‘Mr Carter.’ Jamie felt a moment of panic. So, his short stay was over. He had known he wouldn’t be able stay here forever, but the thought of going back outside terrified him. He’d always been pretty resigned to his life as a vagrant but, having tasted a few days of comfort, it would be a wrench to return to living on his wits again. Especially now, with all these unwanted images crowding his brain and the knowledge that he was losing it. Jamie reached for his crutches which were balanced against the wall and hauled himself to his feet.
‘Miriam fixed you up then,’ Mr Carter said. It was a statement more than a question.
‘Yeah. She’s been really kind.’
‘So are you ready to join us, Jamie?’
‘What? Stay here you mean?’ He felt hope quicken his pulse.
‘No. No one stays here. This is a transitionary place.’
‘Oh.’ Jamie thought as much.
‘Are you still looking for redemption? For peace?’
Jamie nodded. No doubt in his mind.
‘Good. Then you are needed.’
‘Where?’
‘Salisbury.’
His heart clutched with nerves. He’d heard all the rumours like everyone else. But surely it couldn’t be as bad as he thought – not if the people there were anything like Miriam. She’d said he would find peace in Salisbury. He should have quizzed her more about what went on there and about James Grey, but all he’d done that night was waffle on about his own life. He hadn’t thought to ask her anything important. Since then, he’d been too busy taking things easy to think about Grey. He cursed himself.
‘You’ll find out soon enough,’ Mr Carter said.
‘Find out what?’
‘All those questions going through your head. They’ll be answered soon enough.’
‘Oh. Right.’
‘Ready then?’
‘What? We’re going now?’
‘We are.’
‘Okay. I’ll go and get my stuff.’
‘You don’t need it.’
‘I . . .’
‘You’ll be starting a new life, Jamie. A better life where your old things are no longer required.’
‘Right.’ Jamie didn’t suppose it was the end of the world to let go of a few mouldy old clothes, but it made him a little light-headed to leave his bundle behind. He’d had it with him for years. Felt strange without it. ‘I better say goodbye to Miriam. Thank her for . . .’
‘No goodbyes or thanks are necessary. Miriam knows you’re grateful.’
‘Oh.’
Mr Carter turned and walked through the kitchen and out into the hallway. Jamie followed him. ‘What about my crutches? I can’t walk without them yet.’
‘Bring them with you. I’ll return them once your leg’s healed.’
The doors off the hallway were closed and there were no sounds from above. Mr Carter had said Miriam didn’t need any thanks, but it felt wrong to be leaving without a word. Seemed sneaky somehow. A week ago, Jamie wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but now he felt different. Something had shifted within him. He already felt like a better person. Ironic, really, that the death of an innocent girl should turn him into Mother flipping Teresa. And he was sure this was only the start. Yeah, there was a shedload more crazy shit to come his way, he was pretty certain about that.
Mr Carter’s beaten up AV was parked outside. Jamie arranged himself on the passenger seat, sliding his crutches into the back. The engine started up and they headed off. A momentary pang of nostalgia caused Jamie to turn his head and stare back at the nondescript house. He wondered if he’d ever see it or Miriam again. Probably not.
He was giving up his freedom for something else. Something unknown. He hoped it was for something better, but it surely couldn’t be much worse than the alternative. On the outside, the older you got, the worse chance you had at survival. Especially now with his dodgy leg and recent aversion to sleep.
They left the Boscombe Compound behind and traversed the familiar scrubland of Bournemouth. Jamie remembered the girl he was supposed to have met at the 'pound. He wondered if she was disappointed that he never showed up. He liked to think she would’ve at least wondered about him. He must need his head testing – instead of meeting up with a fit girl, he was heading off with a middle-aged bald bloke who was part of the God squad. Jamie grinned to himself. He must’ve injured more than his leg when that woman knocked him over.
‘How long will it take to get there?’ Jamie asked.
‘As long as it takes,’ Mr Carter replied.
Jamie sucked in a breath. ‘Roughly.’
‘Depends.’
‘On?’
‘Whether we go straight there, or whether we meet any other lost souls.’
