B00DW1DUQA EBOK (35 page)

Privately, he’d had doubts, of course. When he was half-dead from hacking at the rock walls, or lying awake in the middle of the night too exhausted to sleep, he’d sometimes think he’d been abandoned down there. But finding Diane had given him hope again.

‘Well, yes. We made a vow.’

‘You’re such a child, Finn. Don’t you see what’s happening here? Connor’s making a name for himself up there. You and I are just an embarrassment to him, a threat. He’s not going to want anyone to know about his pact to destroy Engn, is he? If there
is
a plan it’s just to get us out of the way. He made sure you ended up here, set you up, and he probably made sure I got brought down here too.’

‘I don’t believe it,’ said Finn. ‘Connor wouldn’t do that.’

‘He’s done it, Finn. He did it years ago.’

‘No. He’s got a plan and this is all part of it. I know it seems he’s left me to die here, but he hasn’t. There’s a reason for me coming here, for everything that’s happened. I know there is.’

Diane shook her head. ‘People change, Finn.’

‘Yes. But they also stay the same, deep down. You didn’t know him long. I did. We grew up together. And besides, if we don’t do this, no-one else will. I explained about the wreckers. About Lud. I don’t think they’re ever going to really
do
anything.’

Diane sighed and lay back down, closing her eyes. Finn looked away. Perhaps she was right. His eyes prickled with fatigue. He wanted to sleep, now, but it would soon be time for the start of his shift. If Diane was right then there was no hope. There was no escape and they would die down here: he, Diane, Tom, all of them.

He thought back to the day in the tree, the day of the avalanche. So much of the past few years was a blur of misery and fatigue but that memory seemed clearer and brighter all the time. The day he and Connor had started out as enemies and become friends. He gazed over the scene in front of him, the huddled lines of workers lying in their rags like giant moth cocoons. The vast, turning wheels beyond them. The food trolley trundling along its rail towards them. The master ringing the bell to call the workers down from the buckets to end their shift. Soon it would be Finn’s turn. He was exhausted, utterly exhausted, but he was used to that. He would get through the hours somehow. Caulking the wheels wasn’t as bad as digging. You were hidden a lot of the time, out of sight inside the buckets where the masters couldn’t see how hard you worked.

As he gazed he suddenly saw what the answer was, how they could escape the mines. He glanced around, then down at Diane, his stomach fizzing with anticipation. It could work, it really could. They would need luck, but there was a chance. Diane was a good swimmer; that would help. A memory of a day at the mill-pond flashed through his mind, her long legs slipping under the water as she dived in.

‘Will you at least come with me if I leave?’ he asked her, lowering his head to be very near hers.

‘Leave? There is no way out, Finn. Everyone knows that.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘There is a way. This time tomorrow, I’m going. We can escape together. It’s what we’re supposed to do.’

‘It’s not possible, Finn!’ Around them, other workers stirred, some scowling at being woken up before necessary. Sleep was their only refuge. ‘Haven’t you seen what’s up there? The size of it? It isn’t some stupid pile of twigs; it’s vast, it goes on for ever. You can’t destroy all that. We never had a chance.’

‘No. You’re wrong,’ he replied, trying to keep his voice down. ‘It is possible. To get out, I mean. And then, after that, we’ll see. Come with me and I’ll show you.’

‘It’s hopeless.’

‘At least say you’ll try to escape. Please? You’ve got nothing to lose by staying here, believe me.’

She studied his face for long moments. Then she shut her eyes.

‘OK, Finn,’ she said. ‘We’ll escape the mines of Engn tomorrow. Whatever you say.’

Finn sat deep in thought, thinking over the details of what they would have to do. He glanced over at Tom being kicked awake by an Ironclad guard. They would need a diversion, someone to stay behind. Could he really ask Tom to do that? He tried to think of some alternative until the bell rang for them to start work.

Finn waited until the great wooden bucket was at its lowest point on the wheel before talking to Tom. The Ironclads sometimes perched at the top of one of the ladders to watch them, but if there wasn’t one there you were safe to talk for a moment. Tom worked in one of the corners, splashing tar onto the freshly exposed wood. Spots of black speckled his face. Finn, cutting away decayed, soggy wood with a saw and a file, worked his way across. The others in the gang were some distance away. He talked quickly, in hushed tones.

