Chapter Six Noah

The medcave was finally quiet. Noah had worked alongside his ma all morning, cataloguing supplies, laundering all the sheets and towels, and putting it back in good order after the last few weeks of chaos. It was dull work, but satisfying, and it allowed him to think.

The meeting in the woods with Danforth, followed by the arrival of the guards in the tunnel leading to Bellator had kept Anna busy. There had been a large number of patients being taken care of in the cave as they recovered, or didn't recover, from their injuries. The disruption had taken its toll on both the chief medic and her small base.

But Anna had discharged her last patient a few days ago and now only needed to see those with more lasting injuries for brief visits. Noah knew she was hoping the medcave would stay empty for the next few days, to allow her some recovery time, but with Jacob's unpredictable mood, no one could make that assumption.

One thing they did need was more drugs. There hadn't been a supply run to the city in weeks. It had been considered too risky, with Danforth on high alert. But his ma's sigh, as she counted the remaining boxes in the cabinet, suggested they'd have a different kind of crisis on their hands if they didn't restock soon.

"Y'alright, ma?"

She looked over, managing a small smile. "Bit worried, that's all."

"We're running out, right?"

She nodded. "Of batteries and some food products too. I was talking to Cora… she says we're very low on some of the staples we usually get from the city. She's having to ration it." He appreciated her honesty. There had been a time when she might have tried to hide the problem from him. "But I can't see us sending raiders into Bellator right now." She twisted a thread from her sleeve round her finger. "It would be so dangerous."

"We might have to." He held up a hand as she protested. "Maybe a small raid might work for now, just to the buildings on the outskirts. If we let the situation get worse, we'll be facing sickness and starvation, as well everything else."

She grimaced. "You're right. I'm just hoping we can make contact with the Resistance quickly. That way, at least we'll have a sense of what we're walking into if we send raiders in. Without that, we can't–"

A noise outside in the tunnel drew their attention. They both turned to look, as Paulo appeared at the cave entrance.

"Got time to look at another patient, Anna?"

By his side stood the sole surviving guard from the attack on the tunnels. Noah's eyes were drawn to a large scarlet stain on her cheek, the blood creeping out from under a rag she held to her forehead. In contrast, the rest of her face was deathly pale.

Paulo walked the woman through the door, his hand gripping her upper arm. She did not come willingly, and refused to meet their gaze, defiant in spite of her pain.

"What happened?" Anna rushed over.

She reached up to remove the rag, but the woman recoiled as though she'd been shot. Backing away, Anna gestured to Paulo to bring her over to one of the cots they had just changed.

Noah knew the routine. Collecting a bowl, he took it into the smaller cave at the back. He poured some clean water into it, listening to his ma as she murmured to the woman in soothing tones.

"Harden was taking her food." In the outer cave, Paulo began to explain. "Seems she pushed past him. Tried to run."

"Really?" Noah understood his ma's surprise. Up until now, the woman had been a submissive, if silent, prisoner.

"Yeah, really."

Noah couldn't imagine that had gone down well with Harden: the older boy was a bully. Noah knew from firsthand experience that he didn't react well when people tried to stand up to him.

He reentered the main cave with the bowl of water. The woman was perched on the edge of the cot closest to the door, as though she might take flight at any moment.

Paulo turned his gaze to her again, his tone stern. "Not sure where you thought you were going."

For the first time, she lifted her eyes to glare at him. It was, Noah thought, at least some form of reaction. Surprised by the young woman's defiance, Paulo raised an eyebrow.

Taking advantage of the eye contact, Anna stepped forward. "Are you still determined not to speak to us?"

The woman dropped her head again, her lips stubbornly sealed. Paulo clenched his jaw in frustration.

Initially, Jacob had thought the guard might be a good source of information for Eremus. But she had bitterly disappointed him by refusing to speak. She looked to be fairly young, and most of the people who had attempted to speak to her assumed she was a recent recruit. She had been the only one of the guards to surrender, but despite almost daily questioning, had refused to say a word.

Noah had been the one to disarm her, but he hadn't seen her since. As he moved across the space, he wondered whether she'd recognise him. And if so, how she might react.

Placing the bowl on the small table next to the cot, he went to fetch some clean cloths. Once he'd delivered them, he stepped back to let his ma work. Yet again, the woman's eyes remained downcast, as though the brief eye contact she had made with Paulo had been a grave error. He wondered if she was frightened.

