to a tunnel entrance which was barely visible amongst the rocky terrain. The assembled group started heading towards it.
"Transport takes you underground. It's safer, plus you don't know which direction you're travelling which helps with security." As she strolled along next to me companionably it was easy to forget she was a Warden. I was aware of Taylor following behind us, his eyes boring a hole in the back of my head.
The tunnel opened up ahead of us like a dark mouth ready to swallow us whole. The other convicts and Wardens were already disappearing rapidly downwards and out of sight as we moved to follow.
As we arrived at the tunnel entrance, we were met with a huge metal staircase that descended deep underground. Each step was dimly lit with yellow lights but they didn't give enough illumination to show much of the surrounding cavern which dropped away from us.
"Line up, keep up the pace!" Unibrow shouted.
The other Wardens started to urge the remaining prisoners on. We lined up for the stairs, four abreast. Laurie was on my right by the wall, Taylor on my left and another Warden, who I christened Fish-lips, to his left. Bodies were packed in front and behind us, uncomfortably close together.
I looked back for one last glimpse of sunlight and saw the Wardens holding the chained man at the rear.
My boots clanged noisily as they made the transition from stone to metal and I started the descent.
All I could hear was the pounding of feet which echoed dully in the confined s
pace. The light was so dim I had to stare at the steps beneath my feet, terrified that I might trip.
The tunnel felt never ending. We delved deeper and deeper underground, and it felt like the darkness was pressing in on us. I counted two hundred steps before we hit level ground. My breath came in little huffs and I stumbled as my legs adjusted to the change in pace. I tried not to think about how much earth was suspended above my head.
We came to a halt on a platform with tracks leading from left to right before disappearing into darkness. Laurie took my arm and guided me to the far end of the platform, I dragged Taylor along too.
A whooshing noise filled the tunnel and a rush of air ruffled my hair. Two pricks of light appeared from further down the track, getting clearer and clearer as something moved closer. I felt a chill as cold air seeped into my skin and I tucked my fingers into my armpits.
There was a rumbling as it approached and the tunnel itself vibrated. The roaring echoed around the open space so loudly that it drowned out every other sound.
"This is the transport network?" I asked Laurie in a shout as the train came into view. "I thought this was just used to travel between cities?"
"And to the SubWar zone. Down here we don't have to worry about contamination," Laurie yelled back.
"How can they be sure of that?" Taylor asked, cupping his hand around his mouth to be heard.
"Constant testing," said Laurie dismissively, though Taylor didn't look convinced.
The train coasted to a stop with a set of doors in front of us and several others further back along the platform. We piled in and Laurie led us to the front. The sudden silence made my ears tingle.
The seats were all arranged in fours, facing each other. She directed us into chairs that faced forwards and I took the aisle seat. There were ankle cuffs attached to the floor before each seat which she locked securely onto each of us in turn.
Satisfied, Laurie took one of the seats opposite and relaxed into it, stretching her arms out in front of her and making her shoulders pop.
"Protocol," she said apologetically, indicating our restraints.
"Don't worry about it," I reassured her. I would never have thought I could actually like a Warden. "So how long will it take us to get there?"
"A few hours, but don't worry, you won't be awake for it." She smirked.
"More milk?" I scowled.
"If you're cooperative, otherwise it's a needle." She looked over my head and I craned around to see what had caught her attention. The huge man was being restrained a lot more heavily than we were and he didn't seem to be feeling cooperative. I saw a Warden preparing a needle.
"Maybe two needles for him." I smiled but Laurie's face was stony as I turned back. She rummaged in a compartment next to her seat and took out two sealed bottles of milk and handed them to us.
"Be careful of him." She leaned close to me as she handed the bottles over before continuing in a whisper. "We aren't supposed to tell you about the other convicts but-" she paused as Fish-lips walked by.
"What?" I hissed.
"Just be careful, keep your distance. Especially you." She gave me a penetrating look which sent shivers down my spine.
I looked over my shoulder again as they plunged the needle into his neck. He was looking straight back at me and smiling, every one of his big yellow teeth on show. I sank down into my seat and downed my milk.
I woke to the rhythmic swaying of the train and blinked to clear the sleep from my eyes. I had been leaning on Taylor and dribbling but thankfully he wasn't awake to notice. I looked out of the window which was pointless as we were still in the tunnel and all I could see was my own reflection peering back at me.
"Stay fairly still or you'll have to drink more," Laurie whispered.
"Am I allowed to be awake?" I whispered back.
"Yes, just don't draw attention or they'll put you back under. They don't like to be disturbed on the journey."
I looked around at the other Wardens. They were all laughing, playing card games, watching movies on tablets and looking weirdly human. Laurie had a book and tablet set down on the seat next to her.
"You drug us so you can have fun on the journey?" I asked, keeping my voice low.
"What do you want us to do, sit here and stare at you all for three hours?" She wriggled her fingernails at me. She had been in the process of painting them a violent shade of orange.
