Engella opened her eyes and yawned as the smell of bacon and coffee drifted into her bedroom. Annys was singing and she had a beautiful voice. Engella got dressed and went downstairs.
“Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?”
“Morning. Yes, thanks. I don’t think I’ve slept that well in a long time.” She thought about her time on the streets of New Shanghai, where she was lucky if she made it an hour before being woken up by something, whether it was a person, animal or, more often than not, a refuse-bot sweeping rubbish from the streets.
Rupert bounded over and licked Engella’s hand. It tickled and she pulled away, laughing.
“I hope you’re hungry. I’ve made bacon, eggs and potato cakes. Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee, thank you.”
Annys poured a cup and passed her a small jug of milk. Engella and Annys sat together and chatted about their favourite old movies. They were excited to discover they both loved The Wizard of Oz. Engella finally remembered the character’s name: Dorothy. She loved playing her in the holomovie. She smiled as she remembered her father doing funny voices when they acted out the various scenes.
“I used to watch it with my grandfather,” Annys said, sipping her coffee. Rupert’s ears pricked. He started pacing and growled.
“Oh, shush Rupert. Be quiet, boy!” Annys got up from the table and walked over to Rupert, who was now barking loudly.
“What’s gotten into you?” She patted his back and he snapped at her fingers.
“RUPERT!” Annys said, raising her hand in authority. He whimpered and ran over to the front door, where he continued to bark. Annys followed. She turned just in time to see Engella topple from her chair.
“Engella!” the old woman shouted, managing to reach Engella in time to steady her.
“My head, I feel dizzy…” Engella could feel the sense of suffocation, and a wave of nausea hit her. “You need to get out of here, you need to run.” She looked at Annys with a look of pure terror.
“I can deal with it, whatever it is,” Annys said. A sound from outside caught their attention and Rupert jumped up against the door, barking and growling aggressively again.
“Annys, don’t!” Engella yelled. But it was too late. As Annys approached the door there was a bright flash and a loud bang. The shock grenade sent shards of wood across the kitchen. Annys fell to the floor, while Rupert lay silent under a pile of brick and wood. The smoke settled. Engella could hear her heartbeat. Her breathing slowed as a dark figure entered through the open wound of the doorway.
“You’re a real hard one to keep track of, Engella,” the woman said, narrowing her eyes. She was dressed in a dark robe and carrying a blaster rifle. Engella went straight for her wristband, but it was too late. The Hunter was ready for her, snatching at her free hand before it could turn on the transporter and then binding both of them in yellow cord. She took the device from Engella’s wrist, placed it on the table and, using the butt of her blaster, smashed it into several pieces.
The Hunter pointed the blaster at Engella’s face. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
Terrified, Engella began to cry. She had always known it was only a matter of time before the Hunters found her. She had already prepared for this day. But she should never have come to the cottage. She should never have put Annys in jeopardy. Filled with guilt, tears rained down her cheeks.
“You didn’t think you’d get away from me, did you?” the woman said. “I almost got you in New Shanghai. I was so close, but you slipped away. You’re making me look bad to the company. Well, I finally caught my prey.”
Engella sobbed, before calming herself. She needed to remain calm. “Why are you doing this?”
“Our boss needs you. You should never have tried to run. He always finds people who run. The bad thing for you, Engella, is that he doesn’t care if you’re dead or alive. What’s it going to be then?”
“I, I…” Engella stuttered. She had never been so scared in her life. She looked across at her wristband, damaged beyond repair.
I’m not getting away this time, she thought. Engella closed her eyes and saw her mother’s face. She remembered the beach. The realisation of what was coming hit her. She felt a wave of tranquillity come over her. Peace at last. She was tired of running anyway. She heard the deafening sound as the weapon fired.
And then, silence. Getting blasted at close range didn’t hurt as much as Engella thought it would. Slowly, she opened one eye to see the Hunter lying motionless on the floor. She gasped to find Annys standing there, hands shaking, with Engella’s blaster in her hand. Annys ran over and began to untie her.
“I knew this would come in handy. Glad you’re not very good at hiding things, dear. I lost my own in an accident not long after I arrived. Terribly careless, especially when I knew we were bound to have visitors,” Annys said. “That won’t be the last of them. More will come. We need to get away from here.” Annys grabbed a small rucksack from the pantry. They both looked over at Rupert, who was still and silent. Annys checked his pulse. “I’m sorry, boy.”
“Who are you?” Engella said.
“I’ve been waiting for you. We couldn’t bring you out, but we managed to have your wristband programmed with an override that would bring you here if you shifted without coordinates. They’d have noticed if we changed the primary shift software, so this was the best we could do.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will. You’re a very important person, Engella. I’ll explain everything, I promise. Now, we need to go.”
Annys pulled back her sleeve to show her own metal wristband.
“How is this possible?” Engella said, stunned.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. I needed to draw out any Hunters on your tail first. I’m your Watcher, Engella. You’re no longer alone, I promise.” Annys filled her rucksack with supplies: two bottles of water, some food from the pantry and some antibiotics. Walking over, Annys placed her arm around Engella then took her hand.
“Hold on tight, this may be a bumpy ride. I haven’t used it for a while.”
For the first time in as long as she could remember, Engella felt truly protected. Safe. Waving her hand over the wristband, Annys said…
“Shift.”
The space around them began to warp. A vibrant aqua wormhole opened up across the room like a crack in an eggshell. The portal engulfed them and they were gone.