The Beneath (15 page)

“You, strangers! What is the meaning of this?” I spun
round to see a thickset, bearded man advancing towards us from the line. He was wearing a badly fitting suede jacket and pinstripe trousers, all hugely creased, and he looked furious. He stopped a few metres away and folded his arms. “Who are you? How did you get here?”

“We’re from Above,” said Will, standing up straight and tightening his hold on my hand before leaning back towards me and muttering under his breath, “We’re just going to have to brazen this out.”

We stood back to back in the middle of the circle of angry men.

“And what are you doing here, eh?” said the man menacingly.

“We’re looking for a friend of ours.”

There was a murmur from the crowd and I sneaked a glimpse at them. They were watching us closely, pointing and frowning, and commenting to each other. Will’s blond hair particularly seemed to fascinate them. All of them were wearing a strange mix of clothes that looked as if they had all come from a raid on an Oxfam shop. Nothing matched and, like the clothes of the man who had spoken, everything was really crumpled. The men themselves were very lean and some looked very grubby, which seemed out of place in the otherwise clean environment.

“What makes you think he’ll be all the way down here with us?” asked the bearded man.

“It’s a girl, actually,” started Will. “Her name’s Aria.”

The muttering of the crowd stopped abruptly. You could have heard a pin drop.

The bearded man took the last step and thrust his face close to Will’s.

“Aria? You come here looking for Aria?”

Will didn’t flinch.

“Yes, sir. She’s our friend and we believe she needs our help. Can you take us to her, please?”

There was a gasp from the crowd.

“Oh, we’ll take you to her, don’t you worry,” said the man with a nasty smile.

I felt a distinct chill ripple through me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you can join her in fulfilling a useful function. We’re a bit short of Feeders at the moment, you see, so the Farmer will be delighted to have some visitors.”

Everything stopped. Without looking I could feel Will close beside me.

“I don’t understand,” he said to the man.

“It’s very simple. You’re not welcome down here, and yet you came, so you must be punished. You’ll get a trial, but as you’re clearly guilty the Farmer will have no choice – you will both become Feeders.” He looked slowly from Will to me, and back again. “No one leaves the Community. Ever.”

CHAPTER 14

Will and I were grabbed from behind and our captors wrenched our arms up behind our backs. The pain was excruciating.

“Hey,” I called after a few minutes. “There’s no need to be so rough. Where am I going to run to?” The man holding me ignored me completely.

“Can you give her a break, please?” asked Will, calling over his shoulder. “She’s right – where are we going to go?” The next thing I heard was a grunt as his guard practically doubled him over. Neither of us said another word.

We were bundled along the twisting corridors, unable to make any sense of the direction in which we were travelling, before stopping abruptly. I lifted my head to see a wide door, which was thick and studded with huge
strengthening bars. Whatever was on the other side clearly wasn’t getting out – or in. I shivered, hoping that it wasn’t another entrance to the Crop. I really didn’t want to face it again, not before I’d had the chance to make some sort of a deal, and there was no point in making a deal with guards, if that’s what they were.

“I need to talk to the Farmer,” I announced as we waited outside the door.

There was a moment of stunned silence before one man gave a hollow laugh. Will was doing his best to stand upright with his wrist rammed up between his shoulder blades, but he caught my eye and nodded.

“We both need to see him,” Will said in a strained voice. “We’ve got important information for him.”

The man holding him relaxed his grip momentarily, allowing Will to straighten up. He was taller than most of the men and I could see them take an almost imperceptible step backwards. The guy with the beard pushed his way through the crowd.

“What’s this? What’s going on?” he boomed in his deep voice.

“We need to see the Farmer. Both of us.”

“What business do you have with him?”

“I really don’t think that’s any of your concern, do you?” retorted Will, staring at him unblinkingly.

The two of them eyeballed each other for a moment before the bearded guy looked away.

“Maybe they’ve come to let us know about an
invasion,” called one guy from the back.

“Silence!” roared the man with the beard towards the small crowd. “Not another word in front of them. Lock ’em up,” he said gruffly, handing over a large key to the man holding Will. “I’ll get the Farmer.”

There was a great wrenching noise as the key turned in the enormous lock and slowly the door swung open. We were bundled into another dimly lit corridor, but the men seemed to be treating us with slightly more respect. The Farmer was clearly not someone you called on lightly.