"I guess not." I smiled back though it seemed wrong all the same.
"Anyway, most convicts aren't exactly excited about this journey. It's a kindness really." She shrugged.
"Everyone wins," I said sarcastically.
"I suppose so. It's not far now anyway." Laurie smiled wryly.
"What did you mean about him?" I jerked my head in the direction of the giant behind me.
"There's no reason to be worried really, they won't let him near you. You're just messengers, he's a lifer." Laurie screwed the top back on her nail polish and chucked it on the chair with her other things.
"You mean he killed someone?" I gasped, leaning across the gap between our seats so that I could hear Laurie's whispered response. She paused and glanced about before continuing.
"You remember those girls who went missing? It was all over the news. Anyway, they weren't found alive and they didn't die easy." She frowned over my head at him. "His name is Grey Sinclair." She paused again. "SubWar is too good for some people." Her eyes blazed with anger.
"Did you know one of the girls?" I asked, surprised by her reaction. It was her job to work with criminals, she must have come across murderers before.
"Not directly, but he took a girl who was my sister's neighbour. Just a bit too close to home for my liking."
I suppressed a shiver. Some of the other convicts were stirring now too.
I looked at Taylor. His face was pressed to the window with his mouth hanging open. I gave him a light shove, then a harder one, he didn't wake up. I glanced at Laurie who just shrugged.
"What if he's not awake when we get there?" I asked.
"We give him a shot of adrenalin, then he wakes up perky." She smiled wickedly.
The train started on an incline and I was pushed back into my seat. After a few minutes we spilled out of the tunnel and daylight streamed in through the window, blinding me.
We cruised to a stop at a platform surrounded by tall metal fences topped with razor wire. There were yellow signs on the fence with little pictures of a stick man being hit by a lighting bolt.
I peered past Taylor to get a look at the rest of the surrounding area but all I could see was a big, grey building on the other side of the fence and even more Wardens pacing the platform.
The windows on the other side of the train revealed a brown wasteland that sloped upwards beyond another fence. I couldn't tell what was beyond the hill.
I shook Taylor as hard as I could and he mumbled something unintelligible.
Laurie got up and unchained both of our leg manacles.
"I'm actually doing a round of guarding here for the next few months, so you won't be getting rid of me just yet," she said.
"Great, it'll be nice to have a friendly face around," I said, feeling genuinely pleased.
She smiled and helped me to pull Taylor to his feet. He staggered, clearly still under the effects of the sedative.
"Do you want a shot to wake you up?" I asked him and he nodded sleepily.
Laurie pulled a canister marked 'adrenalin' from her bag and took out a syringe. Taylor blinked at her stupidly.
"You're pretty," he slurred the words.
Laurie tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear.
"You might not think that in a moment." She took hold of his arm, pushed his sleeve up, and plunged the needle in. Taylor's eyes flew open and he stopped leaning on me for support. He stepped forwards and kissed Laurie right on the lips.
I felt my mouth fall open as Laurie recovered and slapped him round the face.
"I'm sorry,
I don't know what I was thinking," he spluttered. His hands were shaking and he looked about ready to bolt.
"You're probably feeling like running might be a good idea. It's not." Laurie fixed him with a stare, one hand on her taser. Taylor's eyes darted about like crazy and he took a deep, steadying breath. His cheek was red where she'd hit him.
"I'm okay. It's under control." He grinned sheepishly. "Feels like I could run forever though."
"Yeah it's kind of a rush. Makes some people do stupid things." Laurie narrowed her eyes at him but a faint blush coloured her cheeks. There was a knot in my stomach as I watched the two of them regarding each other.
The silence became uncomfortable and Taylor dropped his gaze. The doors opened with a hiss.
"C'mon." Laurie led us out through the doors of the train and onto the platform.
The other Wardens escorted the rest of the convicts out around us and we huddled together on the concrete platform. It was cold outside; the wind blew around us mercilessly and I was glad for the thick material of my uniform though it didn't protect my face.
The training unit loomed in front of us. It was a square block of a building with bars covering the few windows. It was very small compared to my experience of buildings, only three storeys high. The Wardens who had been waiting on the platform for our arrival made an outer ring around us and ushered us through the doors into the block.
Our names were called out and we were sorted into groups: messengers, time servers and lifers.
Grey was joined by a wicked looking woman with one side of her head shaved clean and the other covered with long, thick, blood-red hair. She had a huge, half healed scar running from the corner of her eye and up through the bald part of her scalp. Her name was Dolly Vanderhousen.
Most of the other convicts joined the time servers group and a short, red haired man named Evander Payfield joined me and Taylor as messengers, which made three of us. I wondered briefly what he had done to get here.
We were led down a short corridor to the dorms. Taylor and I hung back, letting the real criminals take the lead. I didn't like the way they looked at us. Like we were easy targets.
Each group was housed separately and we stooped off outside the lifer and time server dorms while the groups were shown in. Finally, we reached the one assigned to messengers.
