The Numbered

Chapter Seventy-One

Hannah whipped her head round to see Scott being brought onto the stage, he too was shackled. His face was also a purple mess, with a severe cut above his swollen right eye.

"No, no, no," she whispered, rocking a little on her feet. How could she ever have questioned his loyalty to her?

With his head hung down, Scott was pushed and prodded by two further soldiers to within a couple of feet of Cecily, his feet crunching on the remains of the shattered glass bottle.

"For the offences of planning to overthrow this government and violation of allegiance, he too, has in the last hour, been tried and found guilty of treason.

The decisions I have taken, I have not taken lightly. Their refusal to discuss or confess to their crimes has negated the opportunity for clemency and has left me with only one possible outcome. Let their actions be a warning to all those who wish to attack our way of life. We will not bow down to terrorists, so-called freedom fighters or common criminals. Later today they will be executed for their crimes."

Stunned and uncomprehending, the wild, baying for their blood from the crowd, quickly clarified to Hannah, Briggs's intent.

"Oh dear god!" she gasped.

A young man on the front row suddenly leapt forward. Pushing his hands on the stage to give himself momentum, he pulled his head back and he launched a mouth full of spittle. It hit Scott square in the face. Below him the crowd burst out laughing. Hannah watched as Scott's bound hands, clenched into fists behind his back.

The tears she had been fighting back, spilled down Hannah's cheeks as she watched Zeke and the other soldiers move forward and begin leading both Cecily and Scott across the stage. She willed Scott to turn around, but he did not. With every passing second, her eyes flitted from Cecily to Scott and to the crowd. She waited, praying for the signal, but it never came. Slowly, Scott and Cecily were led off the stage and down to the right...to The Wall. Once there, the soldiers attached the shackles around their ankles to iron rings embedded in the concrete. Cecily, shuffled her feet a little, but the strain was showing all over her body. When the soldiers released their grip of her, she wilted and could barely stay up on her feet. Scott on the other hand, straightened up his body, raised his head and turned to the stage, facing Briggs.

Unable to sit and watch, Hannah leapt out of her seat and began to run across the stage towards them. Time seemed to slow as Hannah felt a hand grab her arm and pull her backwards, immobilising her, but she was barely aware of anything. She tried to pull forward, but her arm was bent violently backward. The excruciating pain, rendered her senseless as little orbs of light twinkled in front of eyes.

Slowly, Briggs' grip on Hannah eased somewhat and she became aware of the fact that he was talking quietly to her.

"...your fault..."

"...conniving..."

She turned to him. His lips were moving, but she couldn't quite comprehend what he was saying.

"... no rescue party then, Hannah?"

"...a shame, I was looking forward to a little..."

The sounds finally caught up with the movement of his lips.

"I'd heard such incredulous stories about you this morning too, but frankly I'm left feeling a little... disappointed."

Briggs twisted her arm again, making her wince, but forcing her to focus on the impact of his words. Her eyes went wide with realisation.