“What?” hissed Sarah, looking over her shoulder in case anyone decided to venture out in this rain.
“Sarah, look at the benches,” said Finn, his grin somehow even bigger.
Sarah looked. She didn’t see anything.
“They’re hollow,” said Finn.
Sarah looked again. The benches were basically rectangular tubes. She supposed that the space was originally intended for storing boating supplies. She looked back at Finn, a half smile on her face. They both edged carefully around the cabin until they came to the door at the back. They slipped inside. The door wasn’t locked. There wasn’t any reason for it to be locked. At least not until the prisoners arrived. The absence of wind as they entered the room and closed the door behind them felt like a blessed relief. Finn lowered himself onto his belly and peered into the empty space in the middle of the bench. He grinned back at her.
“It’s clear the whole way. Let me know how much of me you can see.” He shuffled forward until his whole body was inside the bench. It was slow going. He didn’t have that much room to manoeuvre. He stopped moving. “Ok,” he yelled, “what can you see?”
Sarah moved back a couple of steps so that she was standing with her back to the door. It would be the first view of the room that the Hourglass Group’s guards would see when they opened the door. If they was going to spot them, her bet was on it being in that first glance. Sarah sighed in relief and surprise. She couldn’t see anything. The bench was long enough and low enough to the ground that Finn could crawl forward sufficiently so that he wasn’t visible at all. In case some of the guards were shorter than her and would therefore have a different view she crouched down until she could see further down the tube and make out his feet. She had to get quite low and was nearly in a full crouch before she saw them.
“Well?” he yelled.
“You’re good!” she replied. “Unless they’re really, really short, they shouldn’t be able to spot you.”
Finn gave a small whoop of relief. “Better get in yours then. We don’t know how long they’ll be.”
Sarah moved to the bench opposite Finn’s and was about to lower herself onto the ground when she stopped suddenly. They had left trails of water going from the door to Finn’s seat, and then another trail to her seat. It would be obvious as soon as the guard opened the door that somebody else had been in there. All he would have to do is follow the trail. She didn’t have anything to mop it up with either. Her clothes were too wet to use as rags. After a moment’s hesitation she moved back to the door and opened it. The force of the wind blew it open even further and a deluge of rain entered through the doorway. She jogged the few steps back to her bench and quickly lowered herself down onto her belly before squirming inside as far as she thought was safe. She didn’t wait to see if her trick had worked. The guards could return any second now and she didn’t want to be caught with her legs sticking out of the end of the bench. After ten minutes cold rainwater started to soak through her already sodden pants. She suppressed a sigh of annoyance. Her plan might have been more successful than she had intended. Sarah suppressed a shiver and ruminated over what could have happened to Marland. What had gone wrong? Why hadn’t Marland been able to meet up with her in the bathroom? A feeling of guilt rested heavily in the pit of her stomach. If only she had done more. Twenty minutes later and the water had now spread up to her chest. She was so uncomfortable that she almost missed hearing the first of the prisoners descending onto the boat. The rain had abated a little and she could make out the sounds of people thudding onto the deck as they descended the ladder. A man swore loudly.
“Who the frag left this door open?” he growled. There was a reply but she couldn’t make it out over the surrounding noise. Despite knowing that he very probably couldn’t see her feet, they still felt terribly exposed. She was just waiting for him to grab her by the ankle and pull her out. The thought terrified her. Instead the man grumbled loudly about having to clean this all up later. “All right, in you all get,” ordered the man eventually in a loud voice, “and you, just dump him on the floor”. She could feel the floor vibrate and the sound of footsteps intensified as people entered the cabin. Then there was a dull thud as something heavy was dropped onto the floor. She wondered who it was. The bench surrounding her made soft thudding noises as people sat down. For the first time since crawling into the bench she felt claustrophobic. She had a terrible image of her being crushed beneath all these people and no one would know she was there to help her. The desire to crawl out of her hiding spot was nearly overwhelming. She screwed her eyes shut and concentrated on taking slow, deep breaths. After a minute or two she started to relax a bit more. The sounds of people’s voices filtered down to her and she focused on them, distracting herself from her claustrophobia.
“You can’t take me with you,” said one voice, demanding attention. “I have a medical certificate. I’m to be transferred to the mainland for further treatment.” It was the Queen’s voice. She sounded outraged.
“Yeah, I know,” said one of the guards in a voice that was equal parts bored and exasperated. “You’ve already shown us the slip, but the thing is you’re on the list of healthy inmates that was provided to us by the doctor. Now why would he put you on this list if he thought you were too sick to go?”
“Because I got sick after he made the list, clearly,” replied the Queen. Her voice was so scathing that Sarah nearly believed her. “You are going to get into so much trouble if you transfer me.”
There was a pause where Sarah pictured the guard rubbing his temples in frustration and weariness.
“Alright, you know what, you win,” said the guard. Sarah couldn’t help but feel a tad bit disappointed. The Queen’s constant threats to her health and that of her friends hadn’t exactly enamoured her to Sarah. An image of the Queen’s triumphant face appeared in her mind’s eye as clear as day. “I’ll call the doctor down. He can confirm it once and for all.” The image of the Queen’s face crumpled in seconds.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be bothered,” replied the Queen, suddenly a lot more considerate in nature.
