She was asleep in seconds. Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was to hope that she didn’t inhale the bird droppings.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sarah woke next morning to the sounds of a double barrel shotgun clicking in her ear. Her eyes flung open. She was facing Boulder. He was lying on his stomach, his face pushed sideways into the concrete. There was a boot on his back. His one visible eye was open. He was breathing heavily, trying to stay still. Without thinking Sarah rolled over onto her back and turned her head to face Finn. He was lying on his back, awake and with his hands held out slightly in surrender.
“Uh uh,” said a voice, “no sudden movements sweet pea.”
Sarah turned her head to face the voice. She saw the shotgun first. It was big. It also looked well-used. The man holding it definitely looked comfortable doing so. He was big, with a rat-like face and an even rattier beard. Next to him, with his foot on Boulder’s back, was an even bigger man, with a giant barrel chest and thick, unkempt beard. He had to be the rat-like man’s brother. He also held a rifle.
“Hand over your weapons.”
“We don’t have any,” said Finn.
Ratty snorted. “Do I look like an idiot?” he said. Sarah kept her mouth shut. Even a moron wouldn’t be stupid enough to answer that question. “Empty your pockets. All of you. Now!” he snapped.
They turned their pockets inside out.
“Lift up your pant legs. Let me see those ankles.”
They did so slowly, Boulder first being allowed to roll over.
“Shirts!” snapped Ratty, getting angry now that he wasn’t finding anything.
They lifted their shirts to expose their waistbands, conspicuous in the lack of weapons hidden there.
“Well I’ll be damned,” snorted Ratty, “not a weapon in sight!” He stared at them for a moment. “You must be idiots.”
“Hey!” protested Finn.
Ratty’s brother redirected his shotgun to point at Finn, you got the point and shut up.
“Now how about one of you tells me what three young persons, such as yourself, are doing sleeping in my hen house? Or maybe more to the point, what are you doing outside an Accord city wearing Covenant uniforms, unarmed and without any equipment?”
When they didn’t reply he placed his shotgun against Sarah’s knee.
“Talk quick or she’s going to lose her kneecap.”
Before anyone could reply a form blocked the sunlight streaming through the front door.
“Martin you fool,” said the figure, “more your gun away from that poor girl’s knee.”
Ratty, aka Martin, jumped guiltily and moved the gun. “But mum,” he started.
Mum? Sarah first impression of the figure had been of some military general, not a mum. The woman took a step into the hut and into the shade, enabling Sarah to make out her features more clearly. The woman was tiny. What had been blocking most of the sun was a ridiculously large hat that was perched precariously on the woman’s head.
“Can’t you see that these poor young folk are lost and scared?” she said angrily to Martin. “And even worse, you’ve involved Bramble.”
Bramble?! All three of the captives’ heads swivelled around to take in the hulking mass of Bramble. Seriously? The terrifying giant had a name that would have suited a cute bunny in a child’s book. Sarah would have laughed but she was afraid Bramble would take her head off.
“Put the gun away, Martin,” repeated the woman.
“Mum,” said Martin persistently, “they’re soldiers. Look at the uniform.”
“I’m not blind,” she snapped. She turned to the three of them.
“Forgive my son. He’s just being protective. You see, I’ve been burned by soldiers before.” She held up her left hand. The skin was pink and stretched so tightly that her hand was slightly clawed. “Literally,” she added, as if it wasn’t obvious enough. “But I don’t need your military records to know that you three aren’t killers. Let me guess, you ran before any of the action started?”
They didn’t say anything.
“Martin, the gun.”
This time Martin slowly moved the gun away. Bramble had moved his gun the moment their mum had given the word the first time. The three of them took this opportunity to sit upright. It was too awkward talking while lying on the floor.
“So,” continued Martin’s mum, “where exactly were you trying to run to? You’re in the middle of nowhere here. And really, you could have tried to take some other clothes with you. You really are very conspicuous in those.”
