Sarah didn’t deign to reply. The Captain scowled and then signalled with his head for Finn and Boulder to go ahead of him. “You too, boys.” They all passed through the door, but Lieutenant Wong was nowhere to be seen. The Captain stopped, holding Sarah in place. Finn and Boulder hovered uncertainly in front of them.
“Lieutenant?” called the Captain. They were in a short corridor, with three doors lining both sides and a door at the end. Two of the doors had fallen completely off their hinges. Suddenly the form of a man erupted from one of the broken doors, landing against the wall near Sarah. She jumped backwards, startled. The man lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, his long coat dirty and threadbare. His hair was straggly and unkempt. A small trickle of blood was trailing down his head from where he had collided with the wall. Sarah thought he was dead until she made out that his thin chest still rose and fell as he breathed. She tore her gaze upwards as Lieutenant Wong strode out of the room the man had come from, dusting off his hands.
“Squatter,” explained Lieutenant Wong. “He wouldn’t leave voluntarily.”
The Captain nodded and stepped over the man. Sarah had bent down towards the squatter but the Captain pulled her upwards and forwards, after Lieutenant Wong who was now heading towards the door on the far end. Sarah twisted around to find Clara behind her. Clara had knelt down next to the man and was rummaging in her bag. Sarah hoped that she was trying to find a bandage.
Lieutenant Wong quickly poked his head through each door before they got to the end.
“The offices,” he explained. “They’ve been completely stripped though. We won’t find anything there.” Finally he reached the end door, pushing it open. It swung easily on its hinges. They followed Lieutenant Wong through to a huge room with high ceilings and high set windows, from which filtered dusty streams of light. Lining the room were work benches. There were pieces of rusted, abandoned equipment scattered haphazardly around the room. Occasional scraps of plastic and paper littered the floor. A thick layer of dust lay over everything. Lieutenant Wong strode forward, doing a quick sweep of the room, making sure it was empty of any more uninvited guests. He got to the door at the far end and gave it a heavy tug. It was locked tight. It was the only other exit from the room.
“Well?” the Captain asked, giving Sarah’s arm a little shake.
Sarah shook her head in the negative. Nothing about this was even the slightest bit familiar.
The Captain let go of her arm and gave her a little shove forward. He stayed next to the door, blocking their only way out. “Go have a look around. Something will jog your memory.”
Sarah stumbled forward slowly. She took her time as she circled the room, making sure that she walked up and down each bench, touching any remaining equipment. She felt the gaze of the Captain on her the whole way. The feeling of lead in her stomach grew as she made her way across the room. None of this was familiar. What was he going to do when she couldn’t tell him anything? Would he just kill her? Would he hurt the boys? She passed Lieutenant Wong staring off at a bulky machine with a small frown across his face. He didn’t even glance at her as she passed. Finally, sensing that if she wasted any more time the Captain was going to snap in any case, she turned to face him.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know. None of this is familiar. I don’t know what you want me to do. And how do you know that they don’t just move every two weeks or something? They could be anywhere!”
“It would be too disruptive to their work. They would have found one place that works and stayed there,” he said dismissively. “Think harder,” he ordered.
Sarah took another look at the room, but only because she could think of nothing else to do.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I can’t remember whatever it is you want.” The Captain’s hand slowly travelled down to his revolver. Finn and Boulder took a wary step away from him. “I would tell you,” said Sarah earnestly, begging him to believe her. “If any of this triggered even the smallest memory you would be the first to know. I don’t know these Hourglass people. If they killed a woman, I don’t know why I should try and protect them either. I have nothing to hide.” The Captain stared at her, holding her gaze.
“Captain,” interrupted Lieutenant Wong, “I might have found something.”
The Captain’s hand dropped back down and he hurried over to Lieutenant Wong’s side. “You,” he ordered Sarah, “come here.”
