Black Tide Read Online Free

him felt black and blue. He sniffed heavily but was too shocked to cry. So much for his rescue mission. Now it was him who needed rescuing.
    He took in his surroundings. He was lying on a narrow metal bed at the end of a row, on top of a thin jute mattress that appeared to be stuffed with straw. Toby could feel the itchy stalks pushing through the coarse cloth.
    He rolled over slowly and gasped: there, stood in the corner, was a tall man wearing a large bearskin hat and a caped greatcoat. The man was standing stock-still . The shadows from the low dawn light threw him into relief so that Toby couldn’t see his face, nor could he hear his breathing.
    Where am I? This looks like an old prison. How long have I been here? And who’s that weirdo dressed up as a soldier from who knows when? How am I going to get out with him there?
    Toby rolled quietly over to face the other way but there seemed no possibility of escape there either. He felt a heavy weight descend upon him. He had failedhis dad and Sylvie at almost the first hurdle. Now he had to lie here and wait for the men, whoever they were, to come and dispose of him however they wanted. No one was going to come and rescue him. No one even knew he was here. It was hopeless.
    As if on cue, the door banged open and two men strode into the chamber. Toby flinched as they grabbed him by his raw and throbbing wrists, and hauled him to his feet. The man they called the Captain appeared at the doorway.
    “Now young man! Not dead after all, eh? You may well wish you were once we’ve finished with you.”
    “What do you want with me and my dad and Sylvie?” Toby blurted out. One of the raiders dug him hard in the ribs.
    “Only speak when the Captain says you can!” he growled.
    “That’s right Calvert, you teach this young pup a few manners,” said the Captain. “Now, I want to know a few things about your dad and what he used to do. He’s not telling us but I reckon you will.”
    “Well, you reckoned wrong, didn’t you?” Toby cried. The raider gave him a harder thump. Toby felt the man’s fist connect with a bruise, and gasped.
    “We don’t want to hurt you; we don’t do torture. We leave that to the General. He’s strange that way – gets pleasure out of other people’s pain,” continued the Captain, smiling as he advanced towards Toby. Toby could now see the man clearly: he was smaller than the others, but somehow filled the room with his menacing presence. His dark skin was covered withthe white wheals of old scars and, with his short legs and heavy-set body, he reminded Toby of a pit bull terrier he had once seen in Aberdeen. The dog had been a fighter and carried the scars to prove it, just like this man.
    “Who’s this General? That’s a bit sad, isn’t it – giving yourselves military ranks?” jeered Toby, trying to sound a lot braver than he felt. “Playing at being soldiers, are you?” He braced himself for what he felt sure the raider was going to do to him. But instead, the Captain stuck his face right up to Toby’s and sneeringly said,
    “HA! You won’t think we’re playing at soldiers once you see what we’ve done at New Caledonia! You’ll be amazed when you see what the General has built – a whole new world! Unfortunately for you, though, you are not one of the lucky ones who are going to be able to enjoy what we’ve created. No, you see you haven’t got one of these —”
    The Captain pulled back the cuff of his jacket and shoved his arm under Toby’s nose. There, tattooed in black and red ink, were the initials,

    “And what’s more, you are never going to get one!” The Captain laughed. “Only the hand-picked special commandos have this and only they will get to reap the benefits of the new country we have built. Yes, we’ll live a life of luxury while people like you and your dad will do all the work!”
    “You’re crazy!” cried Toby, straining away from the Captain’s putrid breath.
    “Crazy? Don’t you think