‘Lost souls like me you mean?’
‘Everyone is different.’
‘Do you only take people who want to go with you? I mean, do you ever take people against their will?’
‘People don’t always know what they want.’ He turned to look at Jamie. ‘Do you know what you want, Jamie?’
Jamie was taken aback by the question. ‘A decent night’s sleep would be nice.’
Mr Carter nodded and turned back to concentrate on the drive.
‘How did you join Grey’s church?’ Jamie asked.
‘I was one of the first.’
‘So you’re a big shot then?’
‘None of us are important. We’re only here to serve.’
Sod that, Jamie thought. He wasn’t going to be serving anyone. He just needed help getting his head straight.
‘You’ll see,’ Mr Carter said with a smile.
Rough hands shook him and he lashed out with his fists, emitting a garbled cry. Sweat coated his forehead and his whole body trembled. Opening his eyes, he saw he was face-to-face with a man who had hold of his fists.
‘You’re having a bad dream, lad,’ the man said.
Jamie tensed up again and tried to free his hands, but the man held them tight. He recognised him. It was Mr Carter. They were in the AV on their way to Salisbury. He must’ve fallen asleep. As the tension left his body, Mr Carter released Jamie’s fists, relaxing back into the driver’s seat. They were parked in the middle of a pitted track alongside a fallow field. Birds sang in the hedgerows, but the noise sounded eerie and alien. The air outside shimmered with midday heat.
‘Not going to punch me again are you?’ the older man said.
‘Did I . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t mean . . .’
‘. . . I’ve endured worse.’
Jamie turned to look at Mr Carter and saw a bright red mark on his cheek. ‘Oh, mate, I’m really sorry.’
Mr Carter held his hand up to silence Jamie. ‘No need to apologise. You’re troubled, anyone can see that.’
‘I was trying not to fall asleep,’ Jamie said, ‘but the drive must’ve made me drift off.’
‘We’ll be there in a few minutes. You’ve been asleep a while. Had some nasty dreams too by the sounds you were making.’
Jamie wondered if he’d talked in his sleep, worried in case he’d babbled about the dead girl. What if Mr Carter worked out what he’d done? He realised he was shivering, his legs trembling and teeth chattering. He tried to get himself under control but his body had a mind of its own and refused to keep still. What the hell was wrong with him? He was definitely cracking up, no doubt about it.
If Mr Carter noticed, he didn’t say anything; simply restarted the engine and carried on driving. Jamie rubbed his eyes and tried to shake the nightmare from his thoughts. The AV rattled and whined as they continued on down the rutted track. Jamie reckoned this old heap wouldn’t last much longer. Sounded like it was falling to bits. Looked like it too.
At the end of the track, Jamie made out a tall, barbed wire fence, which ran in both directions as far as the eye could see. As they drew closer, a heavy duty metal gate came into view, set into the fence with three huge padlocks. Mr Carter brought the vehicle to a stop.
‘Wait here
,’ he said, sliding out of the AV. He had a bunch of keys attached to his belt and used one of them to unlock the gate. He climbed back in and drove through the open gate.
‘Want me to lock up for you?’ Jamie asked.
‘No thanks.’ Mr Carter left the vehicle once more to re-secure the gate and they continued on their way.
‘Is this Salisbury?’ Jamie asked.
‘It is.’
Jamie felt wide awake now and stared around looking for clues about their destination. But all he saw, other than the track, were fields and hedges, trees and fences. His shakes had subsided a little, but not a lot, and he clasped his hands together to steady them.
Eventually, in the distance, he made out a long solid shape – a brick wall. Jamie turned to look at Mr Carter to see if he was going to mention it, but the man had his eyes fixed firmly ahead. Beyond the wall, a tapering grey construction reached into the sky.
‘What’s that?’ Jamie asked.
‘What?’
‘The pointy thing up there.’
Mr Carter took a breath. ‘That ‘pointy thing’ is the spire of Salisbury Cathedral.’
‘It’s high.’