Sarah followed him over to where Lieutenant Wong was. He was crouched next to the bulky machine she had seen him staring at earlier.
Lieutenant Wong turned to face them. “This was one of the machines I used to run maintenance on,” he explained. “The scientists used it all the time. It helped them analyse their data.”
“And?” prompted the Captain, trying to get him to the point.
“And wherever they went, they probably needed another one of these. It’s a big machine, too bulky and big to have moved in a rush. Nah, they would have had to relocate somewhere where they had access to another one.”
“There are probably thousands of these things out there,” said the Captain dubiously.
Lieutenant Wong shook his head, smiling. “That’s the thing. This beast used to break down all the time, pissing the scientists off to no end. This meant that I got to know every dealer, supplier and other in-use machines in the surrounding area. There aren’t as many of them as you would think.”
“So you think you know where they would have gone?” asked the Captain, a note of excitement creeping into his voice.
Lieutenant Wong nodded. “I could wager a good guess. There’s another Hourglass facility a few hundred kilometres west of here. Most people don’t know about it because it was abandoned about eight years before this one was, in favour of a newer lab. They did the same thing as these people and left this machine behind. I was going to go out one day and strip it down for spare parts, but never got around to it. Good thing, right?” Lieutenant Wong grinned.
The Captain slapped his in a friendly way on the shoulder. “I knew you would earn your promotion,” he said.
“Alright, let’s move,” he ordered the room. “Better luck next time, yes?” he said to Sarah, his eyebrows raised. Sarah nodded. What else could she do?
Chapter Twenty-Six
The jeep had remained untouched while they were inside and was therefore still waiting for them as they came out of the building. Clara sped up her pace a little and jumped into the driver’s seat before Lieutenant Wong could. Lieutenant Wong laughed.
“Get out.”
“No way, I’m driving.”
“Really?” he replied disbelievingly. “Do you even know how?”
This was a fair question, even if it did have the effect of Clara scowling at him. As most people lived in overcrowded cities where there was no room for personal cars, hardly anyone could drive.
“Who was it who piloted the boat for three days straight without misshape? And who rescued you all from that city? Me, that’s who. I’m driving.”
Lieutenant Wong looked towards the Captain for back-up. The Captain shrugged, unbothered.
“Let her drive.”
“Sir,” acknowledged Lieutenant Wong, but under his breath, just audible to Clara and Sara, who were closest, was “you’ll regret this.”
The Captain definitely regretted it. Clara drove like a madman. Sarah was confident that they were going to die on at least three separate occasions. When it finally got too dark for them to drive any further on the dangerous roads, the Captain ordered her to pull over. Everyone piled out of the car quickly, instinctively trying to get as far away from it as possible. Clara, who had just had the time of her life and was now seriously considering a career as a pro-driver, beamed at them all uncomprehendingly. After taking a moment to appreciate solid ground beneath her feet, Sarah glanced around. They were in the middle of nowhere. All she could see was long, dry grass for miles. One or two trees and the remaining two walls of a collapsed building just off the road w
as all that broke up the monotony.
“Alright,” said the Captain, “set-up camp over there.” He pointed to the destroyed building.
Clara, who had jumped back into the jeep and was sorting through the bags, threw two of the bags towards Finn, Boulder and Sarah before jumping down from the truck with a third bag over her shoulder.
“Those contain sleeping bags and cooking utensils,” she said. “I’ve got the food.”
The food turned out to be protein bars and cubes of rice that could be cooked in two minutes in boiling water. As the four of them set up camp and prepared dinner, the Captain and Lieutenant stayed over near the jeep, poring over maps and muttering to each other.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” asked Sarah. “Surely they would have plotted the route by now?”
“They're probably working out the minutiae of their evil plan. Maybe trying to calculate if they have time to fit in a few innocent deaths along the way,” replied Finn sarcastically.
“Hey!” cried Clara indignantly, “they’re not evil! They’re trying to end the war.”
