The Tag Bearer

Chapter 16 - The Return of a Monster

Low and behold, Sergeant Hill's face calmly walked into the centre of the circle and strolled over to me, a vicious grin dancing on his lips.

"I knew he would find you," he began, the smile never leaving his lips. "Valuable pieces in my collection don't just run away!"

Collection? My heart pounded in my chest at the thought of being a collectible item. People weren't collectible items. I gulped, suddenly on edge. What on earth did he plan on doing with me?

I felt my heart skip a beat as he skipped towards me, his arms spread wide open in a feat of pride. There was a profound bound in his demeanour as he pranced somewhat joyously over to me. It was like he had found his missing kitten and was giddy at the prospect of taking it home again.

"Leave her alone!" Matthew screamed; his eyes wild as he growled at Sergeant Hill. He thrashed around in his cuffs, trying to loosen the grip of the two Officers holding him against the dirt.

But he ignored him, cackling slightly.

"Now, you can either come with me, or you," Sergeant Hill said as he waved his outstretched hands back and forth in front of us. "And your little friends can die."

"Don't do it," Matthew spat, wrestling with the Officers that held him at bay. "It's not worth it!"

I glanced at Matthew. Now was not the time for him to be protective. That was a chance he'd missed when he dragged me into this mess. I boldly turned back to Sergeant Hill with the determination that my small heart could get us out of here alive.

"What will you do if we come with you?" I shakily asked, ignoring Matthews attempts to persuade me against it. As far as I could see, we were the defeated party.

"Whatever your heart desires," he replied, a malicious grin reaching his ears that sickened me to the core. I wanted to spew all over the ground; drown in my own mind. I wanted to be gone and I so readily wished Bryce hadn't saved me. "Ellie," Hill said. "Come on. What's the hold up?"

I wanted to say that it was him. That is was his fault. That he scared me to death. But I knew we had no choice. It was live or die. And whilst we might not want to live in this version of the world, we had to at least try to adapt to it.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay what?" Hill echoed.

"Don't do it! Don't say yes!"

"Okay. We'll go with you," I said, ignoring Matthew's pleas. We were defeated, I knew that. But I wasn't ready to die like the countless others, and that was the truth. I knew I'd made the wrong choice by Matthew and Bryce. Bryce would rather die than loose his freedom, and I think Matthew would too. But deep down, I knew they would come to thank me for saving their lives and returning the favour.

I'm following rule number three, I thought. I won't let them down Papa. I can't let them down.

I tried to make eye contact with Matthew, but he just stared off into the distance, anger taking over him until all he managed to do was shake uncontrollably.

"Matthew, don't hate me!" I started as I was whisked away to the waiting aircraft. "You have to believe me! Please don't hate me."

But he just stared off into the distance and then violently thrashed around on the ground, screaming at the Officers. He lashed out and managed to strike one of them, but they held on firmly. Their grip was beginning to bruise his forearms as he screamed incoherently at anyone that dared to get close to him.

A Drone hovered nearby, and upon instruction lowered a needle from underneath it. It fell into the grip of an Officer as he picked it up and jabbed it into Matthew's neck. Slowly, the liquid emptied from the needle. He continued to clobber at the air until eventually, the serum worked, and his eyes rolled back, and his muscles relaxed.

"What did you do to him?" I screamed, suddenly outraged. What if Hill left me without them? How was I supposed to survive then? "What have you done with him?"

"We simply sedated him. It'll be easier for all of us that way," he simply said. Somehow, I didn't believe him though. None of what was happening made any sense, and I was still baffled at how they found us in the first place.

I wanted answers, and Hill possessed that knowledge. Rule three could not be broken.

"A14," I suddenly said, desperate for any type of knowledge I could cling onto.

"A14?" he echoed, now deep in thought.

"Who is, A14?" I asked.

He paused, clearly thinking about whether he should share it or not. He shrugged. "The boy we just sedated. Oh, and don't worry, your friends will be following us," he said as we entered the hovering aircraft.

The circular plate crashed into place, latching itself to the rest of the craft. I gazed around, blinded by the sheer brightness of the room. It was pale white, like a hospital room. Three plastic white chairs lined either side and more than half of them were already occupied with Officers.

I felt the grip on my forearms tighten as I was guided to a seat within the craft. The Officers stood attentively, saluting Sergeant Hill as he approached and nodded. They sat me down, fastening a harness to my chest.

I looked up at him, his icy eyes colder than ice itself. "What do you want with me?"

He laughed slightly, seating himself down opposite me. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said with a grin as the craft began to move.