The Resistance

speaking, then to tie up the others; finally, he tied her up. Then, quickly, he ran to the beds. ‘Sheila?’ he asked, looking from girl to girl, his heart aching at what he saw.
    A girl looked up sleepily. ‘Was I Valuable?’ she asked dozily. ‘Can I go back to Grange Hall now?’
    ‘Not to Grange Hall,’ Pip said, his voice tightening as he rushed over to her. ‘But let’s see if we can’t get you somewhere safe, OK? Let’s see if we can’t get all of you out of here.’
    He took out his phone and made a call to the men waiting in the basement of the building. ‘I’m in,’ he said simply. ‘I’m going to need four men up here now.’
    ‘Samuels?’
    Derek Samuels moved his receiver to his ear immediately. ‘Yes? Mr Pincent?’
    ‘The press conference will be starting at six o’clock sharp. I need you to collect Peter.’
    ‘Of course. I’ll be there right away.’
    ‘Good.’
    Derek Samuels wiped a trickle of sweat off his forehead as he looked down at Guard 431, who was slumped against the wall beside the cell door, the girl gone. Another guard had been found dead in the waiting room off reception. Two more in a room off the second-floor landing. Taking his gun out and holding it close to his chest, he called a guard to move the body.
    ‘Where’ve you been?’ Dr Edwards whispered anxiously. ‘The guards will be on to us any second now.’
    They were in the basement as arranged; Pip, whose face had just appeared around the corner, grimaced. ‘You got Anna?’ he asked.
    ‘Yes. She’s here with me.’
    Pip saw her thin frame standing behind Dr Edwards, and he nodded, then disappeared. Seconds later, he emerged again, a girl draped over his arms. Behind him four men were also carrying young girls. Underground men, Dr Edwards realised. Underground soldiers. ‘Good, because we need your help to get these girls out, now.’
    Dr Edwards’ eyes widened. ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘They’re from Unit X?’
    Pip nodded. ‘Where’s Peter?’
    ‘Back in his cell.’
    ‘Good. The boat’s waiting. Take Sheila.’
    He handed the girl in his arms to Dr Edwards, who took her gingerly.
    ‘Sheila? Is that really you?’ It was Anna talking; Sheila didn’t answer, but Anna took her hand nevertheless, squeezed it, planted herself beside her like a guard. She was so fragile, Dr Edwards thought to himself as he looked down at Sheila’s small frame and red hair, but her lightness only compounded the weight that he had felt bearing down on him since Peter and Pip had come into his laboratory that afternoon, since he’d discovered the truth about what was happening within these walls. He was complicit, he’d realised; he hadn’t done enough to stop it, had allowed Richard Pincent to bully him, to silence him. And these girls had paid the price. Slowly, heavily, he turned around and started walking back down the stairs, Anna beside him. Pip went ahead to secure their path; a few feet behind him, the four Underground soldiers followed. Stealthily, they made their way out of the basement to the loading bay where the rest of the Underground men were waiting in the winter darkness. Silently, he followed Pip, turning right out of the exit and following the wall of the building until they reached the marshland leading to the river. Their feet squelching in the boggy grass, they began to walk more quickly until finally they reached the boat, a sizeable armoured speedboat nestling against the river’s edge.
    ‘The tide’s low so you’ll have to jump,’ Pip said to Anna. ‘We’ll pass Ben down to you.’
    Nodding bravely, Anna took a deep breath and jumped over the edge of the river bank, landing safely on the boat, then she reached up her hands for her brother.
    The girls, groggy and sleepy, were passed down next; they half fell on to the boat where Anna quickly sat them up, pulling their gowns down where they had risen up, exposing the girls, leeching yet more dignity from them. Finally, the Underground soldiers themselves followed, hauling themselves down the bank and on to the boat below.
    ‘You should go with them,’ Pip said to Dr Edwards.
    Dr Edwards looked at the boat, then shook his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘You wanted me at the press conference.’
    ‘That was before you killed a guard and helped a prisoner and the Surpluses to escape. You won’t make it to the press conference. Go now. We’ll keep you hidden.’
    Dr Edwards looked at the girls, at Anna, then back at Pip. ‘You