“They’re trying to destroy the other side,” said Finn. “There’s a difference. They also kidnapped us and are constantly threatening to harm us if Sarah doesn’t perform like some magical divining stick, which apparently everyone else here is ok with.”
Clara looked strained. “Ok,” she finally muttered, making sure that the Captain and Lieutenant Wong couldn’t hear her, “so maybe that part is not ok, but they’re looking at the bigger picture. And they haven’t actually hurt any of you yet. They’re trying to do good.”
“Yeah well it’s a blood funny way to show it,” replied Finn, entirely unconvinced.
Clara didn’t reply, instead she turned on her heels and walked over to the small outdoor kitchen they had set up ten metres away. She started pulling out the rice cubes in a determined way.
“Finally,” muttered Boulder. He turned to face the others, first checking that the Captain and Lieutenant were still out of earshot. “I’m making a run for it tonight,” he said. “You bugger can come or stay. Either way, I’m going.”
Sarah nodded. “Yup,” she agreed, “we’ve got to take every opportunity we can to get out of here. I’m not coming up with the goods, and even if I did I doubt they’d want to keep us around afterwards. We need to run.”
Boulder gaped at her, surprised. “Oh. Kind of through that there would be some internal struggle ending in you two kissing or something.”
“You’re an idiot,” said Finn. “Which way should we go?”
“Not across the fields, it’ll make too much noise. There’s too much crap underfoot,” said Boulder. “We head back down the road, at least until we get out of eyesight and earshot.”
“Agreed,” said Sarah.
“Now we just have to hope they all sleep soundly.”
“It’s a pity we’re not cooking, we could have drugged the food,” said Finn wistfully.
“We’d need drugs first,” pointed out Sarah.
“Don’t ruin my fantasy!”
Sarah rolled her eyes in response. “We’ll wait until we’re sure they’re asleep,” she said more seriously, “and then twenty minutes more. Then we sneak out. Agreed?”
The others nodded.
Sarah felt her stomach flip over. They had a plan. A terrible, incomplete plan, but a plan nonetheless.
Dinner was a fairly silent affair, and as the light was attracting bugs they packed up fairly quickly after eating and went to bed. For Sarah it seemed like it took hours for the Captain, Lieutenant and Clara to fall asleep. Despite this, and that she was tense and on-edge, she could still feel her eyelids closing against her will. It turns out that getting threatened and forced to remember something that she couldn’t was exhausting. Without even realising it, she fell sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
She was shaken awake a few hours later. Sarah’s eyes sprang open when she remembered what was happening. They looked right into Finn’s. He was still lying in his sleeping bag next to her, his arm outstretched and touching her shoulder. His eyes were wide open and his had his other finger compressed against his lips, warning her to be quiet. Sarah looked over his shoulder at Boulder behind him. Boulder was likewise awake. He had pushed himself up on his elbows and was watching the others. Finn turned over and started to slow extract himself from the sleeping bag. Sarah did the same, trying her best to stay silent. Finally Boulder joined them, satisfied that the others were asleep. Moving slowly and carefully, so as not to make any noise, they headed away from the camp. A pebble rolled away from Boulder’s right boot, clacking loudly against the other rocks. They froze. The noise seemed to reverberate in the air. The three of them turned as one back to the sleeping figures. The Captain grunted and turned in his sleep. Lieutenant Wong didn’t move. And Clara… Clara’s eyes were wide open, taking in every move they made. Then Clara looked at Sarah, and their eyes connected. Sarah held her breath. Any moment now she felt sure that Clara would call out and raise the alarm. After what seemed like an eternity, Clara very deliberately closed her eyes and turned over so that her back was now facing. Sarah blinked, surprised.
“Sarah,” hissed Finn, “c’mon, let’s move it.”
Sarah nodded, almost automatically as her mind was still with Clara, and followed the others. Why hadn’t Clara turned them in? It didn’t make any sense.
