The Weapon (The Hourglass Series Book 2) Read online

  “Shit.” Finn braked suddenly in front of her, causing her to collide into his back.

  “Wha-” she cut herself off. They had run into a river. It was too deep and fast to walk across. And too wide for Finn to doggie paddle. She really needed to teach him how to swim. She pushed Finn sideways, parallel to the river edge. “Keep going.”

  They made it another twenty metres before a panting soldier stumbled out in front of them, cutting them off. He was puffing heavily, his body bent over and his hands resting on his knees, but his face was turned up at them, grinning triumphantly. They turned around only to see three more behind them. They too were smiling. One of them waved his gun at them mockingly. Their only choice was back into the woods, which lead to the road where the truck was.

  They were caught.

  “Hands up, kiddies,” said one of the soldiers behind them. He was a stocky bloke with a sheen of sweat staining the front of his shirt, but unlike the others his breath was only slightly laboured. He had close-cropped blond hair and small eyes. He was the only one who didn’t bother pulling out his gun. He was obviously their leader.

  “We didn’t do anything,” said Finn.

  The leader snorted. “Right. Show me your permit then.” Anyone who left their city or town required a permit by the governing military body.

  Finn didn’t say anything.

  “Yeah,” snorted the man again. “I thought so. Hands up.”

  Slowly, Sarah and Finn raised their hands to shoulder height. The leader gestured towards them and the woman next to him walked past, pulling out a handful of zip lock ties as she approached Sarah and Finn. She tied Finn’s hands first, tightening the ties with hard, competent tugs. Sarah saw Finn wince as she tightened the one over his injured wrist. When the woman went to do the same to Sarah the leader strolled up to them casually. He eyeballed Finn’s wrist, the white bandage still in place.

  “Now what did you do to yourself? Hey?”

  Finn shrugged. “I was burnt. I was trying to put out a fire.”

  The leader’s eyebrows went up but he didn’t say anything. He turned to Sarah.

  “Pretty bracelet.”

  Chapter Eight

  They arrived back on the road only to find out that the truck they had heard was actually the first of four. The last in the convoy trundled into view as they stepped onto the bitumen. The scout who had alerted the soldiers to their whereabouts was there, watching them come in. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

  A man stepped out of the second truck. Unlike the others, he was wearing a suit. He jerked his head at the blond leader.

  “What’s this?” he asked.

  “Found ourselves some volunteers,” said the leader.

  The suited man just flapped his hand at them and climbed back into his truck. “Hurry up.”

  The leader mumbled a lazy, “Yes, sir,” at his back and then directed Sarah and Finn to climb into the back of the first truck. It was empty, obviously having contained their pursuers. There were a number of straps hanging off the walls on either side of the benches that lined the inside of the truck. Sarah grabbed the side of the truck with her bound hands, using it as leverage to get herself up the step. Finn followed shortly, only with a bit more athletic grace. Their pursuers followed them in, crowding them to the front of the truck. Once seated on the bench the guy who had been shoving his gun in their faces earlier reached up for the straps on the wall. He pulled one down, and to Sarah’s horror tightened it around her neck, like a hangman’s noose. The noose was still attached to the wall of the truck. She could move about thirty centimetres forward, and about the same to either side.

  Sarah wanted to scream at him to take it off but she changed her mind and stayed quiet. She had the feeling he would have enjoyed it.

  “Isn’t that dangerous?” asked Finn, “what happens if we crash? It’ll choke us to death.”

  The guy with the gun slapped him, hard.

  “Hey!” yelled Sarah. “What the hell?” The man turned back to her, one hand held out as if he was going to slap her too and she shrank back involuntarily. He smirked and turned back to Finn, who spat out some blood. The guy took down the strap above Finn and fastened it around his neck. Finn stayed silent.

  “Now, now, Frank,” said the blond man, as he moved up the back of the now moving truck so that he was closer to Finn and Sarah. “No need to get so rough with our guests. We don’t even know who they are yet.” He sat down next to Finn, slightly closer than necessary, even in the crowded truck.

