Children of the Cull by Cavan Scott Read Free Book Online Page B

on a blank space above the moat. “This is old farmland, not worth much back then, although the farmer received a healthy subsidy from the Ministry of Defence.”
    “Because of the tunnels?” Beck asked.
    “There was a hidden entrance on his land,” I confirmed. “I don’t think it was ever used, but it’s there. And if it could let people out...”
    “...it can also let people in,” Brennan said.
    “I’m not saying it’ll be easy. They’ll be deadlocks and security systems.”
    “But you can get past them.”
    “It shouldn’t be a problem if we work together. How many guns do you have?”
    Beck looked to her boss, cautious. Brennan nodded.
    “About forty rifles. More handguns; most of us are armed.”
    I whistled, actually impressed. “Why haven’t you just stormed the place?”
    “I didn’t say we had the ammo to match,” Beck admitted.
    “Ah, okay.” That wasn’t so good. “Have any explosives?”
    Fenton snorted. “You think those gates would still be standing if we did?”
    I tapped the end of the pencil against my teeth and flashed Fenton my brightest smile.
    “Then I better take you shopping!”
     
     
    T HE EVENING WAS drawing in as I led my new allies back across the car park towards the old Woolworths.
    “What’s this about?” Fenton whined.
    “You’ll see,” I said, bringing them to a door on the side of the building, a door that Beck had marched me past without so much as a second glance that morning.
    Keep them on their toes, soldier. Knowledge is power.
    I stopped at the door and tried it. It wouldn’t budge.
    “Locked,” Beck concluded.
    “Stuck,” I corrected her, putting my shoulder to it. The door burst open, and I fished a flashlight out my jacket pocket.
    They followed me into the building, past an old reception and into a corridor. I paused to listen, just to make sure.
    There was nothing, bar the scampering of tiny paws along ancient lino.
    “This way,” I said, counting office doors as we continued. One, two, three—and here we were. Another door, this one opening easily enough. I flashed the torch inside, revealing a narrow closet.
    “A cleaner’s cupboard?” Beck commented.
    I glanced back at the tall woman. “It’s amazing what you can hide in cleaning cupboards.”
    Passing my torch to Brennan, I crouched down beside a set of shelves, grabbing the battered holdall I’d stashed at daybreak.
    “I didn’t want to lug this up to the room,” I explained, carefully lifting it onto the floor.
    “Or mention it when we found you?” Beck pointed out.
    “Neither of us were that chatty this morning. We hadn’t even gone for a coffee yet.”
    I opened the zip. Brennan aimed the light into the bag.
    “Damn.”
    That was the reaction I wanted.
    Fenton was more obvious. “Explosives!” he grunted, like a kid who’d just found a box of sherbet Dib-Dabs. There was no way I was letting him near this lot.
    “Just a little C-4 I’ve picked up on my travels. Not a lot, but enough for what we’ll need. Oh, and then there’s these.”
    I reached towards the back of the shelf and pulled aside the broken-up cardboard box I’d use to cover the last of my cache. Carefully, I pulled out the box of six remote grenades.
    “Now, who wants to mount an invasion?”

 

     
    CHAPTER SEVEN
    CURE
     
     
    “J ASMINE ? J ASMINE, WAIT up.”
    I sighed and stopped as running footsteps approached from behind.
    “Dr Tomas,” Olive warned quietly beside me. “We still have five more subjects to—”
    I silenced her with a look and turned to greet Allison.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
    I tried to play the innocent. “I’m just checking in on Ops, and then will see to the children. Everything—”
    Allison didn’t let me finish. “Did you really order Moore to lock us up?”
    “That’s... not exactly what’s happening.”
    “Isn’t it? The medical staff has just been marched back to their quarters by armed guards. People are scared here.