“You won’t know unless you come,” said Finn, his voice nearly slipping back into his normal one out of sheer exasperation.
Marland blinked, stunned. This was clearly a new thought. After a slight pause she stood up, slightly wobbly on her feet. “Alright then,” she said defiantly, her chin held high. “I’ll come. I’ll be the witness for when this all comes to light. I will tell them everything. Everything,” she emphasised the word ‘everything’ strongly. She marched out of the cell and Finn closed it quickly behind her. They had attracted quite a bit of attention now. Walking on either side of Marland, they headed back to the door. Sarah glanced around herself as she did so, unable to stop herself from looking. To her horror she locked eyes with the Queen. The Queen was standing up close to her cell wall. Her eyes narrowed and Sarah tore her own eyes away. She arrived at the door and walked through quickly after Finn and Marland. She felt sure that the Queen had recognised her. She shivered. She didn’t like the feeling that the Queen might know that she was out there, that she had escaped.
“I think the Queen recognised me,” she whispered to Finn once the door had shut behind them. “What if she tells the Hourglass Group?”
“Nah, she couldn’t have. If she did she would have demanded that you let her out. Don’t worry about it.”
Marland gasped and staggered back a step. “Sarah? Finn?” Sarah grinned despite her nagging feeling of unease and pulled down her mask. Marland shrieked and threw herself on Sarah, enveloping her in a massive hug. “And you!” she said, turning to Finn, who actually looked slightly alarmed. Marland hugged him equally as tightly. “I can’t believe it! How did you?” She cut herself off, overwhelmed.
“Another time,” said Sarah, still grinning sillily from ear to ear. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
They headed back up the stairs.
“I can’t believe I’ve been rescued,” Marland was mumbling to herself. “Oh my gosh. I’m actually going to be able to tell people about what’s been happening. I’ll be a whistleblower!” She seemed exuberant over the idea. Sarah shushed her. They had reached the door leading outside. Finn cracked it open a little. There was nobody there. They left quietly, heading away from the main buildings.
“Where are we going?” whispered Marland.
“No idea,” replied Finn.
“Wait, we’ve got to go back.”
“What?” demanded Finn and Sarah simultaneously.
“We need proof of what they’re doing!”
“Marland, you are the proof. Let’s go.”
“Oh my god,” said Marland, her hands flapping excitedly. “I’m the proof.”
“Yes. Now let’s go. Please.”
“Yes, right.” She allowed them to hurry her forwards. A small grin played on her lips as she glanced at Sarah out of the corner of her eye. “This is so rebellious!” she whispered gleefully.
They rounded a small, outlying building and found themselves against an eight-foot tall metal mesh fence. It was topped with loops of barbed wire.
“Shit,” muttered Finn. He started jogging along it to his left. After about one hundred and fifty metres he stopped. From where they stood in the shadows they could make out the only entry point in the fence. The gate was big enough to let trucks in. There were spotlights shining on the surrounding area and a man sat on a chair, smoking a cigarette. They turned back around and retraced their steps. They passed their previous starting point. This time they only went an extra twenty metres before they found a section of the fence that had been bent outwards. It was partly hidden behind a bush that was starting to encroach on the fence line, which is why they didn’t spot it before. Sarah was willing to bet money that that was how Boulder had gotten out. They each lowered themselves onto their bellies and shuffled through the gap into a forest. There were ferns up around their knees and trees everywhere. Sarah gazed at them in appreciation. She hadn’t really seen much of trees in her city.
“We’re out,” whispered Finn, disbelief in his voice. “I can’t believe we’re actually out.”
Finn and Sarah hugged spontaneously. They withdrew slightly, just looking at each other. Slowly, inexorably, they leant in towards each other. Just before their lips touched Marland fell against Sarah awkwardly.
“Woops, sorry! Tripped. Should really look where I’m going. But these trees are incredible, aren’t they?” She was gazing up at them appreciatively, completely oblivious to what she had just interrupted.
Sarah grinned awkwardly and withdrew from Finn’s hold. “No worries.”
“Wait,” said Marland. “What about the others?”
“They’re criminals,” said Finn, without much conviction.
“So are we.” Marland glared at them.
“Technically, I’m not,” said Sarah.
“You just escaped from prison. That’s a crime. So yes you are.”
“Damn-it.”
“What if they harm the locals?” asked Finn, practically.
“What if they don’t?”
Finn threw up his hands. Marland turned to Sarah. Sarah bit her lip guiltily and then groaned in frustration as she made a decision. She turned to Finn. “Let’s at least give them the keys. They can do the rest themselves.”
“But we’re out!”
“I know,” said Sarah wretchedly. “I’ll be quick.”
“Wait, you’re not going alone,” replied Finn.
“It’ll be quicker and I’ll have a lesser chance of being spotted. Stay here and look after Marland.”
“What?” said Marland, outraged. “I’m coming too.”
“We’re wasting time. I do this now, or we don’t do this at all.” Finn had given her the keys after they had retrieved Marland and she still had them in her hands. Without looking back or waiting for their protests, she ducked under the wire and ran silently back to the building. She reached the door and pulled the handle. It was locked. She tried again only to get the same result. She quickly rounded the building in case whoever it was who locked the door went to investigate who it was who was jiggling the handle and found herself back at the enclosed exercise area. With hardly a second thought she lobbed the keys through the air. They clanged gently against the wire mesh before landing with a jangle on the exercise yard’s grassy floor. The prisoners should spot it the next morning when they went for their daily laps. She didn’t dwell on the possibility that maybe they wouldn’t be taken out there for exercise, or that maybe the guards would find the keys first. She just ran. Within what felt like seconds she was back at the gap in the fence, wriggling through. Finn and Marland helped pull her through from the other side.
“You gave it to them?” asked Marland, as they started to jog away from the compound.
“I left them somewhere they would find it.”
They travelled for the rest of the night, trying to put as much distance between them and the Hourglass Group as possible. A short time after dawn they climbed a hill. On one side they could make out a small town a couple of hours walk away. On the other lay the Hourglass Group’s compound in the distance. A faint siren reached their ears.
“It’s them,” said Marland excitedly. “I bet they found the keys. They’re escaping.”
Finn reached out a hand and Sarah held it. It felt warm and comfortable and strong. A tingle went up her arm.
“Well then,” he said, looking at her with a grin, “we better run.”
The Hourglass Page 21