‘I need your help. I’m going to get out tomorrow morning.’

Tom carried on working away, slapping the thick, sludgy tar onto the wood. ‘Are you now?’

‘I’ve worked out how to do it, you see. This time it will work. Diane gave me the idea. It’s easy. The only problem is I need something to distract the Ironclads for a moment and ....’

He tailed off. He was asking Tom to stay behind. Strong, reliable Tom. He was asking him to sacrifice himself so he and Diane could escape. He’d take Tom, too, if he could. He’d take all of them apart from Graves. But it wasn’t possible. But if two of them could escape, maybe they could wreck the workings and set everyone free eventually.

‘No, Finn. I’m sorry,’ said Tom, not looking up from his work.

‘We’d take you if we could, Tom. You know that. But we need someone we can trust to stay here. Just for now.’

Tom shook his head. ‘You don’t get it do you? I’m not going to help you because I’m not going to let you get yourself killed. I’ve kept you alive all this time. Whatever you’re planning, it isn’t going to work.’

‘But it will, I know it.’ He’d raised his voice now. A few of the others glanced over at them, frowning. It wasn’t unknown for fights to break out when the Ironclads’ gaze was elsewhere, and any trouble often meant punishment for them all.

‘It won’t,’ said Tom. ‘And if I have to put up with you getting angry at me to save your skin again, then that’s fine. But I won’t help you.’

‘Please, Tom.’

The older man would say no more. Soon an Ironclad climbed up the ladder to oversee them and Finn worked his way away from the corner, attacking the rotten wood of the floor with feverish anger. Without Tom they had no chance.

Diane was still asleep when he returned. She stirred as Finn lay down nearby but there was no chance to talk. The Ironclads were already urging the new shift to begin. Diane struggled to her feet, clearly in pain. She set off to follow the others but the portly Ironclad waved her back. She wasn’t fit yet, would be a danger to others. Finn knew, as Diane surely did too, that they wouldn’t wait for ever. If she wasn’t ready for work soon they’d give up on her. Finn just hoped she’d be mobile enough to escape with him.

Finn watched her for a time, picking her way around the scattered piles of rags where the others from her shift had slept, trying to work some movement back into her back. He wanted to say something to her, tell her about Tom, but he couldn’t. Too many guards milled around. One of them directed her to push the empty meal trolley away. Finn slipped into a troubled slumber as he tried to think of a way to distract the Ironclads long enough to put his plans into action.

He awoke feeling barely rested, a knot of anxiety fizzing away in his stomach. The other shift were coming down from the wheel and soon he would have to climb back on to begin work. He glanced up at the vast curve of the great wheel, checking out which bucket the others had completed while he slept. His calculations of two days earlier were correct. The wheel was almost completely recaulked now; today might be their last day on it. He and Diane had to leave now.

He looked around and saw her helping to push the new food trolley towards the camp. She grimaced with the effort and pain of it but she was moving a little better. That was something. She looked up at Finn, catching his gaze. Finn nodded to her, telling her now was the time, be ready.

He looked around for Tom, hoping his friend had relented and was somewhere nearby ready to help them. But Tom was queuing up for the morning’s gruel, his back turned to Finn.

Someone kicked Finn in the side, a sharp blow that made him recoil with pain. He turned expecting to see an Ironclad urging him to work. But instead it was Graves standing over him.

‘Leave me alone, Graves,’ said Finn. ‘I’m not afraid of you any more.’

‘You should be. Because I know all about your plan.’

‘My plan?’

‘Oh, yes, I heard the two of you arranging it all. Well, you’re taking me with you, Smithson. It’s your fault I’m down here so you can get me out.’

‘What makes you think I would ever do anything for you, Graves? You can rot down here for the rest of your life as far as I care.’

Graves grinned. ‘Because if you don’t take me I’ll tell the Ironclads what you’re planning.’

‘They won’t believe you.’

‘Won’t they? Sure about that? Maybe they’ll cart you off to the furnaces just in case I’m right, eh?’

Finn thought quickly. He doubted the Ironclads would believe Graves, but if the older boy did tell them what he’d heard it would make it impossible for Finn and Diane to slip away. And they might never make it back to the wheels. He had to act now.

