Her sides were in a stitch, the muscles in her legs beginning to burn as Georgianna sprinted through the tunnel back towards the main line. The rumour she’d heard in the compound had set her mind racing. Not that what she had heard between the two prisoners could really be considered a rumour. There was far too much truth to it, too much information already known. It was no hunch the Adveni guards had—they knew about the escape. They knew who was escaping, which could mean they also knew who was involved.
The tunnel travelled underneath the expanse of open ground between the city limits and the compound, and then the eastern side of the city. It ran directly beneath one of the broader streets, where a number of large Adveni buildings had been erected, holding everything from shops to military training facilities. Javeknell Square, where it ended, formed the buffer between the Adveni districts and the Veniche, a place where rebels and criminals were executed for their crimes. The Adveni made a spectacle of it, important men giving speeches about the importance of their laws. Georgianna avoided it as often as possible, as did many other Veniche, but she had seen enough to know that Javeknell Square was not where you ever wanted to end up.
With her thoughts passing to and fro within her head, Georgianna considered checking the square for any news, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Prisoners were always taken to the compound before being executed, the Adveni taking their time in asking questions and getting all the information they could before they killed someone. Belsa, especially, were kept for days or weeks at a time before being taken to the square. If they were lucky, or if they cooperated, they were given the rope, a quick death. If they held out, however, or if they were especially important, like Beck would be, they were collared.
Georgianna knew that it involved a cinystalq collar, but she’d been told that it was stronger, worse, specifically designed to make a death as long and as painful as possible. Georgianna had never seen anyone collared, but she had heard enough to know that its barbaric brutality was something she did not want to witness.
Once she hit the main tunnel and was heading north, she had to stop running. The number of people walking along the line made it impossible to run unhindered. Georgianna walked as briskly as she could, weaving in and out amongst the people, dodging into any small gap she could find to overtake those who were happy to meander at a leisurely pace.
She glanced over her shoulder continuously, chewing on her lip and the inside of her cheek as she scanned for Adveni around her. Agrah soldiers walked the lines regularly looking for those who would try to pick pockets or ambush people using the tunnels, or simply to get from one place to another, and Georgianna couldn’t risk running into one of them now, not when she could barely keep her breath on an even keel.
The first tunnel heading west was quieter than the main line, and Georgianna broke into a run. She dodged around people as she ran, occasionally bumping shoulders and tripping over her own feet. Furious calls pursued her.
The sun was blinding after the tunnels’ darkness, despite the tall, oppressive buildings. Once she stood outside one of the western tunnel entrances, sometimes known as the Camps Line, it took Georgianna a moment to gather her bearings before she set off down the street, still having to avoid the crush of bodies as she went.
What if they were already caught? What if she was running into a trap? She knew that she shouldn’t be thinking the worst, but she couldn’t stop herself asking the questions over and over, not when people she cared about were involved. Nyah and Taye would be hauled to the compound. Keiran and Wrench strung up next to Landon as a warning to those who would attempt the same.
The building Keiran and Wrench had decided on for removing the collars was further north in the district, closer to the Adveni dwelling quarters so that they could reach it quickly and get the Adveni off their tail. However, Georgianna took a sharp turn east, running along the street that ran parallel to one of the tracks leading out towards the camps. It was still early, but maybe they’d made faster work of the tracking cinystalq collars. Perhaps she was overreacting, everything had gone according to the plan and though the Adveni knew of the escape attempt, they had acted too late to catch anybody.
All along the street, Veniche were returning to work after being given a short time to get something for their lunch. Georgianna darted between them, slipping through large crowds in the hopes that the sheer number of people going about their daily business would stop anybody giving her a second look.
The building she wanted was old and rundown, the Adveni not paying enough attention to the disused buildings in the Oprust district to attempt fixing them up. Georgianna slipped down the gap between the building and its neighbour. She brought her hand down to her hip, moving her bag further behind her.
Coming to the thick wooden door in the middle of the side wall, Georgianna finally paused. With her hand on the handle, she took a few deep breaths, steadying her nerves. If Adveni were inside, if they knew enough of their plan to know whoever turned up here could be involved, she had to look like this were simply a mistake.
Georgianna took another breath, holding it behind pursed lips as she turned the handle, pushing the door carefully open. Dust from the uneven wooden floors billowed and swirled at the burst of new air, catching in her nose and making her sneeze. Then she stepped into the shadows.
YOU ARE READING
Dead and Buryd
Science Fiction"You are an inmate, not a medic. You should get used to that." On the planet Os-Veruh, the native Veniche have endured a decade under the oppressive rule of a race of invaders, the Adveni. When Georgianna Lennox, a Veniche medic, discovers her child...