As they drew closer, the wall reared up like a tidal wave. The thing was massive. Must’ve taken months to build. There was no way you could break in and probably no way you could break out. That thought made him more than a little nervous. Now he was here, he wasn’t so sure he’d made the right decision. Mr Carter must have sensed his hesitation.
‘It’ll be fine. You’ll be glad you came. Your life will have purpose, your fears will be put to rest and your sins absolved. You will never go hungry and you will finally sleep in peace.’
The sleep in peace part sounded very appealing, but he still had huge reservations. ‘What if I get there and I don’t like it?’
‘What if . . . What if. Let’s get you there first and you’ll see; it will all be okay.’
The man had a talent for not answering questions, but Jamie let himself be soothed and tried to put his worries aside. A massive set of studded wooden doors opened inwards as they approached the wall. Freaky robed guards stood inside the doors either side of the entrance, guns and swords at their sides. The nerves started up again. Big time.
‘Holy moly.’
‘Every settlement needs its guards wouldn’t you say?’ Mr Carter said.
‘Yeah, but those guys look like something out of a horror movie.’
‘Lucky they’re on our side then.’
Your side maybe, Jamie thought. As they drove through and the doors swung closed behind them, Jamie took a deep breath and hoped he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life.
Chapter Eleven
Riley
Heart racing, I opened the door and stepped out of the truck, raising my hands in the air. I wore one of my revolvers beneath my coat and the other strapped to my ankle. I’d stashed the Saiga in the footwell under the passenger seat, reasoning that they might mistake my intentions if I approached them with such a powerful weapon. I took a couple of steps towards the gypsies.
‘Okay, that’s far enough,’ the man with no piercings said.
The one with the nose hoop whistled and a boy came running. Nose-hoop said something unintelligible and the boy nodded and ran off. I hoped he was going to get Lou. There was a long silence and I shifted from one foot to the other, feeling exposed and vulnerable with weapons trained at my head and so many pairs of eyes looking me up and down.
‘What’s in the truck?’ one of the men asked.
‘Just some stuff to trade.’
‘Where you from?’
‘I’d rather wait until Lou . . .’
‘Oh, look, it’s Perimeter Girl,’ came a mocking voice.
I gazed across and saw the crowd had parted to let someone through. It was the man from yesterday – Reece.
‘I thought I told you not to come back,’ he called out. ‘What? You enjoy slumming it over here or something?’
This incited a ripple of laughter from the other gypsies.
‘I’ve come to see Lou.’
‘She’s busy.’
‘No she’s not.’ An out-of-breath Lou pushed past him, along with one of her younger brothers.
I breathed a massive sigh of relief and lowered my hands. I’d been about to risk turning around, jumping back in the truck and racing home.
‘Louisa, this has got nothing to do with you,’ Reece said. ‘This girl’s obviously up to something.’
Lou put her hands on her hips and glared at him. ‘Reece, she’s my friend. Do I have to get your permission to invite my friends over now?’
‘Yes,’ Reece replied. ‘You do when they start showing up in armoured trucks with semi-automatic weapons.’
I turned to see that nose-hoop had opened the passenger door of the truck, and had already discovered my Saiga under the passenger seat.
‘Hey!’ I said.
He unclipped the magazine.
‘Hey,’ I repeated. ‘Put that back.’
‘It’s fully loaded,’ he called out to Reece.
‘Put it back, Keon,’ Lou said, walking up to him. ‘Riley’s cool.’
Keon didn’t let go of my weapon, but I ignored him for the moment. Hopefully, once Lou explained why I was here, they would start to treat me with less suspicion.
‘Can I talk to you for a minute, Lou?’ I asked, desperate to dispel all the tension.
‘Course,’ she said before turning to her brother. ‘Joe, thanks for fetching me. You can go home now.’ The boy pouted, but did as he was asked.
‘God, Riley,’ she said, walking up to me. ‘You’ve caused a bit of a scene, haven’t you. Beginning to think you like trouble.’
‘Sorry,’ I replied. I really didn’t want to speak to her with Keon, Reece and the others pointing their weapons at me, but it didn’t look like I had much of a choice.