Sarah didn’t know which question to answer so she settled for ignoring all of them.
“Thank you. We’ll get on our way then. I’m sorry we disrupted your morning.”
They all got carefully to their feet. Martin watched their every move obsessively.
“Of course, dear,” said the woman, stepping to one side of the doorway. “Just remember what I said about your clothes.”
Sarah nodded and they all trooped past her. As Boulder, the last of the three, walked out the door, the woman spoke up again.
“You probably didn’t bring any food either, I imagine? You must be terribly hungry.”
Sarah opened her mouth to deny this but was betrayed by Finn’s stomach grumbling loudly. The woman grinned.
“Well, that settles it!” she said. “You must come for breakfast before your get on your way.”
“Thank you, but really we shouldn’t…” began Sarah.
“No, I insist!”
Bramble and Martin took a step forward. There was the distinct impression that Bramble would not look favourably on their refusal.
“Well,” said Boulder, taking in Bramble’s size up close, “if you insist.”
The woman clapped her hands, her one deformed hand deadening the sound.
“Excellent. Martin, invite Uncle Bill and Aunt Nola along too. Bramble and I will show the rest of you to the house.”
“Uncle Bill and Aunt Nola?” protested Sarah weakly.
“Don’t worry dear, they can keep a secret as well as anyone, and they would be awesomely mad if they found out they missed a chance to talk to some interesting young people. We’re very isolated out here, you see,” she said as they started to walk back along a mildly overgrown path Sarah had failed to notice the night before. “Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re ignorant of what’s going on. We keep our ears pretty close to the wire, you know.” She continued to ramble on until they reached the house. It was a small but surprisingly nice old farmhouse with a concrete bunker out the back. They were ushered in under the lumbering shadow of Bramble and invited to sit at the kitchen table. The woman, Sarah was relieved to see, put on an apron and starting cracking eggs. Sarah blinked. She was cracking actual, real-life eggs over a frypan. All thoughts of how wrong this scenario felt and how they should make their excuses and leave flew out the window as Sarah saw those eggs. Apparently she wasn’t the only one.
“Are those,” asked Finn, his voice cracking, “are those real eggs?”
“Of course,” said the woman, cracking another egg. “None of that powdered rubbish for us. We get real chicken too.”
Hell, thought Sarah. Even if these people turned out to be insane murderers, it might be worth it if she got to taste some real chicken.
“So where were the hens last night?” asked Boulder.
Sarah blinked. He was right. Except for some feathers and bird droppings, there wasn’t a hen in sight.
“They were over in the new hen house, dear. The one you were in is now used for slaughter.”
“Oh.”
They ruminated over that while the frypan continued to splatter and sizzle.
Uncle Bill and Aunt Nola arrived just as they were finishing up the first round of eggs. Martin was lurking behind them. Sarah put down her knife and fork, feeling uneasy.
“Don’t stop eating because of us dear,” said Aunt Nola. “Martin told us all about how he found you poor things. You probably haven’t
had a decent meal in an age.”
“Evie,” acknowledged Nola as she and Bill sat themselves down at the table like it was their own.
“Nola, Bill, good of you to come,” said the woman, wiping her hands on her apron. “Just in time for some toast and juice.”
Sarah, Finn and Boulder’s heads swivelled around as one as Evie bought out a juice that smelt like real oranges.
“Freshly squeezed!” she proclaimed, as if she could read their minds. Sarah’s mouth started to water.
“Thanks, Mrs, um, Evie,” stammered Finn as she passed the jug over.
“So,” said Bill conversationally as he helped himself to a serving of eggs. “Have you heard the latest on the independents?” Sarah paused, her cup halfway to her mouth.
“Only that they’ve been spreading stories about how it’s possible to live outside the war and that it’s causing a bit of trouble,” replied Evie. “Oh, and that ridiculous rumour about sabotage at an Hourglass facility, of course.”
“Ah, then you didn’t hear about the farm then?” asked Bill, obviously savouring his extra knowledge.