"My name is Anna." His ma soaked a cloth in water and squeezed it out. "I'm a medic here." She kept her voice calm and gentle, as she did with all her patients. "I need to attend to the cut on your head. Can you uncover it for me?" The woman didn't react. "If I don't look at it, it could become infected. That's dangerous at the best of times, but down here it could be life threatening." She paused. "Do you understand? Will you let me help you?"

For a moment, Noah thought the woman would refuse. But good sense prevailed, and she eased the rag away from the cut, wincing as it clung to the drying blood.

"Thank you." His ma leaned closer, examining the wound. "How did you get this?"

"I told you, it was–" Paulo began, but closed his mouth at a sharp look from Anna.

"You don't need to worry. It doesn't look too deep," Anna continued, her voice reassuring. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Again, the woman made no response. Noah looked down at her hands. Though she clutched them tightly in her lap, they were shaking. Once again, he suspected it was fear preventing her from speaking.

His ma persisted. "Can you tell me your name?" She ran the wet cloth over the wound and the woman winced. "It's alright. It'll only hurt for a minute. I'm just cleaning it out so it doesn't get infected. You understand?"

The woman gave a tiny nod. Noah and Paulo exchanged glances. It made sense that his ma would be the one to connect with this woman.

Anna continued to bathe the wound with water, her hands gentle. "I'm going to ask you some questions. You can nod or shake your head in response, alright?"

The woman remained silent, but Noah thought her breathing was a little easier now.

"Did you fall?"

A small pause. The woman shook her head.

"Did you do this to yourself?"

A more vehement shake. The woman's head came up a fraction.

"Did someone strike you?"

This time, the woman looked up and right into Anna's eye. She nodded, very deliberately.

"Alright." Noah could hear the slight tone of triumph in his ma's voice. "Was it Harden that hit you?" The woman's brow furrowed. His ma thought again before continuing. "A tall, broad young man. He brought you your food today?"

Another definite nod.

Paulo went to speak, but Noah caught his eye and gave a little shake of his head. This was the closest they'd gotten to speech from the woman. Something told him she would clam up again at the sound of a male voice.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. Harden shouldn't have done that. Were you trying to escape?"

The woman dropped her gaze.

"I can understand you wanting to do that." Anna finished washing out the wound and put the cloth back into the now-pink water. "But you're a prisoner here. You must understand that we would want to stop you from leaving." She peered at the wound. "Alright. Looks clean. Will you allow me to cover it? To protect you?"

The woman inclined her head.

"Hand me a piece of dressing, please, Noah?"

Collecting the scissors from the table at the back, Noah cut a piece of dressing big enough to cover the wound. When he stepped closer to hand it over, the woman's eyes met his. Panic flared in them, and she began to struggle.

"Hold still!" Anna grasped the woman's shoulders and held her down. "Whatever's the matter?"

Noah took a step back. "It's me, Ma." Confusion flashed across her face. "I was down there. In the tunnel, when she… when the rest of her team…"

"Goodness." His ma eased the woman back against the cot. She took the dressing and placed it over the wound, using some tape to fix it into position. She leaned closer to the woman. "There. All done." She hesitated, before continuing. "This is my son. He helps me. Understand?" The woman shuddered.

His ma tried again. "He isn't violent." Still, the woman's eyes were filled with fear. "Look, did he hit you? Like Harden?"

The woman turned her eyes on him. Noah felt a stab of guilt.

"I didn't hit her." He stayed back, hating how scared she was of him. "But I did grab hold of her. Just to disarm her." Noah turned to her. "I'm sorry. But if I hadn't, you'd have…"

The guard lowered her eyes again.

"Can I take her back now?" Paulo tapped his foot, the repetitive sound echoing through the cave. "I've things to do."

"Might you leave her here for a little while?" his ma asked. "I'd like to check her over properly. I'll make sure Noah and I bring her back later."

"I shouldn't."

"There are two of us. She's unarmed." His ma turned to Paulo. "What can she do?"

"Alright." Paulo shrugged. "I guess it's okay. And I really have to go. Make sure you both go back with her. She's already tried to escape once."

"We will."

Nodding, Paulo turned and left the cave. Once he was gone, Noah's ma turned to him.

"Go and get some hot water, would you?" He stared at her, unsure of her motives, but she shooed him away.

Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he backed away. As he headed for the canteen, his fingers closed around a piece of paper. Ella's note. He had yet to find an opportunity to get it to Helen. Though Jacob had expanded the number of people permitted to take supplies to the girls' cave, he certainly wasn't ready to permit Noah to do the job. But a promise was a promise. He'd have to find a way to pass it on soon.