‘What’s in the truck anyway?’ she asked.
‘You said you needed some fuel.’
She frowned and walked up to the tarp. Keon and Reece joined her while she loosened one corner and peeled it back. ‘Holy mother of all that’s sweet and good.’
Keon let out a long low whistle, but Reece glared at me again, his long fringe diluting the hatred a little.
‘You serious?’ Lou asked.
I nodded and turned to Keon. ‘Can I have my gun back now?’
‘I think I’ll hang onto it,’ he said, smiling at me. He fiddled with the magazine, trying to lock it back in. ‘I could do with a nice shooter like this.’
‘Give it back, Keon,’ Lou said. She turned back to me. ‘But, we haven’t got enough to trade you for all this lot,’ Lou said. ‘Maybe a tenth of what it’s worth? Or a hundredth.’
‘That’s okay,’ I said. ‘We’ve got more than we need.’
‘You want to give us all of this fuel?’ Reece said. ‘For nothing?’ His voice was icy. ‘D’you think we’re charity cases? Is that it?’
‘Of course not,’ I replied. ‘Lou more-or-less saved my life yesterday. This is my way of saying thank you.’
‘We don’t like being indebted to anyone,’ he replied. ‘Especially not rich little perimeter girls.’
‘There’s no debt,’ I said. ‘I told you, it’s to thank Lou for yesterday. She saved my life.’
Keon was still fiddling with my Saiga, swearing under his breath as he tried to force the magazine into place.
‘For God’s sake, Kee,’ Reece said. ‘What are you doing with that bloody gun?’
‘There’s a knack to it,’ I said. ‘Here . . .’ I held out my hand for the weapon, but Keon shook his head.
‘Not falling for that,’ he said.
‘Give it back to her, Keon,’ Reece said. ‘You’re doing my head in.’
He glowered at Reece, but handed the gun and magazine back to me. I locked the mag easily back in place.
‘How did you do that?’ Keon asked.
‘Keon, shut up or go away,’ Reece sa
id.
I caught Lou’s eye and she smiled as Keon shoved his hands into his pocket and kicked at the ground.
‘There’s got to be a catch,’ Reece said, turning back to face me.
‘No catch,’ I replied. ‘You can thank Lou.’
‘Why are you really doing this?’ Reece asked. ‘Are you setting us up, is that it? We gonna get a load of perimeter guards come down and start kicking off that we nicked their fuel?’ He stepped up close to me, his eyes blazing. I held his stare.
‘Easy, Reece,’ Lou said, putting a hand on his arm. ‘I’m pretty sure she’s on the level.’
‘Pretty sure isn’t good enough.’
‘We’ve got no choice. We need this fuel.’
There was a moment of silence.
‘So . . .’ Reece said, still staring.
‘So . . .’ I replied, holding his gaze.
‘How about if we trade you something for it?’ Lou said to me.
‘You don’t have to,’ I replied.
‘We want to.’
Reece walked off a little way, his head bowed and his fists clenched. Then he stopped, turned around and walked back.
‘Fine,’ he said. ‘We need the fuel, so we’ll do a trade. But if this comes back to bite us, it’s on you, Louisa.’
She grinned. ‘Let’s get this baby unloaded.’
‘Come and see me when you’re done and we’ll talk terms.’ Reece turned his back on us and walked back into the camp. Keon let out a piercing whistle and soon we were joined by about fifty men, women and children; maybe more, I lost count after a while. They looked at me curiously, some with distrust, others with a glimmer of friendliness. Within minutes they had unloaded the flatbed and re-secured the tarpaulin. The timber had been squirreled away to some unknown destination, lifted over the heads of others and hidden within the vast encampment.
‘Let’s go to Reece’s,’ Lou said. ‘We need to talk about what we owe you.’
‘We’ll guard your truck if you like,’ Keon said with a wink.
I looked at Lou who smiled at my dubious expression. ‘It’s okay,’ she said. ‘Keon’ll make sure it stays in one piece.’
‘Really?’ I said. ‘He tried to steal my gun a minute ago.’
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