  “So, boy and girl, who are you?”

  Finn didn’t say anything. The blond man turned to Sarah, his face expectant. She didn’t say a word. A small smile played on the man’s lips.

  “Alright,” he said, “we’ll find out shortly anyway.”

  Sarah made a fist and released it, trying to get some circulation back into her fingers. The soldier had done a good job tying her up. There was a single tie around each wrist, with a third tie connecting the two. She wouldn’t be able to get loose unless she got her hands on some scissors or a knife. Her right hand was starting to look a little pink as all the blood in her hand started to back up, unable to leave. The left was ok, protected slightly by the leather band she still wore over the barcode. She glanced at Finn, sitting across from her. He was leaning forward as much as his noose would allow, his forearms resting on his thighs, head down like he was in deep contemplation. He was probably thinking how royally screwed they were. Sarah had to agree. She had been so worried about Marland, and all the danger she had been in. And she still was worried, but now she realised that Marland had at least a whole town around her, supporting her, protecting her. She was stupid to think they could have just started over in a new city. Hell, they didn’t even have any money. Who was going to employ someone without an ID? And she would have to get a job. No one was going to let them live with them for free. Not that it mattered anymore. Not that any of it mattered. They had been caught. They were going to scan her barcode, which she had been too afraid to burn off, and it was going to condemn them both.

  She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. This couldn’t have gone any worse.

  Chapter Nine

  They drove for a few more hours before the truck trundled to a stop. Sarah heard a few car doors slam open and shut and people at the front of the truck talking. A woman in a military uniform came around the back of the truck, rifle in hand. She peered inside. Sarah could see her lips move as she counted the number of people and then disappeared again. She hadn’t even blinked when she saw Sarah and Finn there, tied up. There was a yell, and after a moment the truck jolted into a slow trundle, passing through a set of gates and into the military compound. They travelled another three hundred metres before it stopped again. Everyone but Sara, Finn and the blond man jumped out.

  “Stay,” ordered the blond man, before following the others out of the truck.

  “Yeah right, because we have that much choice in the matter,” mumbled Finn at his retreating back as he strained against the neck strap. The blond man either didn’t hear or decided to ignore him, because he exited the truck and made his report to someone who was annoyingly just out of sight. The rest of the compound was too noisy for Finn and Sarah to make out what they were saying. After a moment he jumped back into the truck. He released Sarah’s noose first. She scratched her neck where it had rubbed. There was no point in her trying to run away as he turned his back to her to untie Finn. First, she had no doubt that she wouldn’t be able to overpower the blond man. Second, even if they managed to escape the truck without him shooting them, they were in the middle of a military compound, wearing decidingly non-military clothes, in the middle of the day. Sarah heard Finn take a big breath as his noose was removed. There was a red line around his neck. The blond man pointed out of the truck.

  “After you.”

  Sarah and Finn exited cautiously. The guy who had slapped Finn was waiting there, his gun resting casually in his hands. He was chewin
g on something. Sarah wanted to punch him in the nose. The blond man jumped out behind them and then passed in front, heading off in the direction of a low set building fifty metres away. The soldier raised his eyebrows and indicated for them to follow. They did. Sarah wished they would untie their hands. Her right hand was throbbing. They followed the blond man into the building. There was a small reception area, attended by a bored looking man who was typing something on a screen. He saluted the blond man and then went back to work, ignoring Sarah and Finn. They entered a drab hallway. There were framed photos of military exploits lining the walls, but it all had an impermanent look about it, as if they could take down the building and in the same day have it set up again fifty kilometres down the road. They arrived at an office situated at the end of the hallway. There was a desk there, accommodating a large chair behind it. In front of the desk sat two chairs. Crewcut sat behind his desk with a sigh. The idiot with the gun shoved Sarah and Finn forward so that they were standing in front of the desk. Apparently they didn’t qualify for the chairs. Sarah glanced back behind her. The guy with the gun had stationed himself firmly in front of the door, his legs planted wide. He was still chewing. She turned back around. Crewcut studied them for a moment and then reached down to pull out a bottom draw on the desk. He dug around in it for a moment and then pulled out a scanner. Sarah felt her heart sink to her stomach. She knew they would scan the barcodes, but it hadn’t stopped her from hoping that they wouldn’t.