"Nice huh?" Laurie smiled as we walked into the chamber.
The dorm was a narrow room containing just six beds. The whole area was unadorned and very practical. Each sleeping area contained a small table with space for clothes but nothing else. A ring along the floor encircled each one.
There were two doors at the far end of the room which led to male and female washrooms.
"Get comfortable and have some sleep. The training starts tomorrow," Laurie said as we surveyed the room. She looked like she wanted to say something else but thought better of it. She turned and walked out of the dorm with a wave.
"Twelve days of training and then we hit the fighting," Taylor said as he read a schedule that was hung from a board on the far wall.
Evander sighed and sat on the bed nearest to the exit. I picked one at the opposite end of the dorm and lay down. A voice sounded in my ear.
"Would you like some privacy?" It was the same smooth voice that was familiar from the city, though I couldn't see any speakers.
"Sure," I replied.
A thin wall made of some kind of reinforced, white plastic rose up from the floor around my bed and reached all the way to the ceiling, closing me in. I was alone with enough room to stand if I wanted to and a dim light on the table made it possible to see.
"This is a safe zone, it cannot be opened from the outside except by a Warden. Please rest peacefully with full knowledge of your complete safety whilst inside," the voice said.
"Thanks, but can I get out again for a minute?" I asked, unsure how to control it.
The wall slid back down. An uneven, slightly raised line along the floor marked where it was hiding.
Taylor was standing just on the other side of the line, looking at me.
"I couldn't get in to you," he said, looking confused.
"It's a safety measure, so no one murders us in the night." I shrugged, trying to make light of the fact that they obviously thought there was enough chance someone might try to kill us that we needed such elaborate protection.
"I'm gunna take a shower," I sighed.
"I'll join you," Taylor said. I stopped to raise an eyebrow at him. "I mean I'll have one too, in the men's showers. Not with you, obviously." I let him turn a good shade of beetroot before laughing and heading for the promise of hot water.
My hair was dripping wet and I was dressed in a soft tank top and sweat pants that had been left for me to wear at night. It was the sort of thing I would have worn back home and it made me feel a little more settled in the strange surroundings. Evander's bed was closed around him so the room was effectively empty.
I sat back down on the edge of my bed, refused its offer of privacy and took a deep, calming breath.
Taylor walked in a few minutes later wearing similar white jogging bottoms but his came without a shirt. Back home I'd noticed that his chest had grown a lot broader and his arms had filled out with muscles. Without a shirt to cover him, it was suddenly obvious that our slots in the Health and Wellbeing building's gym had changed him much more than they had me.
Taylor shook his wet hair, sending a spray of cold water in my direction. I squealed and dove for the safety of my pillow. He laughed and sank down on the bed next to me, giving me a playful shove which I responded to with a smack from my pillow.
We sat in silence for a while as we stopped giggling and the gravity of our situation sank in on us again.
"I don't want to sleep in a tank on my own tonight," I said quietly, looking up at him.
"I could stay." His eyes flicked to mine and back away. "In here, with you. If you like?" He shrugged like he wasn't sure if he should offer.
I glanced at the single bed and it crossed my mind that curling up in it with him might be a bit strange. But I really didn't want to be alone.
"I would like that," I said finally. I pulled at the cord on my sweat pants to give my hands something to do.
Taylor looked at me again and pushed my wet hair over my shoulder before placing his arm around me gently. I leant my head against his chest and let out a shaky breath.
"There's no need to be afraid, they're just making an example of us. We aren't in any real danger," he said, squeezing me tightly.
"I know, but it's not like we can be sure nothing will happen. Just being around these people... You know that big bloke they had in chains? Grey is his name." I lowered my voice despite Evander being hidden behind his security wall at the opposite end of the dorm.
"I thought I recognised him from the news," Taylor said with a nod.
"Laurie seemed scared about what he might do. To me. He gave me this look." I shuddered at the memory. "We need to stay away from him."
"We will. C'mon let's try to get some sleep."
He pulled me down onto the bed. It wasn't nearly big enough but Taylor let his leg dangle off of the end. I curled up next to him and tucked myself into his side with my head on his chest.
It felt weird. I wished he was wearing a shirt.
"Would you like some privacy?" the smooth voice asked again.
"Yes," I replied. The wall rose up and closed us inside.
"This is a safe zone, it cannot be opened from the outside except by a Warden. Please rest peacefully with full knowledge of your safety," the voice repeated.
Taylor gently ran his fingers through my hair. I stiffened at the contact. He didn't say anything but he let his hand drop back to the bed.
"Do you really think we'll be alright?" I asked after a while.
"You'll always be alright with me around." He gave me a little shake and I knew he was dodging the question. I let it drop and shuffled closer to him. I placed my hand
on his chest and felt the steady beat of his heart. I closed my eyes and let it lull me to sleep.
Chained - Everything you know is a lie... Page 8