“It won’t take long. In the meantime, sit down.” Sarah grinned. Then she realised where the prisoners were going and her grin wavered. It might be that even the Queen didn’t deserve what was coming next. Most people had stopped to listen to the Queen try and weasel her way out of the transfer and now that is was over mumbled conversations started up again. Nothing happened for five minutes and then the guard’s voice rang out above the murmured conversation. “It’s settled, you’re staying on the boat. The doctor has assured me that you’re in perfect condition.”
The sound that emitted from the Queen’s mouth was one of pure rage. Sarah had never heard anything like it before and she actually found herself jumping a little in response to the vitriol it contained. She heard paper being torn and she imagined the pale, pink sheet that herself and Finn had risked so much for being torn to shreds.
“You,” said the Queen’s voice, closer now to Sarah, “get up. I’m sitting there.” There was a slight shuffling noise as that person got up, and then a soft thud as the Queen sat down, almost on top of Sarah’s head. Sarah wondered what the Queen thought of her and Finn’s absence. Was she enraged? Did she think that they had tricked her and not told her of another way off the boat? Sarah snorted softly. Most likely she probably didn’t even notice that they were even gone. She wondered what the Queen would do if she knew that Sarah was right beneath her. Probably kick her out and try and take her place, even with everybody else watching. She tuned out the Queen’s spiteful muttering and focused on the other voices, searching for one in particular. She still hadn’t heard Marland’s voice yet. Sarah still held out hope that Marland had managed to find another way to avoid the selection. Not knowing infuriated her and the worry ate at her stomach unceasingly.
There was a loud crack and everyone on the boat stopped talking. They all knew what that sound was.
Someone had
just fired a gun.
“What happened?” whispered someone, and then the noise above Sarah’s head increased as the prisoners scrambled to get a better view through the cabin holes. One of the boys yelped loudly, shortly followed by a loud splash.
“Oh my god, did you see that?!”
“He just fell, right past the window.”
“Was that… was that Mr Wall?!”
“Oh my god, you’re right!”
“Holy shit, guys, look!” said one particularly loud boy, silencing the others. His voice sounded funny, like he was craning his head at an awkward angle. “It was the Warden. She shot Mr Wall!”
“What?!”
“It couldn’t be!”
“She’s standing at the bloody railing, see for yourself.”
There was another sudden scramble as people tried to improve their view.
“Oh my god he’s right.”
“Shit. Is that a gun in her hand?”
“Holy crap, she killed him.”
Sarah listened to it all in her place inside the bench was a mixture of surprise, guilt, and resentment. He probably died because he let them go, so she should feel grateful, but she mostly just felt resentful. Now the one person who could tell her about the mark was dead. And what use were his cryptic clues when she didn’t have the faintest idea of what they meant?
The floor lurched suddenly. To her horror Sarah slid a few centimetres back down through the hollow of the bench. Desperately she reached out her hands in the cramped space and pushed against the bench’s sides, stopping herself from sliding further. She glanced down the tube. Her feet still shouldn’t be visible, but she pushed herself back up the length of the bench anyway. The boat was lurching up and down now, clearly moving away from the prison ship. Sarah’s stomach lurched with it and she focused all of her energy on not vomiting.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
A Boat Journey
She couldn’t believe it. There had been no search, no cries of “stop, you can’t leave until we find all the prisoners.” The boat had just left. A rising feeling of relief flooded through Sarah but she tried to marshal it. To feel so free when the boat might get called back at any moment would be soul destroying. To her frustration she realised that she couldn’t hear what the others were saying anymore. The rumbling of the ship’s engines were just too loud. Not that she was able to spend much time lamenting this though. It was taking all of her effort and concentration to keep herself from sliding out of her hiding spot on the wet floor as the ship heaved and rolled around her. The boat trip seemed to last forever. At one point one of the prisoners vomited and the smell made her gag. She felt the rising urge to get escape from her hole but she worked past it again with the breathing exercises. She had to keep calm. If she didn’t, it would be the end of her. Finally the engine’s rumble quietened. There was a bump as the side of the boat knocked up against a dock, and then the rumble and vibrations ceased altogether as the engine was turned off. A few minutes passed. The prisoners were uncharacteristically quiet as they waited for the door to open. She heard the door creak open, something she hadn’t heard when she had opened it earlier in the wind and rain, and the voice of the man from before ordered everyone off the boat.
“Does the public know about this place you’re taking us to? This… facility?” demanded a wavering voice loudly. Sarah’s heart sank. It was Marland. She hadn’t escaped after all. The man mumbled something in reply and the sounds of people standing up and shuffling out of the cabin filled the air. Someone with heavy footsteps came in after most of the people had left. There was a grunt and then the sound of something being dragged out of the room. After the last footstep died away Sarah heard the thud of the door close again. She didn’t move. As far as she knew, there could still be someone in there with them. There were definitely still people on the boat. All it would take to capture her was for someone to happen to glance through the cabin’s portholes as they walked past. She stayed there, lying in the wet puddle of water. Twenty minutes passed.
