The Beneath (16 page)

But I was watching the little trail of stone dust that was still tumbling from the ceiling where the bars were fixed in.

“The lock didn’t move, but the whole line of bars did. I wonder…”

I took a firm hold of two of the bars near the wall and began to push them backwards and forwards. At first the give was almost unnoticeable, but quickly the metalwork began to move.

“Come on, you’ve weakened it. You get the other side.”

With Will pulling as I pushed, we soon had the whole section of bars moving by a couple of centimetres, and eventually the old, rusty iron could take it no more. One of the main crossbars broke and a section of the bars fell in, showering us with stone dust and rust. Will eased through the gap, then stood up and gave me a quick hug.

“Thanks, Lily, it feels good to be out of there. Now, let’s see if we can persuade Aria to come with us.”

“She’s chained to the wall, so we’ll need to fix that first.”

I was talking over my shoulder as I led the way back
towards Aria’s cell.

“Chained? Nice people. Which way now?”

I stopped dead. I had no idea, and two corridors twisted and turned away from us.

“It’s not too far. I was only running for a minute or two, and we could hear you banging on the bars. We have to be quick though.”

“OK, there’s only one quick way to do this,” he said. “ARIA! ARIA, where are you?”

There was nothing but silence as a faint echo died away.

“She wants us to leave, to save ourselves and not waste time,” I guessed. “ARIA! We’re not leaving until we speak to you, so hurry up and tell us where you are!”

I paused for a moment, listening hard.

“I mean it, you know I do!”

“Over here.”

Her voice was flat and resigned, and it came from a doorway not far from us. Will was off like a shot so I hung back slightly, not wanting to see their reunion. I couldn’t help but hear though.

“My God, look at you!” Will’s voice was shocked. “Are you OK apart from that? Have they hurt you?”

“Never mind that, you must go, now, both of you. You’re in terrible danger!”

“Not without you, Aria. You’re why we’re here so it would be pretty pointless leaving without you.”

There was a moment of silence and I jumped when I
heard my name being called.

“Lily, where are you? We need your help!”

I looked back down the dark, twisting tunnel. There was no sign of anyone coming. Inside the small cell, Will was sitting on the mattress next to Aria, pulling at the chain fixed into the wall.

“Come on, we need another one of your smart ideas. How are we going to get this free?”

A thought was nagging at my mind.

“The cell you were in wasn’t exactly secure, was it?” I said. “I mean, they clearly don’t expect people to choose to escape. It’s very odd. Here, let me look at the manacle.”

Aria held out her slim ankle, which was now bloodied and bruised. I sat down, resting her foot gently on my knee so that she didn’t have to hold her leg up. The metal ring had a rough hinge and a rusty-looking keyhole. I wiggled the locked side but all I succeeded in doing was making Aria gasp as I accidently jarred it against her raw skin.

“Watch it, Lily. Be careful,” muttered Will.

I guessed that he would rather be the one helping her. I sneaked a quick glance at Aria but she was looking down, bottom lip caught between her teeth.

“It’s not as easy as I hoped,” I sighed, bending over to try and see better in the dim light.

“They know there’s nowhere to go!” exclaimed Will. “That’s why security here is so rubbish.”

“Of course!” I said. “That’s exactly right. Why make it hard to escape when you’re a prisoner in the first place?”

I straightened up for a moment, holding the manacle so that it wouldn’t rest on the damaged skin. As I changed my grip I felt something in it move.

“Hang on a second,” I whispered to myself as I turned it round her ankle, hinge side uppermost. “All we need to do is take out the pin!”

“What’s that?”

Will jumped up from where he had been trying to dig the bolt out of the wall and bent down to see.

“The hinge – look, it’s held together with just one small pin. All I need is a bit of metal to push it with. What have we got?”

I looked around the dimly lit, damp room, which was completely bare apart from the mouldy-looking pile of rags that Aria was sitting on. There was absolutely nothing that might do the job.

“I can go back to the other cell; there might be something there,” said Will, standing up again and walking directly in front of me.

“No. Look, we can use this.” I grabbed his hand and hauled him back. “Your watch strap has a metal bit on the buckle. Let’s try that.”

He tore the watch off and thrust it into my hands, then leaned down towards Aria’s foot, considering our best angle of attack. I could feel the heat of him radiating towards me.

“Please, I know that you’re trying to help, but this is taking far too long,” Aria pleaded. “The Farmer will be here any minute, and then he’ll have you both killed. Why don’t you understand? I’m a lost cause, and I took that risk, but you two don’t have to die.”

“Why does he want to kill us?” asked Will. “There are only the two of us, after all, so we’re not much of a threat. All we want is a conversation.”