He looked at Graves, grinning away at his own cleverness. Except he wasn’t clever was he? He was brighter than Croft or Bellow, maybe, but that wasn’t saying much. He’d ruled the dormitory because he was the strongest, the tallest, the meanest. And he had no idea what Finn’s plans actually were. He hadn’t explained them to Diane or Tom had he? Finn saw, then, what he should do, how to engineer the distraction he needed.

He slumped his shoulders and sighed, feigning defeat. ‘OK, Graves. We’ll take you. But once we’re back on the surface we go our separate ways, yes? You’re on your own and we never see each other again.’

Graves nodded. ‘Suits me. So, what’s the plan? What do we do?’

Finn nodded over at the metal trolley that brought them their vats of gruel each day. ‘Know where that goes when it’s empty?’

Graves shook his head, eyes narrowing as he tried to understand Finn’s plan.

‘I found out,’ said Finn. ‘They make the slop upstairs, on the surface. There’s a little cage they haul up and down on a chain, over at the end of the rail. It’s big enough for those metal churns so it’s big enough for one of us. That’s the plan. We go up one at a time.’

‘The Ironclads will see us. They must guard it.’

‘No, that’s the beauty of it. See, Diane’s been pushing the food and water over there, checking it all out. The Ironclads don’t inspect the trolleys. All we have to do is take the empty churns out and there’ll be room for me - for the two of us I mean - inside. Diane can just push us along. When the shift starts the Ironclads are too busy watching the wheel to see us. We just take turns ascending in the cage. We can be up and out in minutes.

Graves looked doubtful, seeing problems with the plan. Finn wasn’t surprised. It sounded wild and unbelievable to him even as he made it up. He carried on talking before Graves could object. ‘I’ll go up first, make sure the coast is clear, then send the cage back for you.’

‘You think I’m stupid, don’t you?’ said Graves. ‘I’ll go up first, understand?’

Finn frowned, pretending to calculate. ‘And why should I trust you?’

‘You haven’t got much choice have you?’

Finn waited a moment more, then sighed. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘But make sure you send the cage back down. You’ll need me up there. I’ve seen a lot more of Engn than you have.’

Graves grinned, and Finn knew he planned to leave the two of them stranded down there once he was free.

‘Of course,’ said Graves. ‘But where do we hide the churns?’

‘That’s easy,’ said Finn. ‘We just stack them over by the wheel, carry them over there as if we’ve been told to by one of the Ironclads. They often get taken over there for cleaning in the river. The Ironclads won’t suspect anything; they don’t count them or anything.’

Finn turned to set off. There were only a few moments before the bell rang for the start of the shift and he didn’t want Graves to have too much time to think about the plan.

‘Where are you going?’ called Graves as Finn walked away.

‘I’ll distract the Ironclads while you move the churns. I’ll keep them talking about something and make sure they don’t see you, OK?’

It was a nice touch. In reality Graves would be the one causing the distraction for the guards. He just had to hope Graves wouldn’t see that.

‘Why don’t I talk to the Ironclads and you move the churns?’ asked Graves.

‘If you like,’ said Finn. ‘Doesn’t really matter. Only, I’ve got this whole story worked out, one to keep them occupied for a few minutes. If you’d rather do that bit then feel free. But you’ll need to keep them busy for long enough or we’ll never get away.’

There was only the briefest pause while Graves considered. ‘No, you do that, talk to the Ironclads. I’ll lug the churns over to the wheel. Just make sure you keep them distracted.’

‘Will do,’ said Finn. ‘Once you’ve cleared the trolley, jump inside. Make sure there’s room for me. When it’s clear I’ll hop in and Diane can push us out of here. Got it?’

‘Got it,’ said Graves.

Finn walked away, towards the masters who stood near the foot of the wheel, watching the workers climbing down at the end of their shift. He allowed himself once glance back to see Graves lifting the metal churn out of the trolley and rolling it, in a great booming clatter, towards the river. Finn grinned. If the noise of all that didn’t get the Ironclads’ attention, one of them was bound to notice Graves crouching there inside the trolley, waiting patiently to be wheeled away.

Finn hurried through the throng of stirring workers, stepping over and around those who still clung to sleep. Diane was over by the wheel, as agreed. Tom stood up ahead of him a short way, watching him approach. For a moment, Finn thought Tom had relented, that he was going to help after all. But no. Tom looked away, lowered his head. Finn stopped when he reached him, bending down, pretending to pick up some bit of rag.