  “Let ‘em loose,” ordered Crewcut.

  Their guard came forward. He holstered his gun for the first time and bought out a switchblade, watching their faces with enjoyment as he flicked it open. Sarah was the closest to him so he grabbed her hands first, being non-too-careful as he slid the knife under the tie enclosing her wrist and sawed it open. Sarah winced. The blade had cut her a little bit. It wasn’t deep, but it still hurt. It hurt even more when the tie was loosened and all the blood rushed in and out of her right hand. The leather band had protected her left wrist. She was starting to get quite fond of it. Switchblade moved along to release Finn while Sarah rubbed her wrists and tried to move her fingers.

  “Take off your bracelet,” said Crewcut. “And you,” he said to Finn as Switchblade moved away. “Take off that bandage.”

  Sarah reluctantly took off the leather cuff with numb fingers. She fumbled the strap for a second but got it off eventually. She clenched the leather in her right fist as the barcode became visible. A few seconds later Finn had unwrapped his bandage. This was the first time Sarah had seen it since it was burnt. It was better than she had thought it was going to be. It was still blistered and red, the barcode obliterated, but it was clean and less deep than she had feared. It seemed like twenty minutes of running water really did help.

  Crewcut grunted. “So, at least one of you is smart.” Sarah felt her face flush. “Although not as smart as you think.” He stood up, using the desk as leverage with another grunt and rounded the table, holding the scanner.

  “Want to tell me who you are first?” he asked.

  They didn’t say anything.

  He reached out and grabbed Sarah’s wrist. She pulled away from him automatically. Suddenly Switchblade was behind her, the point of his knife digging into the small of her spine. She could feel his breath on her neck and could hear the saliva in his mouth as he chewed near her ear. The small hairs on her skin stood on end and she suppressed a shiver of disgust. This time though, she let Crewcut take her arm.

  He scanned her barcode and read the screen. A frown creased his forehead. To her surprise he scanned her again. The frown deepened.

  “What’d you do?” he asked, a peculiar look on his face. “Add in a few lines or something to the barcode?”

  Sarah stared at him blankly. She had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Says here you’re not registered,” he said, waving the scanner in front of her face. “And there ain’t nobody with a barcode who ain’t registered.”

  Sarah just blinked at him. How could she not be registered?

  Crewcut shrugged, as if it was a mystery he was happy to leave alone. He flipped open a different compartment of the scanner. With the other hand he localised his grip to just one of her fingers. He brought the device down on her finger. She hardly felt the small prick of the needle. The device sucked up a droplet of her blood and he released her hand. She hugged it to her chest automatically as the device read her DNA. This time Crewcut’s eyebrows nearly flew off his face.

  “No DNA records,” he said, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. “Now just who are you, missy?”

  Sarah felt her own mouth drop open a little bit in surprise. She knew she had a DNA record. Not only did everyone get their DNA stored on the day of their birth, but they had used it to confirm her ID on the day she had been caught running away with a stolen pie.

  A sudden image of Mr Wall plummeting into the ocean flashed past her eyes. Maybe he had deleted her from the system. Could he do that though? Surely he didn’t have that authority? But who else?

  She was shaken from her thoughts by Crewcut giving up on her and moving over to Finn. Finn had been staring at her as well but now he watched as Crewcut drew out a droplet of his own blood. This time he gave a large, self-satisfied smile as the screen lit-up.