Aria sighed. “He’s been getting worse and worse for years. He really hates the Aboves and has been breeding larger and larger numbers of the Crop, ready to attack. Or at least that’s what Dane told me. And more of the Crop means more Feeders are needed to feed them, so he’s been getting really harsh with his punishments. I think he’s gone mad. Dane thinks he’s just plain evil, but almost everyone else just blindly obeys him, regardless of how bad their situation is becoming. We had to do
something
.”

“So what were you hoping to achieve Above? Dane mentioned that you were helping him with something. Was that to do with it?”

While we had been talking I had been jabbing at the hinge with the buckle, desperate to find that small bit of movement I’d felt before. And suddenly it slipped home, the pin dropping noiselessly into my lap. I grabbed either side of the manacle and pulled hard, expecting resistance, but the whole thing just fell apart in my hands.

“Oh, you did it!” said Aria, reaching down to rub her
ankle carefully. “Thank you.”

She looked up at me and smiled before turning to Will.

“Thank you too. I don’t deserve it, but it’s good to see you.”

She hadn’t answered my question, but I didn’t push it. Instead I handed the watch back to Will and stood up, pulling Aria upright with me.

“Can you walk?” he asked as she gingerly put her weight on the injured ankle.

“Yes,” she hissed through gritted teeth, carefully stepping with just the toes of her left foot on the ground and leaning on me for support.

“This is no time for bravery,” I said. “Will, get on the other side. If we both help it’ll be quicker.”

Will scooped up Aria’s other arm and slung it round his shoulders, and between us we lifted her towards the door.

“OK, Aria,” said Will as we got to the entrance. “A bit of local knowledge would be good at this point. Where do we go now?”

The pain in my ankle is pulsing, and I wonder if I broke something when they threw me in here. My friends are carrying my weight as I direct them out. My heart feels so free because they are here, risking everything to save me, and yet I can’t stand being responsible for their deaths. I have to find a way to get them out of here, away
from the Crop and the Farmer. I lead them back the way we were all bought in, and we soon arrive at the heavy studded door.

“That door means business,” says Will, touching the old iron studs. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get that open.”

“Can we take it off its hinges?” asks Lily, running her fingers around the edge.

“They’re not that daft,” says Will, shaking his head.

“How about we pretend that one of us is sick, and when the guard comes in we overpower him?”

“Oh, come on, really? Which cheesy films have you been watching?” he asks.

I feel helpless as they discuss how they might escape – I know it’s impossible. Finally Will starts banging on the door.

“Quick, come quickly, please! She’s dying!” he shouts over and over, before turning back to Lily with a crooked smile. “I can’t believe you persuaded me to do this.”

Lily is about to answer when we hear the great bolts being drawn back on the other side.

“Ready?” hisses Will, poised to jump.

Lily nods and the door slams open. Will presses his back to the wall in the gloom, waiting, while Lily and I stand in the light. I see a figure step through the door and I recognise the silhouette. Dane. I can’t warn him.

Will leaps from the darkness and grabs him by the neck. They fight, and fall to the ground, but the shadows
make it hard to see. Then I hear Lily gasp, “No, don’t!”

The door is pushed wide and light floods the corridor. Will has been completely overwhelmed, his arms pinned behind him by two other men. Dane is holding a knife so tightly against his throat that I can see a trickle of blood. Lily leaps forward, but the knife glints as Dane slices it across Will’s neck.

CHAPTER 15

I froze, horrified at what I was seeing. Dane lowered the knife and shoved Will away from him, letting him slump to the floor. Aria reached forward to stop me but I shook her off and dived across the corridor to where Will was lying.

“What have you done?” I shouted at Dane. He ignored me.

I turned Will over, hardly daring to look. He was gasping for breath, and I pressed my hand over his to stop the blood seeping through his fingers.

“Let me look, Will,” I said, trying to get him to focus on me. The gasping continued, but his eyes met mine. “Let me see,” I whispered, my hand over his.

Will’s shoulders heaved. “Give me a minute,” he coughed. “He winded me.”

“I just need to see your neck – how badly are you cut?”

Out of the corner of my eye I could see the men were advancing towards Aria, and I realised that there was no way I was going to be able to help both of them. But Will was in the most immediate danger, so I focused on him, lifting his fingers. A vivid red line ran across his neck, but it wasn’t the gaping wound I had feared. Most of the blood seemed to be coming from a small cut where the point of the knife had been originally pressing into his skin, and it was dripping, not pumping. Had Dane spared him deliberately?

“He missed the artery.” I gave Will a brief smile. “You’re not dying right now.”

“Probably not long though,” he whispered back, still trying to catch his breath. “They don’t look friendly.”

The men had surrounded Aria. She looked very small and defenceless, her slight frame dwarfed by the crowd, most of whom looked extremely menacing as they hunched over her, fists clenched. As I watched, one of the men called to the others.