The going was easier once they got out of the field and onto the old highway. They didn’t have to be as paranoid about stepping on loose twigs or stones and could increase their pace a little. As soon as they were well out of hearing range Sarah broke the silence.
“Why didn’t she dob us in?” she whispered, despite knowing that the others wouldn’t have heard her if she spoke loudly.
“Don’t know, don’t care,” replied Boulder. “Let’s just focus on getting out of here.”
“You don’t think it was weird?” persisted Sarah.
“Yeah, weird as hell,” agreed Finn, “but Boulder’s right. As long as she keeps her mouth shut, it doesn’t really matter anymore.”
“Besides,” added in Boulder, “she might tell them any minute. The further away we get the better.”
“I don’t think she’ll tell anyone,” muttered Sarah, thinking about the look Clara gave her.
“Then what’s the problem?”
Sarah fell into silence and they continued down the road.
“Change of plans,” said Boulder twenty minutes later. “We keep to the road as long as possible before moving across the fields. We’re faster that way. If, if,” he repeated, stressing the second ‘if’ and giving Sarah a look, “Clara does change her mind and spills the beans before morning, then we want to be as far away as possible.”
“Sounds great to me,” said Finn.
Sarah nodded. She had to be practical. Clara could still turn them in.
Without discussing it they all picked up their pace a little.
Four hours later Sarah felt herself starting to fatigue. Except for the hour of sleep she had gotten while waiting for the others to drift off, she’d been awake since six am the previous day. With a bit of guilty relief she realised the boys were struggling more. Unlike her they hadn’t gotten any sleep at all. Their pace had slowed significantly and both the boys were occasionally stumbling over nothing. After a further thirty minutes she realised that both the boys were too stubborn to admit being worn out first and so she made the call.
“I’m exhausted,” she said, “guys, we need to break soon and refresh otherwise if they do catch us all we’ll be able to do is stare at them in angrily before falling asleep at their feet.”
“Ok,” said Boulder, waving a droopy arm, “off the road. We need to find somewhere safe to catnap.”
Finn nodded and followed them off the road. His eyes were drooping and he didn’t seem to be taking much in. They would have to find somewhere safe quickly.
They pushed themselves though the long grass, which was f
ar more taxing then walking along the paved road. They were heading downhill into a small valley. Sarah had been following Boulder, who had instinctively been travelling along the path of least resistance. Boulder suddenly came to a stop and Sarah was too sleepy to prevent herself from barrelling into him. Finn wandered right past them in almost a sleepwalk and only stopped when Sarah reached out and grabbed his arm as he passed.
“Am I hallucinating?” asked Boulder, “or is that an actual house?”
Sarah stared at the building in front of them doubtfully. She thought Boulder was being entirely too generous in calling it a house. It was more like a little hut. It was made out of stone and had a tin roof. There was some old rusted farming equipment lying about the building. It looked like no one had been there in years.
“It’s certainly there,” said Sarah, still a little doubtfully.
“I bags top bunk,” muttered Boulder, setting off again.
Finn squinted at it. “Looks dodgy,” he murmured.
“Yes, it does,” replied Sarah. She turned around to look behind them. “But you can’t see the road from here and it’s well hidden. Let’s go before Boulder hurts himself on that equipment and gives himself tetanus.”
Finn shrugged after a moment’s hesitation and stumbled after her. By the time they reached the hut Boulder had opened the door and gone inside. They found him stretched out on the floor three feet from the door, snoring.
The hut was empty inside except for a small wooden bench which had a disturbingly dark stain on it that Sarah didn’t care to investigate more closely. There were feathers everywhere and the dirty concrete floor was covered in bird droppings. She shut the door behind her to find Finn already lying on the dirty concrete next to Boulder, fast asleep. She sighed and settled herself down next to Finn.
Concrete had never been more comfortable.
The Weapon (The Hourglass Series Book 2) Page 12