“Sarah,” whispered Finn. Sarah blinked. He sounded close, like he was at her feet. She tried to peer down the tube but she couldn’t make out any details. “Sarah, are you ok? We gotta go before they come clean this place out.”
Sarah wriggled out of the bench as fast as she possibly could. Finn’s anxious face was waiting for her at the end. He looked pale and cold. It hadn’t been a good trip.
“Are you ok?” he asked, his face creased in worry. “You’re shaking.”
“I’ll be fine once we get moving,” she said. She collapsed almost as soon as she tried to stand up. The muscles in her legs had cramped up and Sarah bit her hand so that she wouldn’t cry out at the pain. Sitting down, she started massaging one of her legs, glancing around at the portholes at the same time. Finn leant over and helped with the other leg. Sarah raised an eyebrow but didn’t object. She needed all the help she could get. After a moment she felt good enough to try and get back up again. It hurt like hell but she managed it. Finn made sure that she could stand unassisted and then loped over to a porthole that overlooked the dock.
“They’re all at the far end of the dock,” he reported. “It looks like they’re sorting the others into groups.” Sarah, limping slightly, joined him at the window. She bit her lip thoughtfully and glanced at Finn.
“If we got in the water we could make our way to land by hiding underneath the dock. I doubt anybody would be down there. And as long as we moved quietly the lapping of the water would cover our noise.”
“I can’t swim, remember?”
“I remember,” replied Sarah, “but I can’t see another way. Once we’re under the dock you should be able to use the wooden supports to help yourself along. We’ll move slowly, yeah?”
Finn gazed out of the window again. He couldn’t think of an alternative. “How will I get to the dock though? We won’t be able to jump off this side of the boat, too many people will see us. We’re going to have to jump off the far side and then make our way around.” He sounded nervous.
“I’ll help you. You just have to stay calm and not panic. And if you find yourself in trouble, just do this.” Sarah mimed dog-paddling. Finn gave her a funny look. “Finn,” she said seriously, “I won’t let you drown.” He studied her eyes for a moment and then gave a small nod. He drew in a nervous breath.
“Then let’s do this.”
They used the cabin’s portholes to make sure that nobody was loitering on deck and then listened at the door as well. All she could hear was the water lapping gently against the boat. Sarah opened the door a crack and peered out. Nothing. She opened it slightly more and then slipped outside and around the corner so that the people on the land couldn’t see her. Finn followed her shortly. The deck only surrounded the cabin on either side by about two feet. Finn was looking at the lapping water apprehensively. Sarah sat down on the edge of the boat and positioned herself underneath the rails. Without glancing at Finn she slid off the edge of the boat and quietly into the water. The water was surprisingly warm and pleasant. Unfortunately the boat wall was smooth and had nothing which she could grip onto, so she treaded water. Finn had moved so that he was also sitting on the edge of the boat.
“Ok,” whispered Sarah up at him, “just slide down. I’ll grab your chest from behind once you’re in the water. I want you to try and float on your back, ok? You just have to keep calm, and whatever you do, don’t fight me.”
Finn gave her a curt nod and then fell, rather than slid, into the water. He made a loud splash which Sarah hoped nobody had heard. She swam over to where he had fallen in and helped fish him out. He was gasping for breath, his limbs thrashing violently.
“Finn,” she hissed angrily in his ear. “Calm down. Float on your god damn back. I’ve got you.” It seemed to work. Finn stopped thrashing but he still took big, gulping breaths. He leaned back into Sarah’s chest. “Ok,” she whispered, struggling to keep her head above the water under his weight. “We’re going to move together.
Use your arms to propel us towards the back of the boat and kick your legs under the water.” Finn made some jerky arm movements that nevertheless seemed to help and started kicking. The kicking aided him in leaning back further so that he was now floating more and Sarah was carrying less. She kept one arm wrapped around his chest and used the other one to guide them along the side of the boat. To Finn’s surprise they made it to the end of the boat without drowning. Sarah peered around the edge. They had to travel about two metres along the width of the boat, and then a further metre in open water, in the full view of everyone on the land, before they would reach the dock. All without being seen. If she had been by herself, she would have swum the distance with her head under the water. As it was, that wasn’t an option. She wished Finn could swim.
“This isn’t going to work,” said Finn.
“It has to work.”
“No, Sarah, you don’t understand. You guiding me like this, it won’t work. We’re too big of an object for people not to notice.”
“I don’t see that we have any other options.”
“We do,” said Finn. He took a nervous breath. “We could swim under the boat to get to the dock.”
“Finn, you-” began Sarah, but she was cut off.
“I can use the bottom of the boat to push myself along. And it’ll stop me floating to the surface in full sight of everyone like a corkscrew.”
Sarah hesitated. Now that they were stationary his weight was starting to drag her under again. “Are you sure? Are you sure you can do this?”
The Hourglass Page 19
