The Unlisted Book 1

Prologue

The abandoned alleyway in the dark, dirty forgotten part of Sydney wasn't quite pitch black - but it was close. It was only six-thirty and night was beginning to fall, but the only thing moving here was one of the resident rats out in search of food scraps. It stopped suddenly and sniffed the air, just a nanosecond before a black van veered too quickly around the corner and slammed into the brick wall of the manufacturing plant. The excruciating sound of metal slamming into brick echoed down the alleyway as the van's headlights flickered for a moment and then died. An eerie silence followed. The rat scurried down a nearby gutter amid the hiss and creak of the crumpled van.                                               Then came a loud scraping sound as the van door was slowly wrenched open from the inside, and a teenager fumbled her way out, battered and bruised. She wore an oversized white jumpsuit and a fearful expression. She scanned the alleyway before nodding to someone back in the van. Two more teenage girls and a boy climbed out, wearing matching jumpsuits. Despite the crash, they all seemed okay. Suddenly they all turned and ran down the alleyway, as if their lives depended on it.                                                          Inside the van, the driver, dressed in a black special forces style uniform, struggled to open the door. His colleague in the front passenger seat leaned over to help and they both pushed until the door opened and they climbed out, stumbling and groaning. Despite sorness and probably whiplash, they knew they had a job to do. One of the men pointed down the alleyway. "Hey!, Stop!" he shouted, his gruff voice the only sound interrupting the sinister slience. When it was clear the kids were not going to follow instructions, the two men started to run after them.                                                                                        Up ahead one of the girls tripped and fell, sending her round wire-framed glasses flying off her face. The boy rushed back. "Gemma, get up. Quick!" he hissed as he helped her to her feet. He passed Gemma her glasses. "Thanks Jacob." They looked back and saw the men running towards them, so they quickly took off after the others.                                   They reached a street corner, and disappeared out of sight of the angry men chasing them.