‘I’ll lead them off. You get yourself inside and see how bad …’ he paused, rephrasing ‘… what sort of shape they’re in.’
‘Brutus?’ I returned. I hadn’t seen the hound since we’d arrived but knew it couldn’t be far.
‘Leave him to me, just get yourself inside that hut!’ Max hissed before springing lightly over the side of the container. My courage deflated the moment he disappeared out of sight. I cursed under my breath. If Max hadn’t held me back I might not be here at all. I could be at home in Arafel with Grandpa and Eli. Or, you could be in the white hut with Grandpa and Eli. I strangled the thought instantly, and peered over the side to watch Max creep silently along the gully between the two vehicles.
His stealthy, fluid movement was as familiar as my own, although oddly out of place in these sterile surroundings. I studied the distance between my container and the medical hut. It had to be about ten metres at most. I’d covered twice that in a heartbeat when pitted against Max in the tree-running trials. But this was not the forest, and I would rather face the wildest tigers than these hostile people with their blue darts and laser sticks.
Max reached the end of the gully and looked back. He mouthed a few words before winking. His familiar smile crinkled up his forest eyes, and I felt myself thaw.
‘Why run when you can fly?’ I whispered to myself, repeating his words.
Instantly my centre of gravity plummeted. I wanted to call out, to tell him I understood why he’d protected me, to run and hug my brave friend fiercely, but I was too late. He was gone.
The shout went up immediately. Max pelted down the busy track, jumping and swinging from the vehicles and huge machinery as confidently as though he was at our weekly trials. A tiny swell of pride flushed through me. Even in this huge alien space with so much stacked against us, Max could change the odds. Curt commands filled the air and several bodysuited Insiders, including the Leader, gave immediate chase. They were all carrying the short cylindrical devices he’d used on Grandpa in the forest.
I closed my eyes briefly.
‘Keeping flying,’ I whispered, before swinging myself down onto the dusty floor. As I peered around the edge of the Sweeper vehicle, it seemed as if the whole world was now pursuing Max, who was racing nimbly down huge stacks of thick tree logs. Some were as high as the treehouses in Arafel, and the stark reality stirred something deep inside. The sight of so much of the forest trapped in this unnatural, light-starved place was a travesty; and something hot and feral poured through my poised limbs.
Gritting my teeth, I bolted from my hiding spot across to a smaller sized Sweeper positioned next to the white hut. From there, it was only a mater of waiting for my chance and slipping through the door. Within seconds I was inside, and blinking at the bright white sterile walls. I didn’t allow myself to look back.
Inside, the white hut appeared to be a series of small rooms permeated by a low hum. There was no one in the narrow corridor so I tiptoed across to the first door. It was ajar and I inched it open slowly with the edge of my toe, bracing myself for discovery. Instead, I found silence. I stared into the clinical room, lined with shelf after shelf of bizarre-looking medical equipment I’d never seen before. The shiny, sharp instruments, each one sealed in a transparent bag, sent shivers running down my spine. The thought that some Outsiders might have been subjected to tools such as these flickered through my mind. I ignored it. I needed to stay focused, and find a weapon.
Scanning the room, I spied what appeared to be individually sealed needles. They were a precious commodity in Arafel’s medical hut, and used only rarely. I crossed quickly to grab a handful, but movement high on the adjacent wall distracted my attention.
I gazed up at the row of small moving squares, six in total, each depicting a different view. It looked as though each picture showed a different room, which meant I could see exactly how many Insiders there were, including where they had put Grandpa and Eli. I’d read about such technology in Grandpa’s books, our forefathers had called it Television, or Closed-Circuit Television, but I’d never imagined it having such detailed capability.
Carefully, I scanned the pictures. The first two rooms were empty, much like the one I was standing in, although they also contained beds. The third screen was busy. There appeared to be two white uniformed Insiders moving around separate beds. My mouth went dry as I craned my neck to get a better view. Then I spotted Grandpa’s woollen trousers, just visible beneath one of the white sheets.
With a thumping heart, I stared intently at the screen. The Insider appeared to be attaching some wires to his body, before pressing buttons on a square machine above his head. I forced myself to exhale steadily, reassuring myself she wouldn’t be taking such an interest if he wasn’t alive.
Next to him, another equally tall Insider was wrapping a thick cloth around the second body’s arm. She paused to pass something to her colleague, and my stomach turned over when a lock of Eli’s sandy-brown hair became visible. They were so close, but were they alive? I couldn’t allow myself to think about that. I scanned the room rapidly, looking for something, anything, I could use as a weapon. Instead found myself lurching heavily against the wall – we were moving.
Cursing, I shot out an arm to steady myself. Then there was a strange hiss and the whole hut seemed to rise about a metre into the air. I ran to the small circular window and peered out at the ground. I blinked hard but the view remained the same – somehow we’d risen directly off the track and there was a new buzzing sound beneath us, as though the floor was growling. There was a brief lull, then the whole building started to vibrate. I gripped one of the shelves, which was rattling with equipment, and when I next looked outside, everything was a blur.
If I’d been told when lying in the forest yesterday, that within a matter of hours I would be chasing my family through the Lifedomes in a levitating medical hut, I would have thought it a bad joke at most. But nothing could have seemed less funny right now. I steadied myself on the clinical white units, and spied a row of small pull-out drawers.
I yanked one open, hoping to find a blade, but instead found hundreds of tiny bottles containing transparent liquid. Frustrated, I rummaged through for anything that might help. They were all labelled with strange, unpronounceable names. Ruth, the village healer, would have a field day. Finally, one of the smallest bottles caught my eye. I picked it up.
‘Barbiturate: Quinalbarbitone XXVI Sedative. Caution,’ I read under my breath.
The moment Eli crumpled to the forest floor flashed through my head, and my eyes narrowed vengefully.
‘Perfect,’ I muttered, grabbing a handful of the tiny bottles and stuffing them in my small leather rations bag.
Silently, I crept from the supplies room and down the corridor, trying to work out which door was hiding Grandpa and Eli. Then I heard the murmur of low voices straight ahead, behind a door standing slightly ajar. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck strained, and I gripped the newly exposed syringes so tightly it hurt, but I knew I had only one chance. I stole forward, holding my breath and willing the Insiders to stay in the room.
The murmuring continued and when I peered through the crack, both nurses were faced away from me, engrossed in their task of wiring Grandpa and Eli up to a macabre wall of bleeping, whirring machines.
A fresh tide of anger threatened to rise within me, and I fought to control it. Grandpa always said anger dulled the senses. Instead, I brought the first syringe up to my shoulder, as though it were a mini fishing spear, and took aim through the door crack. My palms were sweating but I knew my aim had to be faultless.
In a flash I was back home, on a tree-running trial. Max was just behind me and the sounds of the forest were all around. Squirrel monkeys chattered excitedly as I leaned in to the shot, and a hint of fragrant crab apple blossom steadied my breathing.
‘Four, five,’ I counted silently before releasing my first assault. The moment the needle found its target, I swiftly