“He’s here!”

Everyone in the corridor turned to watch as a tall, dark-haired man swept through the entrance. Wearing a white shirt and waistcoat, he looked better coordinated than all the others, as if his clothes had been actively selected rather than thrown on from a charity shop bargain bucket. A stick or cane of some sort was under his arm. With a look of utter contempt at Will and me,
he turned to the crowd and raised his hand. The men fell silent and shuffled apart to reveal Aria. She was standing as tall as possible, showing no sign of the pain in her ankle, with her hands clenched into tight fists. But her face was white with fear. Behind her, two of the crowd held her arms securely.

The dark-haired man walked slowly towards her, looking her up and down as she stared at the wall behind him. Finally he stepped back and, using his cane, moved her chin until she was looking at him.

“Really, Aria, what have you been doing now?”

His voice was low and surprisingly calm. Aria ignored him, but I could see that she was shaking.

“I said, what have you been doing
now
?” An edge of steel crept into the last word.

Aria’s jaw was clenched tight. “Nothing,” she hissed.

The Farmer leaned towards her, waving back her guards with a flick of his cane. He shook his head slowly.

“I expected better of you. Revealing the Community to strangers is treason. You know that. What would your mother have said?”

Aria swallowed hard, but the look in her eyes had turned to pure hatred. She said nothing.

He lifted the cane back under her chin, making her flinch. She was shaking so hard I could almost hear it.

“You have forgotten your place,” he said in a low but clear voice. “I expect an apology.”

Still she said nothing.

There was a sharp intake of breath from someone in the crowd, and he stared at her for a couple of seconds before looking away, sighing loudly.

“Beyond hope, as we feared. Take them all to the Assembly Chamber. We need to get this trial out of the way as quickly as possible.”

We were bundled out of the cell-block corridor through the heavy door. There was no chance to talk with Aria as we were whisked along endless low, stone tunnels. Thankfully Will and I were kept together, and we tried hard to reassure each other that everything was going to be OK.

“I mean,” said Will at one point as we were walking a little more slowly along a winding section, “what good would it do to harm us? We’re only here to rescue Aria, not to run off with the silver or something.”

“Exactly! I’m sure they’ll be letting us go once we’ve had a chance to explain ourselves.”

I tried to sound convincing as I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud what I feared.”How is your neck? Has it stopped bleeding?”

Will looked very pasty under the artificial lights.

“It seems fine. I feel pretty rubbish though. Really cold.”

“It’s probably shock. It’s not every day that someone tries to cut your throat.”

“Maybe,” he said, pulling his sleeves down over his hands. “I’d really like to know where Foggy has gone,”
he added, peering down another tunnel as we passed. “He’s always running off, and he’s pretty good at finding his way home, but it would be a relief to know that he was safe.”

“Foggy will be fine, I’m sure – didn’t you say he has a knack of being in the right place at the right time? Perhaps he’ll come and rescue us!”

I didn’t believe that any more than Will did, but we gave each other strained little smiles as the guards pulled us apart again.

News of our capture had obviously spread among the Community, and faces were appearing at the doorways and tunnel mouths as we approached. They must have been falling into place behind us though, as I could tell by the footsteps and murmuring that there was a huge crowd following us. We were dragged on, moving between pools of light from the dim bulbs strung just above our heads. I couldn’t believe how far we had walked – the place was a vast warren of small, intersecting tunnels. For a fraction of a second I could feel the weight of all the mud and stone above me, and a wave of claustrophobia gripped me. But then the low ceiling was gone.

It was replaced by an immense vaulted chamber that was lit at head height all around the edge by a string of bright white bulbs. The space was about the size of my school assembly hall, and empty apart from a carved chair with a plush-looking cushion on a stage at the far end. Some odd, abstract art was painted on the walls.
To the right was a tall, raised platform about twice my height – the sort of stone plinth you would put a statue on – and Aria was being pushed up a ladder to the top. Several other similar platforms were arranged around the edges of the chamber, and I could see a man pointing to Will and me.

“This doesn’t look good,” said Will, looking over at Aria’s frightened face as she stood alone on the top.

“I’m so sorry that I got you into all this,” I said quickly as the men holding our arms started to separate us. “So very sorry.”

Will was pulled backwards, and he looked as if he was about to say something but the crowd poured in between us. I was dragged along to the nearest platform, and the man finally let go of my arms when we reached a ladder made of a mismatched selection of wood lashed together with strips of rag.

“Up!” he ordered, poking me in the back with a stick.

The ladder was pretty rickety, and I wasn’t sure that some of the rungs would take my weight, but I didn’t have much choice but to continue. As soon as I reached the smooth stone surface at the top, the ladder was taken away. It seemed much higher than it looked from the floor, and the square of stone wasn’t huge either. I knelt down, keen to keep a sudden wave of giddiness under control, and took several deep breaths.