All the other corridors had been clean and smooth, but beyond the door the air was damp and the floor was roughly dug stone, which was awkward to walk on. A couple of times I stumbled when I caught my toe, and the man holding me hauled me back upright again. Above us, the lights on the string were dim and really far apart, creating long stretches of gloom in the low, winding tunnel. The man holding my arm suddenly stopped. He yanked my wrist up and gave a smile I didn’t like.

“You’ll not be needing this now,” he said, laughing, and ripped my watch off. He threw me to the side. I crashed down on to the rough floor, sharp stones digging into my knees and arms.

“Give me that back!” I yelled, jumping up, but it was too late. He slammed a metal gate shut behind me. Then there was a scuffing and a clanging noise some way off to my left and I guessed that they were throwing Will into another cell.

“What’s happening? Where are you going?” I grabbed the bars, shouting as I heard their retreating footsteps. “I want to see the Farmer!”

There was no answer, just the dull thud of a distant door slamming shut.

Everything went quiet.

I looked around. I was in a small cell with stone walls, locked in by the metal gate made of rusty bars. They had used a huge key which must have been centuries old. Was the rest of the gate that old? I shook it gently, seeing the red dust fall from the extensive rust patches.

“This is ancient,” I said to myself as I shook it harder. More rust fell on to the uneven floor. I stood back and faced the lock, and summoned all my anger at being caught. Then I took a deep breath and kicked out, remembering a long-ago judo lesson. There was a satisfying crack.

Without thinking about how much it had hurt, I kicked again. The old lock fell to pieces and tumbled to the floor. I was free.

Something strange is going on. There has been shouting in the distance, and the sound of the door slamming, and although the lights have come back on the Farmer hasn’t returned yet to question me again. I take the chance to look round my little cell properly. I always wondered where they kept the Feeders before the end. I had hoped it was somewhere nice, perhaps with a few
little luxuries, but clearly not. The stone floor is damp, and the mattress of old rags I’m sitting on smells horribly mouldy. I’m trying to decide whether to risk eating some of the food they left me earlier when there are a couple of short, sharp bangs, and then moments later the sound of an unexpected voice getting closer.

“Where are you? Please say something!”

I’m so surprised that I freeze. Surely that can’t be Lily? The voice gets louder.

“Are you OK? Please – where have they taken you?”

Footsteps are coming. I can’t believe that this is happening. How has Lily got in here?

I hear her mutter, “This is hopeless. It’s a complete rabbit warren.” Then she takes a deep breath. “WHERE ARE YOU?”

The noise reverberates around the walls, making me jump.

“Lily?” I ask. “Is that you?”

My voice seems tiny and insignificant after that monumental bellow. There is a moment of silence before I hear feet running towards me.

“Aria?” The voice is quieter now, more tentative. “Are you really here?”

“I’m this way,” I call. “Follow the sound of my voice. You’re not far away now.”

As I utter the last word, a figure appears in the open doorway of my small cell.

“Aria? Is that really you? Thank goodness you’re OK!”

Relief and fear wash over me in waves. Relief that I haven’t lost my friend after all, that she’s risked everything to come and find me, but utter fear that she is here. Fear that I’ve actually completed my mission and what that means for her. I move out of the shadows.

“Lily – what are you doing here? How on earth did you manage to get past the Crop?”

Lily looks over at me and takes a small step, her hand reaching out before she drops it back to her side. She looks uncertain and I can’t run over and hug her like I want to, to show her everything is OK.

“I’m so sorry, Aria. I made a terrible mistake and I had to try and put it right.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I thought that you—”

“Shhh! Wait a minute.” I put my finger to my lips. “There’s someone else here.”

I listened hard, then caught the sound – a rhythmic thumping, and then, more distantly, a shout.

“Let me out of here! Lily! Where are you?”

I can’t believe that Lily has taken such a terrible risk.

“Did you bring someone here with you?” I ask.

“It’s Will. He wanted to help find you, obviously.”

I sit back on the rag mattress, appalled.

“Will? You brought him down here? You have to get him out of here, and now!”

“It’s OK for the minute. We’ve asked to see the Farmer.”

This time I’m so surprised I can’t actually speak. Lily can see my face.

“It’s the only choice we have. He’s the one in charge, isn’t he? We were hoping to sneak down here and fetch you without being spotted, but it was harder than we thought, and calling on the Farmer seemed the only other choice. I’ll just have to try and persuade him.”