As he entered the canteen, he put the thought from his mind. Requesting a flask of water from Cora, he settled down to wait as she prepared it. His ma wouldn't want him to return just yet. She had a knack of getting people to open up, and from what he'd heard, no one else had been able to get anything from the woman. Without him there, she stood a far better chance.

He thought back to the attack. Every guard in the tunnels that day had died, aside from her. She must have felt very alone, since they'd thrown her into a cave with no one for company. Even the Danforth girls, their first prisoners, had been part of a group and able to comfort one another. It was no wonder she didn't trust them.

As he collected the flask and made his way back, he wondered if Danforth would consider their hostage worth negotiating over. Unlike the students from the school, who were part of her mysterious experiment, this woman was simply a guard, and, if they were correct, not a very experienced one. If she wasn't worth much to Bellator, Noah didn't know what would happen to her. He felt an unexpected stab of sympathy.

He approached the medcave entrance with caution. "I'm back."

"Come in." His ma nodded at the flask. "Thanks. Would you pass me some clean clothes, please?" She gestured to the woman's uniform, which was dirty and looked uncomfortable. "Then make her a strong cup of tea. She needs it."

Noah obeyed, moving to the rear of the medcave where they kept a chest of spare clothing. Finding a clean t-shirt and jeans he thought would fit, he took them to his ma and handed them over.

"Thanks." She smiled. "Stay out of here while she changes. I'll guard the door."

Nodding, Noah returned to the back and made the tea as requested, wishing he had a spoonful of sugar to stir into it. The woman looked like she needed some energy. When his ma called his name again, he took in the tea. The guard looked different, younger still, in the new outfit. She was sitting further back on the cot, her knees curled up to her chin. Tentatively, he approached.

"Hot tea?" He proffered the cup. "Make you feel better, maybe?" She met his gaze, but didn't move. "I'll leave it here." He placed the cup on the table to her left and moved back.

His ma was standing on the other side of the cave, putting equipment away in one of the store cupboards. She turned, as he entered, and smiled at him.

"Thanks." She pointed at the tea.

"You want one?" Noah began to move to make it before she'd responded.

"I'm okay thanks." Moving across to the cot, she sat down again. "That's better, isn't it?"

The woman's gaze flicked between the medic and Noah, suspicion in her eyes.

"Listen, I wish you'd talk to us." Anna took a seat beside her. "We're not out to hurt you. We know you've had a rough time since you arrived. I won't promise that you're totally safe here. There are people who don't value you. But I don't want anything bad to happen to you." She pointed at Noah. "And neither does my son."

She looked over at Noah, jerking her head towards the woman. Moving round so he stood behind his ma, he took a breath and met her gaze.

"She's right. You have to understand… what happened that night… when your team entered that tunnel, our whole community was at risk. You and your fellow guards would've killed us…" he paused, thinking of Jan and the others, "you did kill some of us. We were defending ourselves."

The woman's expression remained unreadable, but she held his gaze.

"We were desperate to find a way to stop you from getting back to Bellator. At the moment, the only thing which keeps Eremus safe is secrecy. If you'd've gone back… told Danforth about the tunnel access…" he shrugged, "…our community would've been in grave danger." He waited for her response for a moment before ploughing on. "I turned out the light and moved into position behind you. I took your gun, because I thought you were going to kill the rest of my group. Understand? But then, you surrendered."

His ma stepped closer. "You did. And it saved you. And I can't promise I know what will happen to you down here. But not everyone wants to hurt you. If you talk to us, we might be able to help you." She paused, smiling in encouragement. "Could you start by telling us your name?"

For a long time, the woman stared at them. Eventually, she averted her gaze, glancing to one side. Noah's heart sank. Perhaps she'd never speak to them.

But then, she moved. Leaning to her left, she reached for the mug of tea. Cradling it between her hands, she brought it to her lips, taking a tiny sip. When she lowered the cup, she kept it hugged to her chest.

Only then, did she look back at them. Staring right at Anna, she took a breath and opened her mouth.

"My name's Charlie."

Noah shivered as she spoke. The woman's voice was familiar. And not only the voice. The name. He racked his brain, trying to think of how he might know her. And then he remembered.

A guard shift, up in a tree, the night after the original kidnapping of the Danforth students. The guard prowling below, stopping beneath him, calling base on her radio. Her name had been Charlie. Instinctively, he knew it was the same woman. He remembered the doubt in her tone, the fear. He remembered thinking that she had sounded as frightened as he was on his first raid.