“Don’t look down, don’t look down,” I repeated to myself.

The attack passed, and when I finally opened my eyes I looked straight out, trying to ignore all the hustle and bustle below me. I was trying really hard not to give in to the panic that was threatening to overwhelm me. On this stone platform, with a top that was barely larger than Nan’s kitchen table, panicking wasn’t going to be a good thing.

I glanced around the circular vaulted chamber. It was about a quarter full of people, but others were arriving all the time. From my vantage point I could see everything. Aria and Will were on similar plinths, looking nervously at the drop below. As the people filed in they lined up in rows facing the single chair, before sitting down on the floor. The men were at the front, and the women and a few children were nearer the back. Each member of the Community looked eerily similar – dark-haired and pale, just like Aria, and very few of them were particularly tall. They were dressed in a weird concoction of clothes, all in drab colours and showing very little skin. I had never got back the hoodie from Will after he had been using it to give the dog the scent, and I had no idea where it had gone. My skimpy vest top was making me feel almost naked among this crowd. Every single one of them was staring up at Will and me, open-mouthed. Some pointed and laughed, and being so closely observed when I had absolutely nowhere to hide was making me even more uncomfortable.

Will was crouching down, brushing his hair out of his
eyes and looking around in amazement. I raised my eyebrows at him and I could see him mouth something at me – “OK?” I nodded back, determined to be brave, and turned to look at Aria. She was standing upright with her shoulders back, hands clasped behind her, staring at the wall above the chair. I looked over to see what she was staring at and started in surprise. What had seemed at first glance to be a random jumble of shapes painted on the wall, I could now see was a representation of the Tower of London.

I glanced around to see if I could make sense of any of the other pictures around the room but before I could, the crowd suddenly got to its feet. The Farmer walked on to the stage and stood in front of the chair. He sat down and raised his hand to the silent crowd before nodding. Almost in a single movement everyone in the room sat back down. The Farmer then turned to look at the three of us.

“Stand up,” someone below me hissed.

I scrambled to my feet and saw that Will was doing the same. Aria continued standing motionless, looking at the wall.

“People of the Community,” said the Farmer, “thank you for coming to this special trial. I am sorry that we have had to take you away from your daily tasks but, as you know, by our laws, everyone needs to witness the passing of judgement on transgressors. I do not, however, expect that this will take very long.

“As you may have heard, two of the accused here before us are from Above. They have tricked their way down here with the express intent of stealing one of our own and taking her back Above.”

At this there was a general gasp around the room, and a wave of faces turned to get a better look at us.

“And the reason that these Aboves even knew we were here?” He paused, making eye contact with as many people as he could before pointing at Aria. “Because she told them! She revealed our secrets to these strangers and told them how to find us. Why? She refuses to tell us, but there can be no excuse.

“Aria insists that she hasn’t told anyone how to reach us, or what our defences are, but these two clearly made it down with ease. How can we be sure she didn’t tell more people?” He stood up, his fist waving in the air. “At this very moment, whole legions of Aboves may be preparing to do battle with the Crop, to force their way in here and take you all away to their world of lies, pain and hatred. It’s my job to protect you from that terrible fate!”

The gasps of amazement had turned into mutterings of agreement, and all round the room I could see heads shaking. But when I turned to look at Aria she was standing as still as before.

I stand on the column of shame, determined not to show my fear. I’ve seen many people beg and cry and plead
for mercy from these columns, but no one has ever been forgiven. I try to keep my attention fixed on the picture on the wall, knowing now that it is a poor impression of a majestic building. I try to remember every detail of the real thing, keeping my mind off what is going on below me.

A man at the back of the crowd shouts out. “Feeders, the lot of ’em! Get ’em to the Crop now!”

Everyone joins in, shouting and shaking their fists at us.

“Feeders, Feeders, Feeders, FEEDERS!”

There is always shouting at trials, because everyone is desperate to be seen to be supporting the Farmer. I feel ashamed of the times I stood at the back shouting too.

The Farmer holds his hand up and the chanting stops. It is always the same, and there is never any response, but the law says that we must ask before the vote is taken.

“You each have a vote,” he starts, “and every vote will count, but as custom dictates I will give you my advice. I must first ask if there is anyone in the room who will stand in defence of either of these invaders, or the traitor. If anyone here would say a few words for the prisoners, to present alternative evidence or to claim leniency, you are now to declare it.”

As usual there is an expectant hush, and everyone peers around to make sure that no one is actually going to say anything.

“Good people, this is a crime unlike any other we have
ever seen, and I believe that it should reap the harshest penalty. My advice is to Assign these people to—”