The Hourglass Page 17

  “What the hell are you smiling at?” asked the Doctor grumpily.

  “Ah, nothing. Sorry.”

  Sarah stifled a laugh that was threatening to burst out of her mouth. Her leg still hurting, she hobbled over to the collection of instruments that she had pushed over only minutes before and began rapidly sorting them into a more orderly fashion. She thought back to what she had overheard and the feeling of elation she had felt when she had seen Finn disappeared. After a minute the doctor extracted himself from Finn’s questions and walked back to his office, ignoring Sarah completely. Sarah glanced up at Finn. He could tell from her expression that something was wrong. “Are you ok?” he mouthed at her just as the guard, who had gotten bored with waiting outside, walked in and grabbed Finn by the elbow and tried to pull him away. Sarah nodded quickly. She didn’t want him to resist the guard. If they were going to get out of here, they needed to go as unnoticed as possible. The medical transfer document felt foreign against her skin. She could use it on herself, she knew. She was even fairly confident that Finn would fake the doctor’s signature for her. Then she would be off the ship and free to find a better alternative. Even if they realised she was not sick and returned her back to the same ship she would have missed the selection process for the Hourglass’ experiment. But she knew that she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t leave Finn and Marland to be taken while she escaped. It would haunt her forever. Besides, if she didn’t give the Queen the document tonight the Queen would probably get to them before the Hourglass group could. The Queen can have it, she thought. She would find another way.

  She sorted the last of the instruments and stood up, looking around and stretching her leg at the same time. The doctor was enclosed firmly in his office and Finn and the guard had left.

  “Are you mad?” demanded Talbot. “What the hell were you doing?”

  Dalton let out an awe-struck chuckle. “You were so nearly dead in there,” he said, impressed.

  “The Hourglass group is coming tomorrow,” she said, her voice low so that it had no chance of carrying into the doctor’s office. “They’re going to take the prisoners.”

  All of the colour drained from Talbot’s face while Dalton’s mouth dropped open.

  “All of them?” Talbot whispered back.

  Sarah shook her head. “You guys should be ok. They said something about the fit and healthy ones.” The two boys’ expressions relaxed visibly. “Guys, is there any way I can get off this ship without being dead?”

  “Are you sure?” demanded Talbot. “Are you sure they said only the healthy prisoners?”

  Sarah thought back to the conversation. She nodded. “Only the healthy ones.”

  Now that they were happy that they weren’t going to be taken, Talbot and Dalton grew thoughtful.

  “Without dying, you ask?” pondered Dalton.

  Sarah raised an eyebrow. “That would be preferable.”

  “Well, there’s the medical transfer,” said Talbot softly.

  “No good. I only have one copy and it’s someone else’s if I want to live to tomorrow.”

  “Yes, of course, because that’s now so appealing. Don’t want to miss out on being a guinea pig.”

  “Guys, this isn’t helping.”

  “I don’t suppose your sentence finishes tomorrow?”

  “No.”

  “You could make yourself sick? Get someone to beat you up, maybe?”

  “Maybe,” said Sarah, thinking that would be her absolute last resort. She knew that it wasn’t likely that Talbot would walk again without pain, and that Dalton would never be able to use his right arm like he used to. Anything less than that, like Finn’s broken ribs and bruised face, seemed to fall under the doctor’s category of fit for work. And who would she get to injure her? Finn and Marland could do it, but then who would hurt them? Heather probably would but she didn’t trust her enough to stop when she needed to. April was too little to do the amount of damage that was needed. No, she decided, that wasn’t the way to go.

  “You could swallow some of the cleaner to make yourself sick?” offered Dalton.

  Sarah thought about it for half a second before vetoing that idea.

  “I have absolutely no idea how much I would need to drink to get sick and how much would kill me.”

  “Oh. Yeah. Right. Good point.” There was a pause and then the two boys shrugged helplessly.

  “Sorry Sarah, but everyone knows that’s it. You either finish your sentence, get transferred because you’re sick, or you die.”

  Sarah wanted to scream at them. That couldn’t be it. There had to be another way. She tried to excuse herself after that. She wanted to get back to the factory floor. At least then she could tell people, warn them, give them time to prepare for what was about to happen. But the doctor seemed particularly obstinate. He gave her more work than usual, and she had to clean all of the instruments that she had dropped earlier. She was forced to have her lunch with the other infirmary prisoners, like normal. When Finn arrived in the afternoon she managed to get to him a few seconds before the doctor. “Finn,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder as the doctor’s door creaked open, “we need to find a way to get out of here. They’re going to come tomorrow and get us, they-” she was cut off by the doctor’s arrival before she could say anything more. Finn had tried his best to stay and talk further but both the doctor and the guard wanted him gone. Sarah missed dinner. The doctor had set her another task and she wasn’t allowed to go until she finished it. By the time she was able to leave the infirmary dinner had long passed and the guard escorted her directly to her cell.