“Get to it, Bill,” said Evie, irked.
"Alright, alright, no need to get your knickers in a bunch. Apparently they’ve been in contact with a farm for a while now, and now the farmhands are refusing to work. It’s an actual, goddamn strike!”
“No!” exclaimed Evie, lowering her spatula in shock. “A strike? What are they thinking? The military is going to crush them!”
“Actually, they’re holding off. The farm produces some important delicate product they’re too scared to bomb because of how expensive it is. So they’re taking things slowly, pretending to listen to demands and things.”
“Well I’ll be,” said Evie, flummoxed.
They moved on to a different topic and Sarah lost her interest. Marland’s group was obviously doing well. She glanced over at the others who nodded. It was time to go. They stood up.
“Many thanks for breakfast, you’ve been too kind, but we’ll get out of your hair and on our way now,” said Sarah.
“Oh, of course dears,” said Evie, bending down to pull something out of the cupboard. Sarah had only a moment to realise that it was a gas mask in Evie’s hands before Bill pulled a gas tin out of his pocket and triggered it. Within seconds the room was full of smoke. Both Bill and Nola slipped on gas masks that they had seemingly pulled out of nowhere. Their masks were more modern and slimmer than Evie’s, only just covering the mouth and nose. Martin had disappeared from the room, the door closed behind him. Bramble was coughing as he tried to strap on a mask that he’d pulled from underneath the table. Boulder made a lunge for Bramble’s mask but it was too late. The gas was working quickly now.
They were unconscious before ten seconds had passed.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sarah woke to find herself lying on the floor with her hands tied behind her back. Her head throbbed. In the background she could just make out Evie complaining about using gas in the kitchen because it made the place smell for the next week. Sarah cracked an eye to find both Finn and Boulder sitting up next to her. Their hands were tied too and they were leaning their backs against the kitchen cupboard. They still looked a little groggy. Sarah struggled to sit up and join them sitting on the floor.
“Oh good, the last one’s awake,” said Nola.
“What did I miss?” Sarah asked the boys. She sighed. She was getting annoyed with being the last person awake.
“Aunt Nola and Bill are actually bounty hunters,” explained Finn. “Like it wasn’t obvious that those two were fishy as hell. If only it wasn’t for that sweet, fresh juice and those eggs…” Finn trailed off here, a far off look on his face as he recalled the food. Boulder picked up the tale.
“Nola now owes Evie a nice fat lump of money. Apparently there’s a bounty on our heads. The Accord wants us back. And, er…” he exchanged a weird look with Finn who took over.
“And it turns out the Covenant put out a bounty too, but it’s just for you.”
“The Hourglass Group?” asked Sarah, appalled, jumping to the worst case scenario.
“I don’t think so,” mumbled Finn, as Nola, Bill and Evie broke up their conversation and came over. “They would have put out their own bounty to both sides. No, I think this is military.”
“But why would…” began Sarah, but she was cut off by Bill.
“Up you get. Follow Aunt Nola. I’ll be behind you so don’t you try any funny business.”
They got to their feet slowly and awkwardly. Sarah gasped. Both Finn and Boulder’s hands were bleeding.
“What happened?” she hissed.
She jumped as Bill clasped a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper. “They went for a knife when they thought I was distracted.” His whisper was breathy and it stank. Sarah didn’t bother trying to hide her shiver of revulsion. She tugged herself out of his grip.
“When did this happen?” she asked the boys.
“About two minutes before you woke up,” said Finn. “You’re smaller, you see, so the gas was more effective on you.”
“Bloody lightweight,” snorted Boulder.
They were guided towards an ancient car that took Nola three attempts at starting before it finally roared into life. All three of them and Bill squeezed in the back. They were so tightly squeezed in that Sarah’s shoulders were pushed forward. At the last minute Evie leant through the front window.
“Forgetting something?” she asked, her good hand held out.
Nola’s smile in return was so forced Sarah was surprised it didn’t run away from her face.