  “This is more like it. Finn Simmons. Age fifteen. Charged and convicted with forgery. Sentenced to the prison ship Anoscosa.” Crewcut raised his eyebrows at that. “Harsh.” He read silently for a little bit. “Says here you volunteered for an Hourglass Group experiment to shorten your stay but your attendance was never confirmed. Interesting.”

  Sarah’s heart sank again, this time to her boots. Crewcut moved back around his desk, easing himself back into his seat.

  “Now, I may be a simple man, but I am not a stupid one. I know who you are,” he said, pointing a thick finger at Finn, “and although I don’t exactly know your name,” he said, now pointing at Sarah, “I’m betting that if this little device was working as it should, it would tell me a very similar story to young Finn’s over there.”

  Sarah didn’t say anything. She just waited.

  “So I am going to give you your options. As we all know, this great society of ours has outlawed drafting,” he said it as if was an unfortunate decision. He was referring to forcing people into military service. “As such, I am offering you two a choice. Either I will return you to your prison ship, where they can palm you back off to the Hourglass Group or stick you in solitary, I don’t really give a shit, or you can volunteer for the army.” He raised a hand, as if cutting them off, although they hadn’t said anything. “Short stint, really. Two years. And don’t pull that face, young man. I know your prison stint was meant to be shorter, but after you pulled this escape, well,” he chortled to himself, “two years will seem like a walk in the park after what they will give you.”

  “You can’t do this to her,” said Finn, talking for the first time. “You don’t have any records on her.”

  Crewcut put a hand on his chest and gave Sarah a warm look that was completely at odds with his words. “Personally, I don’t give a shit who you are. I just need more people holding guns. However, due to your rather incriminating lack of identity, as well as that tidy little barcode on your left wrist, I am sure that there are many, many people, who would be more than interested to learn a little more about you. I bet there is a whole bundle of surprises about you waiting to be discovered. Now, again, I don’t care a fucking iota about who you are as long as you grab a gun and play your part, but if you don’t, I have no qualms about handing you over to people who do care.”

  Sarah exchanged a glance with Finn. Crewcut was probably right. They would find out about her. There were other records, other ways they could trace her. People would want to know how they escaped. They would probably find out about Mr Wall, and tie her into whatever mess he was involved in and thought she was part of. And even if they didn’t, if they just found out who she was and handed her
back to the Hourglass Group, she would be used in whatever experiment they wanted. Besides, she knew what Finn would chose even before he did. She remembered how he had hesitated, when they had first been bought to the Anoscosa, and had almost gone with the military then. Sarah gave Finn an almost apologetic look. She turned back to face Crewcut.

  “I’m in.”

  Crewcut gave her a triumphant smile and faced Finn. Finn nodded stiffly. Sarah relaxed a little, knowing that she had been right. He had already decided, she realised, but he was going to try and get Sarah safely away if he could. Crewcut clapped his hands together.

  “Welcome, volunteers,” he said with a beam. “Your timing couldn’t have been more perfect.” He looked at Switchblade. “Take them to Buchey’s.” He looked back at Sarah and Finn. “She’ll sort you out.” Sarah and Finn turned to follow Switchblade. Crewcut seemed to have lost all interest in them already.

  *****

  The two kids followed Switchblade out of the room. Despite pretending to look through reports, Crewcut watched them go. He’d never had anyone turn up with no ID before. He sucked at his teeth indecisively. He was reaching out for the phone, about to make some inquiries of his own, when it rang before he could touch it. He jumped, and then snatched up the phone.

  “What?” he snapped, all thoughts of the girl leaving his head.

  Chapter Ten

  Switchblade navigated his way between the low, squat buildings with ease. Sarah wished he would stop chewing.

  “Well then,” said Switchblade, turning around to face Sarah as he continued to walk backwards, confident in his direction. “Who are you then, girl with no ID? Hell, how do you not have ID girlie? And you’re only a kid. I mean, no super power is going to put their force behind you.”