  “Gretel,” she called up to her housemate, who was lying on her side with her back to her. “Gretel, tomorrow the Hourglass group is going to come and take us away.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” replied Gretel, not turning over.

  “I’m serious. We have to do something.”

  “Look,” said Gretel, talking plainly and simply as if explaining something basic to a child. “They only ever take volunteers, and even then only one or two at a time. You’ve been listening too much to your crazy friend. Go to bed.”

  “What do you think the Queen’s been getting me to do, huh? She wants me to get her off the ship because she knows what’s going to happen.”

  “Shut up,” said Gretel, her voice now low and dangerous. “I told you before never to involve me in any of the Queen’s stuff. Annoy me again and I’ll hurt you.”

  Frustrated, Sarah went to the nearest air hole in the cell wall.

  “Marland? Marland, can you hear me?”

  There was a shuffling noise. “Sarah? Are you ok? I was worried when you didn’t turn up for dinner. Finn said something about you looking scared. What’s going on?”

  “Marland we have to get out of here. Tomorrow the Hourglass group is going to come and take us away.”

  “What? Where? Why?” Marland sounded panicked.

  “I don’t know, I think we’re going to be part of an experiment. I overheard the doctor talk about it on the phone.”

  “Oh my god,” she heard Marland mutter, “I was right. They are using the prisoners.”

  Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. “So you believe me?”

  “Of course I do. How are we going to get out?”

  “I don’t know,” replied Sarah truthfully. “We’re just going to have to work that out as we go.”

  There was silence at the two girls considered what needed to be done.

  “We won’t be able to do anything tonight,” said Marland, sounding sensible for the first time. “Best to get some sleep and be fresh in the morning for whatever might come.”

  “Right,” said Sarah, slightly disappointed, although she didn’t know what else she could expect. “Well, goodnight.”

  “Night.”

  Sarah went back to her bunk and laid down. Marland was right, or course. She should try and get to sleep.

  Sleep didn’t come.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven
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  Plans and Schemes

  The Queen’s henchmen were on her almost as soon as their cell doors slid open the next morning. The girl with the burn on her face, Lorla, grabbed her by the front of her shirt and slammed her back against the wall.

  “Your time is up, frag.”

  Sarah pushed back, hard. The girl obviously wasn’t expecting her to fight back, because she stumbled backwards awkwardly. The look of surprise on her face filled Sarah with a savage glee.

  “Here,” she said, reaching down into her sock and pulling out the crumpled form, thrusting it in the girl’s face. “You can give this to the Queen, seeing as she wants it so bad. If she wants Finn to sign it, however, she’s going to have to wait until breakfast.” She strode off without waiting for a reply. Sarah made it all of ten metres before her arm was grabbed from behind and she was wrenched around. Lorla shoved the form back into her chest.

  “Get him to sign it yourself.” She walked away.

  Sarah grinned and for a moment she forgot what was about to happen. She forgot that at any moment herself and her friends were going to be taken away and experimented on. At that moment, all she knew was that she came out on top of that encounter. Her hand formed a fist and the paper in it crinkled, reminding her about what was to happen. She turned back around and hurried to the cafeteria.

  Finn was waiting for her near the entrance. He was anxiously running his hand repeatedly through his hair. When he spotted Sarah he half ran towards her, and then hurried her back to their usual table. Sarah slammed the piece of paper down on the table.

  “I have it,” she said, “but-”

  Finn wasn’t listening. He had a big loose, floppy grin on his face and was crowing softly. “You did it! I can’t believe you did it! You have to give me all the details.”

  “Finn, there’s no time.” Sarah glanced around and saw the Queen advancing on them, her retinue in tow. “Look, just sign it quickly.”

  Finn glanced over to where she was looking and quickly fished a pen out of the waistband of his pants. He sat down and did a practice signature two centimetres above the paper before committing himself to the actual document. Sarah was impressed. His hand was steady as a rock and it looked just like the signature on the piece of paper she stole a few days ago. The Queen arrived just as he lifted the pen off the paper. He held it out to her.

  “It’s done,” he said. “I’m sure you can fill in the rest for yourself.”

  The Queen snatched the piece of paper off him and examined it, holding it up to the light. She nodded once and then left without saying a word. Finn breathed out a loud sigh of relief. He turned back to Sarah, grinning.