Charlie. A woman just as human as the Eremus raiders. Not the formidable guards they had come to expect. But a vulnerable woman, wondering whether or not their mission was ethical.

Perhaps she might be the most useful guard they could have captured.

Later that night, as Noah prepared for bed, he felt happier than he had in a while. The conversation with Charlie had been brief, but it had been a start.

They'd been right, she had only recently qualified as a guard, and was so far not at all sure about the role. While Charlie had completed her training, recent events had led to more and more guards being promoted to active status before they were ready. It put them all in danger, she'd told them, when they were sent out on duty with an inexperienced partner.

Noah and his ma had exchanged glances. Clearly, the explosions at the seed bank and in the forest had done more damage to the Bellator forces than they'd previously thought.

Charlie hadn't seen any real action until her team had come face-to-face with the Eremus citizens that night in the tunnel. What she'd witnessed there had terrified her and been the catalyst for her surrender. What she'd found most difficult to deal with was not the treatment she'd received since being imprisoned, but the way she'd been deceived during her training.

Far from the few scattered rebels she'd been taught to expect, Eremus was a force to be reckoned with. Large, well organised, and capable of defending itself. The truth had floored her. Noah understood her confusion, remembering Faith's reaction when she had first uncovered the lies that Bellator told its citizens.

After Charlie had spoken to them, it seemed like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had allowed them to take her back to her cell without a problem. They had left her with the promise that they would try and speak to Jacob about improving conditions for her. Noah promised himself he would do what he could to make sure she wasn't left alone for so long from now on.

He shrugged out of his jeans and pulled on a pair of sweats. Realising he was thirsty, he headed back into the living area of the cave. He crept to the water jug to fill his cup. His ma and Flynn were already in bed, and he didn't want to disturb them.

As he turned to go back to bed, there was a noise at the door. He was startled when a shadowy figure stepped inside. It was Ruth, but she looked odd, somehow.

"I'm glad you're awake." She took a step towards him, her voice a hushed whisper. "Anna and Flynn already asleep?"

He nodded, reaching across to light one of the lanterns. Hurrying to her side, he held it up, then stopped dead. His best friend was dressed in a freshly washed Bellator guard uniform, its buttons gleaming in the light.

He cocked his head, puzzled. "Is this a joke?"

But her face was serious. "No joke. I wanted to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

"I'm heading into Bellator. Undercover." She fidgeted with a button on the front of the jacket. "Looks strange, right?"

"Too right." His brow furrowed. "But what are you–?"

"I'm the envoy." Her voice rang with pride. "I'm supposed to blend in with Danforth's guards, see what I can find out. Jacob thinks…"

Noah took a step closer to his friend. "You're working for Jacob?"

"No!" Her eyes flew to his. "Flynn and Anna want me to go too. But they're trying to keep Jacob happy, stop him from doing something stupid. It was his idea to use the uniform to gain the trust of Danforth's protectors."

"But–" Noah found himself struggling for words.

"I'm not going to do anything rash. I've only agreed to wear this," she gestured at her clothing, "and try and start a conversation with some of the guards. See what I can find out. If I don't get any intel, Jacob'll have to live with the disappointment." She smiled. "But if it keeps him from going off the deep end for now, then Flynn…"

"…thinks it's a good idea." Noah finally understood, though he didn't like the idea of Ruth putting herself at risk. "I assume he and my ma have a different objective."

"Yeah. They want me to go looking for Madeleine… see if I can find out what happened to her. Hopefully…" Ruth hesitated, chewing on her lip, "… make contact with the Resistance."

"Really? But–"

"Don't worry. I have a change of clothes for that part." She gestured to the pack on her back. Noting his concerned expression, she smiled. "I'll be careful. I promise."

"And you're going… right now?"

"I am." Lunging forward, she flung her arms around him. "Wish me luck?"

"G-good luck."

The enormity of what she was about to do hit him like a freight train. Alone, in the city which hated Eremus people, disguised as one of the guards paid to kill them. If his friend was discovered… well, it didn't bear thinking about.

"Thanks." She shot him a nervous smile. "Guess I'll see you in a few days." She turned, heading for the door.

"Ruth!" At his call, she turned, a question in her eyes. For a moment, his breath caught in his throat. And then, stepping forward, he took her hand and gripped it tightly. "Please, be careful."

"I will." She returned the squeeze before letting go. "You know me."

A second later, she was gone.