The Hourglass by Casey Donaldson

something?”
    Marland giggled.
The bell rang, signalling lunch was over. They all stood and collected their
plates, depositing them in the designated area before marching back to the
floor, Finn filling Justin in on what had happened as they walked. The moment
after they sat down at their usual place along the conveyer belt a hush
descended over the room. Every single prisoner was looking expectantly at two guards
that had just walked in. It was Mr Wall and Mr Painter.

Chapter
Eleven
    Wall and Painter
     
    “Well, Mr Wall,”
said Mr Painter, loud enough for everyone to hear, but not shouting. “Who
should we pick this week?”
    “The new
prisoners, I think, Mr Painter,” replied Mr Wall.
    Mr Painter
raised his eyebrows. “That’s very generous of you, Mr Wall.”
    “They should
appreciate that this ship functions on teamwork,” replied Mr Wall equitably.
    Mr Painter gave
a sardonic smile but didn’t comment. Instead he scanned the room, his eyes
resting briefly on the new prisoners.
    “Newbies!” he
yelled, using the word that Ferrit had used earlier, “line up here, now.”
    A disappointed
groan swept throughout the factory floor. Finn raised an eyebrow at Sarah as
they got up and jogged lightly over to where Mr Painter was waiting
impatiently. She felt cautiously thrilled. Was it actually possible that
they were getting chosen for something good? Sarah, Finn, Marland and April
joined Heather, Toddy and Colt, who were already waiting in front of the two
guards.
    “Follow-us,”
ordered Mr Painter. The guards turned around and left the room. The “newbies” exchanged
quizzical glances and followed. No one seemed willing to ask where they were
going. They just weren’t brave enough to draw the attention and possible ire of
Mr Painter. Toddy, who had only yesterday made the joke about Mr Painter’s name
and had subsequently had his head bashed against the wall, was standing next to
Sarah, his head bowed and his eyes on his shoes. Sarah didn’t blame him. He
looked terrible. It was a very silent group that followed the two senior guards
and no one lagged behind. After traversing a few corridors and climbing two sets
of stairs, Sarah felt a breeze of fresh air waft across her face. She walked
with the others out onto the open deck and inhaled deeply. It smelt wonderful.
She had only been inside the ship for a day and yet she felt a new appreciation
for the outdoors, despite having to adjust her eyes to the glare of the sun.
They had arrived via a far more direct route than what they had traversed
originally when they were being shown to their cells for the first time. Sarah
figured that they had to make it simple and direct in order to efficiently
transfer the boxes of parts continuously from the factory floor to the outside
deck for retrieval. Except for one or two people wearing long overalls, the
deck was empty. They all stayed close together. Mr Wall turned around.
    “Supplies are
delivered to the ship weekly. Foodstuffs, medicines and factory supplies are
delivered by air or boat. The schedule is kept varied in case of raids. Your
job is to unload the carriers quickly and efficiently. All boxes are to be
stacked neatly over there.” He pointed to an area in the shade of the upper
deck. Tape had been laid on the ground, delineating the area from that around
it. “It’s hard work, but you’ll find that others would happily give their
grandmothers for a chance to work out here in the breeze instead of below in
the factory, so I don’t expect to hear any complaints. Remain in yelling sight
until the supplies come and then I expect you to return to this spot ASAP.” Mr
Wall and Mr Painter walked away to a couple of seats positioned in the shade. Toddy
and Colt also found shady spots in which to sit down. From the way they glanced
continuously at Mr Painter, they had chosen their spots more for the fact that
they were as far away from Mr Painter as they could construe without him taking
offence, rather