  “I still can’t believe you did it! I wish we had time to fill the whole thing in though. We could have given her syphilis.”

  “Finn-”

  “Also why was the Doctor wet? Did you do that?”

  Sarah allowed herself a quick grin of satisfaction. “Yeah, it meant he had to go change his clothes. That way I had a better chance of getting to the safe.”

  “That is awesome,” said Finn, thoroughly impressed.

  “Thanks, but please shut up. Sometime today the Hourglass group is going to come and select a bunch of the prisoners to be used in their experiment.”

  “What?” interrupted Finn, but he was silenced by Sarah’s raised hand.

  “I was hiding in the doctor’s office when he was on the phone. They are taking healthy, fit prisoners aged between fourteen and eighteen. That’s why the Queen needed this done by today. That’s why she wants to get out. Finn, she’s afraid she’s going to be taken, and…” for the first time she hesitated.

  “What is it?”

  “What they’re going to do to us, it’s not going to be good.”

  Sarah could practically see the good mood slip off Finn’s face as he digested the news.

  “We should have kept the form, used it for ourselves,” he said, shaking his head, as if he still hardly believed it.

  Sarah shook her own head. “It’s only for one person. I don’t even know if it’ll work. I mean, what if the doctor is there? No, we need to find another way to get out.” She glanced over at the Queen’s table. The Queen was sitting there alone, filling in her paperwork. All of her followers were loitering around the edges, including Colt. He didn’t look too happy about being banished with the rest of the girls. Sarah felt a sudden pang of pity for him.

  “I’ll be back in a second,” said Sarah. She jogged over to where Colt was standing, alone.

  “Colt, we have to get off this ship,” started Sarah, “people are going to come and-”

  Colt held up a hand, cutting her off. “Yeah, I know,” he said. Sarah stared at him, surprised. He chortled at her expression. “What, you think the Queen didn’t tell me? I’m her boyfriend, Sarah, she tells me everything.”

  “So why aren’t you trying to get off the ship?” asked Sarah incredulously, confused at his laid-back attitude.

  “She’s sorting it out now. She puts our names on that little bit of paper you stole for her, and we’re safe.”

  “You seriously think she’s putting your name on that? She’s not, Colt, it’s just going to be her.”

  Colt looked at her pityingly. “You still have a crush on me.”

  “What?” asked Sarah, incredulous.

  “It’s ok, Sarah, a lot of girls do. Look, that kiss didn’t mean anything, ok, so you’re just going to have to get over it.”

  Sarah threw her hands up in exasperation. “Fine, you know what? You guys deserve each other.”

  She walked back to where Finn was waiting for her, an odd look on his face.

  “So is Colt going to save us all?” he asked mulishly.

  “What? I was just telling him what was going to happen.”

  “Maybe you should ask him to get you off the ship.”

  “What?” said Sarah, confused. “Why would you sat that?”

  Finn shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because you like him?”

  Sarah blushed angrily. “I don’t like him!”

  “Then why are you blushing? Why do you blush every time you see him?”

  “Because…” she spluttered angrily.

  “Because what?” he demanded.

  “Because he’s good looking, and because, well, he kissed me.” Sarah didn’t think it was possible, but she blushed an even deeper shade of red.

  Finn appeared to deflate a little. “He kissed you?”

  Sarah gave a small shrug. “It didn’t mean anything.”

  “Right,” said Finn, running his hand through his hair. “Right. He kissed you, and he’s so good looking that you don’t like him.”

  “Just ‘cause he’s good-looking doesn’t mean that I like him. I mean, he’s not…” she trailed off again, unsure of herself.

  “He’s not what?” asked Finn, exasperated.

  “He’s not you.” Sarah almost shouted it.

  Finn blinked at her in surprise. He opened his mouth but no noise came out. Sarah flushed even more and didn’t know where to look. She saw Marland and April and waved them over quickly.

  “I’ve told April what’s happening,” said Marland. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “We, er, don’t exactly have one,” said Sarah.

  Finn nodded. He was grinning from ear to ear and staring at Sarah. “We’re gonna wing it.”

  Sarah felt herself grinning in reply. Despite the absolutely horrible timing, she felt a little buzz of nervous happiness in her abdomen.

  Marland looked shocked. Sarah couldn’t help herself. She felt the chuckle escape her lips before she could stop it and before she realised it she was laughing to the point that her belly hurt. Finn had joined in and was roaring with irrepressible joy. They were starting to attract looks from the other tables. The sight of two advancing guards forced them to stifle their laughter. The guards quickly lost interest in them and wandered off elsewhere.