Chapter 32
A few more hours passed. Mary and Tam dozed off in the corner of the shed, Mary’s head resting on Tam’s shoulder. In the opposite corner, Brigid and Sandy sat and talked. Sandy was still trying to get his head around Brigid’s story.
“Travelling in time,” he said wonderingly. “It sounds like madness, but the more I think about it, the more it almost fits what I know of both you and Edmondson. There’s something strange about both of you. Something that doesn’t quite belong.”
He had more that he wanted to say, more to explain how special she was. But a group of men burst into the shed and grabbed Brigid before anyone else could move. Sandy and Tam both lunged for her, but they were swatted away like flies. In just a moment, Brigid had been pulled outside, screaming Sandy’s name, and the door had slammed in their faces.
As he stood there and stared at the closed door, Sandy felt utterly helpless. Why did this keep happening? He seemed unable to get anything right. No matter how hard he tried, he was always a step behind. Edmondson jerked them around like dolls, or like puppets dancing to his own tune. He hated the man like he’d never hated anyone before, but he had no idea how to end this. He slumped down to the ground, feeling defeated.
“Get up right now,” Mary said, poking at him until he yelped in protest. “There’s absolutely no way we’re going to stop now, Alexander MacLeod. Thanks to what Brigid just told us, we finally have the information - not to mention the hope - that we need to defeat Edmondson.”
Sandy cocked his head at her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Brigid will defeat Edmondson,” Mary amended. “But she will need our help. We mustn’t abandon her now.”
She was right, Sandy realised. Here he was, about to give up, right at the moment when they most needed to fight. Drawing on the last of his strength, he pushed back the pain in his injured leg, and clambered to his feet.
“I’m ready to fight,” he said, clenching his fists.
Tam grinned. “That’s more like it,” he said. “This is the Sandy I know. But the first problem will be getting out of this damned shed. We can hardly help Brigid from in here.”
Sandy eyed the door. Could they break it down with sheer force? He couldn’t remember what kind of fastening there was on the other side. Still, it was worth a try. What did they have to lose?
“Breaking down the door. What do you think?” he asked Tam, keeping his voice quiet enough that their guards would not hear.
Tam’s eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously. He generally approved of plans that involved him throwing himself at something.
“Wait just a second,” Mary said. She rushed around the tiny room, looking for something.
“What are you doing?” Sandy hissed.
She eyed him as if he was stupid. “Looking for weapons, of course,” she said.
Mary still had the small knife from her belt. Sandy smashed up the single chair as quietly as he could. The broken chair leg would make a useful weapon, in a pinch. A palm-sized stone inside Mary’s stocking would be useful at close range. Everything was rough and basic, but it should give them an edge. After all, the guards thought they’d confiscated all their weapons.
Then it began.
Sandy and Tam threw themselves at the door. No time for secrecy or subtlety - this was about pure strength and brute force. The door bounced but did not shift. Tam howled in frustration.
Sandy pictured Brigid’s face in his mind. He thought about her fear - and her determination. He threw himself at the door again, harder this time. It burst open with a crash, sending Sandy and Tam tumbling outside. The guards swooped down on them in seconds, but the three escapees were prepared. They fought their way forwards, pushing the guards out of the way. Sandy swung the chair leg like a mace, Tam stabbed and slashed with the tiny knife, and Mary’s stone knocked out anyone who got too close to her.
Sandy’s heart swelled with exhilaration, even as he screamed in a man’s face and shoved him to the ground. Brigid couldn’t be far away, and they would find her.