Man Hunt

Chapter Twenty One - The Interrogation

As we move, Kate writhes in Aaron’s grip, struggling feebly against him. He is dragging her along by the wrist, she is on her feet but she is struggling to keep up with Aaron and I. Every few steps or so, she loses her footing and fights to regain balance. There is not enough light to illuminate the path in front of us, and Kate seems to be stepping in every hole there is. We are not moving nearly as fast as I want to be.

‘’What was Alex’s letter?’’ I ask, trying to break the silence.

‘’‘S’,’’ he says, he doesn’t even look at me.

I don’t respond and I certainly don’t think of trying to apologize. Not here, not in front of Kate. I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing me apologize for my idiocy. How did I fall for it? How did I betray the boy I loved? I certainly wasn’t thinking. I had been under pressure from Kate to act fast. I was so stupid.

‘’What do you plan on doing with me?’’ asks Kate as we walk towards the LIS.

‘’Well once we’ve input Alex’s letter, we’re going to torture you until you tell us exactly what we want to know. Then we’re going to need help guessing the word. As you know, the LIS penalises guessing, so we’re going to let you guess for us,’’ explains Aaron, Kate glares at him with hatred.

‘’I will do nothing for you,’’ she spits at his feet however he ignores it.

‘’You’ll be surprised what people will do when they’re scared, and who they’d betray,’’ I respond.

I feel Aaron’s eyes fall on me, but I do not meet his gaze. This small attempt to let him know I only left him because I feared the worst may not be ideal, but he’s smart enough to understand what I am suggesting.  

‘’I fear the people that run this a lot more than I fear you two,’’ she explains.

Neither I nor Aaron responds to this, we simply continue walking at a steady pace towards the LIS building that has come into view – the moonlight reflects off it and the immediate area surrounding the spherical building is illuminated.

As we move, I find myself constantly looking around us, making sure Niamh isn’t somewhere close, lurking in the bushes waiting to attack. She managed to escape earlier and she could be hiding anywhere so I keep my eyes peeled. We cannot falter so close to the finish line, we’re almost there. For her sake, she better hope she stays away from us, because I am not in a forgiving mood.

***

Cautiously, the three of us ascend the steps to the LIS building and enter quietly. After a quick perimeter check and when we are assured of our relative safety, we approach the keypads. I stare at the screen before me, there are four letters displayed on the screen along with two empty boxes. Each letter represents a life so cruelly taken, each represents a cold blooded murder.

Again the thought occurs to me of how long we have been here for. It seems like weeks but in reality it cannot have been more than a few days. So many lives taken in such a short space of time. So many families that will never have their child back. I cannot join those people. I must get off this island. I have to.

I will not die here.

Before I can punch in Alex’s letter, Kate rips her hand free from Aaron’s grasp and turns, making for the door. She must have been planning something, because instead of running for the door we entered through, she runs to the entrance to our left. I act quicker than Aaron and dive towards her, grabbing the girl around the waist. I pull her to the floor and she lands hard. Thankfully her legs break some of the fall for me. I quickly climb on top of her – ripping my dagger from my belt and then I pin her to the floor.