“Of course not, Evie dear,” she said. She reached into her purse and transferred a wad of cash over through the window. “Buy some new curtains, dear, the old ones are only fit for dogs.”
Evie forced a smile of her own back after a quick count of the money.
“Pleasure doing business with you, although next time, go easy on the eggs,” she said, with a meaningful look at Nola’s waistline.
Nola drove off, almost with Evie still in the window. She only just got out in time. They heard Evie mutter, “you old cow,” as they drove off.
“Where are we going?” asked Finn after a while.
“Not far,” replied Bill enigmatically.
Although unhelpful, it turned out to be true. They barely drove for fifteen minutes before Nola pulled the car over to the side of the road. Sarah looked out of the window. There was nothing around them.
“Are you sure this is it?” Bill asked Nola. “Of course, Bill,” she snapped back. “When am I ever wrong?”
Boulder, who was near one of the doors, shifted in his seat. Without really seeing it move, Bill’s gun was out and pressed against Boulder’s head. “No funny ideas.”
“My ass was numb,” replied Boulder, deadpan. Nevertheless he stayed completely still.
Bill gave him a warning look but removed the gun.
“There we go,” said Nola with satisfaction, twisting in her seat, “here they come.”
This time all four of them twisted around. An army truck had appeared behind them. Nola got out of the car. Bill stayed behind with them. They watched as the truck pulled over and two men got out. They were wearing Accord uniforms. One of the men talked with Nola while the other strolled up to the car and peered in at them through the window. He yelled something back to the other man who nodded and then handed a bag over to Nola. Nola smiled and signalled to Bill, who ushered them out of the car. The officer looked them over.
“That’s them, alright,” he said, uninterested. “Load them up.”
They were secured to seats in the back of the truck by handcuffs this time. This, Sarah thought, was much more preferable to the neck straps. Just before the younger officer snapped the handcuffs over Boulder’s wrist Boulder punched him in the face. The officer stumbled back as blood poured from his nose. Boulder jumped from the back of the truck and made it two steps before the officer with the blood nose crash t
ackled him to the ground. Boulder’s head cracked loudly against the road. He tried to roll away but the officer was still lying on him. The noise had attracted the attention of the senior officer who arrived at a run. He pulled Boulder up by the back of his shirt and slapped some cuffs on before dragging him back into the back of the truck. Boulder was too dazed to resist as his cuffs were attached to the truck wall. His forehead was bleeding from where he cracked it on the road. The officer with the bloody nose got himself to his feet in the meantime and came over as the senior officer finished cuffing Boulder. He hit Boulder in the face. Boulder’s head rocked back. He was now bleeding from both his forehead and his nose. Both the soldiers left, returning to the truck’s cabin.
Boulder groaned, his face a bloody mess. He looked at Finn and Sarah.
“What?”
“You were going to leave us here,” pointed out Finn.
“I was going to come back,” sulked Boulder.
“Whatever, man.”
Half an hour later the truck pulled up at their campsite from the night before. Boulder had thankfully stopped bleeding. They were hauled out of the truck to find the Captain, Lieutenant Wong and Clara all standing there, waiting for them. The look on the Captain’s face was murderous. Clara was shaking her head at them, a pleading look on her face. Clearly she didn’t want them to mention that she had seen them go. That was fine by Sarah. You never knew, they might get another chance to run, and she didn’t want to turn Clara against her if they did. The Captain spent a few minutes talking to the officers and then watched them drive off in their truck until they disappeared from sight. Then he rounded on them. He strode forward and slapped Sarah across the face. Her head was flung sideways at the force but she didn’t move. She was proud of herself for that. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Boulder put a restraining hand on Finn.
“If you ever,” he hissed, his face so red Sarah thought he might have a stroke, “try and escape again, I will have you beaten to death.” He glared at the others to make sure they understood that the threat extended to them as well. “Understood?”
The Weapon (The Hourglass Series Book 2) Page 13