“The Farmer won’t care what you want, believe me, and he absolutely won’t tolerate Will,” I say. “He’ll be killed. You have to get him out of here, and quickly.”

I can’t keep the note of desperation out of my voice. I can’t be responsible for Will’s death.

“They’re not really going to kill anyone, I’m sure. That would be barbaric.”

Her voice is beginning to quiver and I can tell by the way she is biting her lip that she is trying to convince herself as she speaks. Before I can answer she takes a deep breath and steps back towards the door.

“Come on, you can fill me in on the important details as we release Will and find the way out. We need to escape.”

She turns to leave and I lift my leg to show her my ankle.

“I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to sort this out alone.”

The heavy manacle has cut into my skin, leaving it red and raw.

“Oh my God!” Lily is on her knees, trying to prise the
metal ring off my leg. “It’s inhuman! They can’t do that to you.”

“You have as much to learn about life down here as I did up there, you know. This isn’t important; Will is important. You must go and rescue him. Men are not the ones needed down here.”

“But—”

“Listen to me, I’m stuck here.” I grab the chain and yank it hard to prove my point. “That’s why there is no door on this cell. You have to get Will, please, before it’s too late! Hide by the door and run for it as soon as it’s open. Find your way back out again and leave immediately. And don’t ever come back in here…”

I’m willing her to leave while I’m still being brave. I don’t want to break down and sob like a child. I can’t believe that they’ve come to rescue me, and for a moment I am overwhelmed. I feel the tears threatening to come. I don’t deserve their help, so I turn away quickly.

Lily’s hand is gentle on my shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Aria. I had no right to expect you to forgive me. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

She leans over and rests her cheek on my head. I reach for her hand to squeeze it, to show her that there was nothing to forgive, but she’s gone, finally taking me at my word.

I lie back on the mouldy mattress, tears blurring my vision, and at last I feel at peace. I’m glad that she doesn’t know the truth, and now there is no need to share it. I
know that she is my friend and will always be there for me. She’s just proved that.

I can die more easily now I know I have a friend.

I ran blinded by tears down the dark, winding corridor away from Aria’s cell, unable to believe what I’d done to her. She was chained to the wall! And from the way she had reacted to me, the way she had turned away, she still blamed me. She had every right to as well. If only I hadn’t jumped to the wrong conclusions she’d never have come back down. And knowing that Will liked her too made the whole thing worse. My selfishness had created this mess. I had to find Will and get him to help me get her out.

After turning down a few corridors I stopped and leaned against one of the dank walls, groping for the tissue in my pocket. I blew my nose as quietly as possible, trying to keep from sobbing out loud.

“Lily? Is that you?” a voice hissed in the darkness.

Pale hands were clutching a set of bars that reached across the width of the corridor, and almost hidden in the gloom behind was Will. I wiped my eyes and ran towards him.

“Lily, thank goodness you’re all right. When they took you off I thought…” He stopped as he saw my tear-streaked face. “You are all right, aren’t you? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“No, no. I’m fine. I’ve just seen Aria. She’s—”

“Alive? Is she OK?” he interrupted before I could finish.

I nodded. “Alive, but trapped. She wants us to leave her and go. She says that there’s no time to waste and that you are in terrible danger – and you specifically, but I’m not sure why.”

“What? I’m not leaving her. Rescuing her is what this is all about, right?” He rattled the bars again. “Come on, help me get out of here. And how come you’re not in a cell too?”

“I don’t think they have very much regard for us girls. They put me a cell so flimsy that a quick kick sorted it out. I broke the lock on the second attempt.”

I stepped back, sniffing loudly and wiping my face again. The bars spanned the full width of the tunnel, with a small door in the middle, like an old-fashioned prison cell. The door had a solid iron lock, and I shook it hard but the gate didn’t budge.

“It looks as if you’ve been rather more securely locked up. Did you see what they did with the key?”

“No, they threw me in here and slammed it shut before I could turn round.”

“I can’t believe this is all going so horribly wrong,” I whispered. “We’re all locked up in here and waiting to die.”

“I’m not waiting around for that, thank you,” said Will. “Stand back!”

He took a flying kick at the lock before landing in a
heap on the floor with a loud groan. The lock hadn’t budged.

“Damn it. That always works in the movies,” he said, getting up and rubbing his foot. “Shouldn’t have used my bad ankle either, really.”