The Gamekeeper

by J Porteous

  ‘Hope,’ I said. ‘We’re just passing through.’

  ‘Well, shit, we didn’t think anyone else had made it.’ The shadow came from behind the tree and into the pale light of the moon. ‘I did as you said. You saved a lot of lives.’

  ‘Deputy Thwaite?’

  ‘The one and only,’ she said, walking towards me. As she approached I could make out her features better, recognition coming to her image. She looked at Jessica. ‘You found your girl too?’

  Jessica put her arms around me. ‘I did,’ I said. ‘What are you doing out here?’

  ‘We were scouting the route we had come,’ she said, other shadows coming out from the trees to join her. ‘Wanted to make sure none of those bastards were catching up with us yet.’ The other shadows moved beside her, grim faces coming to life in the moonlight. ‘Is there anyone else?’

  I shook my head. ‘Just us, I think.’

  ‘You must be cold risking a fire in the open. We’ve got somewhere to stay for tonight. It’s an old farmhouse and stables. Nothing special, but the walls help to keep the heat in at least.’

  ‘That sounds nice,’ Jessica said.

  Deputy Thwaite smiled. ‘It sure is, sweetie. Shall we go get you warmed up?’

  The scouting group was small, consisting of Deputy Thwaite, one of the guards from Hope, and two other volunteers. Jessica walked alongside me as we followed them to safety.

  Deputy Thwaite spoke over her shoulder. ‘How bad was it? I mean, when you got there?’

  ‘It was bad,’ I said. ‘Couldn’t even get into the mall itself as it was so choked with smoke.’

  ‘We saw the plumes as we walked,’ the former guard said. ‘Bunch of fucking savages. All of that hard work, all of that infrastructure; gone.’

  ‘There was so many of them,’ one of the others said. ‘They came out of nowhere.’

  ‘Did you tell Warden Daniels?’ I asked.

  ‘I told him about the old tunnels,’ Deputy Thwaite said. ‘I said they posed a threat to security, he just wanted to post a single guard there. A single guard! That isn’t going to stop a fucking horde.’

  ‘I’ve seen small groups of troublemakers before,’ the guard said. ‘They’d usually size up Hope then bugger off, but these guys are worse. Much worse. Fuck knows who they are.’

  ‘The Children of Ash,’ I said. A couple of them turned to look at me. ‘They burnt down a small place I was staying. Burned everyone with it too. We had a run in with them, and they wanted the girl.’

  ‘The girl?’ Deputy Thwaite said. ‘Why the girl?’

  ‘They called her the Daughter of Flame,’ I replied. ‘They see her burns as a sign, or a blessing, or something. They’ve been after her ever since.’

  The group ahead of us exchanged worried glances. Deputy Thwaite looked back. ‘So you’re saying they’re still after her?’

  I wasn’t sure what the right thing to say was. I settled with the truth. ‘They might be.’

  ‘Well,’ Deputy Thwaite said, glancing at Jessica. ‘We’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen, won’t we?’

  The farmhouse and its attached stables soon came into view. Light glowed dimly through the dirty windows of the farmhouse, a host of shadows of those inside dancing across the panes. A number of people milled around outside of the stables, popping in and out of the stable doors to talk or share food.

  Food. My stomach rumbled at the thought. ‘Do you have anything to eat? I asked. ‘I don’t know when the girl last ate.’

  ‘We’ve got enough for both of you,’ Deputy Thwaite said. ‘No need for you to go hungry too.’

  We entered the warmth of the farmhouse. There were people crowded everywhere; in the hallway, the kitchen, even lining the stairs. A couple of them patted me on the back as I walked past, pushing Jessica in front of me.

  The kitchen was the most full. People were queued around the edge of it to get what looked to be a thin soup in a large pot. It wasn’t the most appetising looking thing, but I wasn’t about to complain about it.

  ‘Out of the way,’ Deputy Thwaite said, pushing her way through the line. She grabbed two chipped bowls and filled them with soup and handed them to us. ‘Enjoy it. You’ve earned it after that walk.’

  Jessica and I found room in the hallway. We sat down against a stone wall, other people crowded around and doing the same. The heat of the soup and the combined warmth of all the bodies spread through me, my numb toes starting to recover their feeling again.

  I sipped the soup slowly, savouring every mouthful. It was almost too hot to drink, but my stomach begged me to pour it in. I watched the other people who had crowded the corridor, all of them talking amongst themselves and consoling each other. A few of them sobbed and had to be comforted by those around them. ‘See,’ I said to Jessica. ‘These are good people.’

  She wiped her mouth, the excess soup wetting her sleeve. ‘I know.’ She took another gulp of soup and glanced around at the gathered faces. ‘I don’t see Prism.’

  I had already noticed that but tried not to think too hard about it. ‘There are other rooms, other outbuildings, she might be in one of them.’ I knew it was dangerous to be optimistic in these times, but after the last couple of days, I felt like I needed some light in the darkness.

  ‘She might not be.’

  Those words surprised me coming from her. I looked over at Jessica. ‘You’re right, she might not.’

  Jessica didn’t reply to that, instead she turned her attention to the last of her soup. I turned my attention back to the bodies who flowed back and forth from the inside of the farmhouse to the cold night air.

  My eyes caught a face as they entered. I recognised the young and slender face, even beneath a myriad of fresh cuts. ‘Felix!’ I said, climbing to my feet.

  Felix looked for the source of the voice, his eyes widening as he saw me. ‘Gamekeeper?’ he stuttered. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Same as you, escaping Hope.’

  ‘Look, I’m sorry about the girl.’

  I frowned. ‘What? She’s right here.’ I turned and nudged Jessica. ‘Look who’s here.’

  Jessica jumped up from the floor, leaving the empty bowl clattering on the stone floor. ‘Felix! You made it!’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said, his face going pale as if he had seen a ghost. ‘So did you.’

  ‘Is something up?’ I asked. ‘You don’t seem yourself?’

  He glanced at me then shook his head. ‘No, no, I’m fine. Just a little shaken up, that’s all.’

  ‘It’s been a heavy time recently,’ I replied. I became aware that Diego wasn’t with him. ‘Diego? Did he make it?’

  Felix looked around, as if wanting to be anywhere else but talking to us. ‘No. He didn’t make it. His leg hadn’t healed when the attack happened, he didn’t stand a chance.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ I said.

  ‘Me too,’ Jessica chimed in.

  He glanced between us both. ‘Thanks. Look, I’ve got to go get some air.’

  ‘Okay.’ I stood aside and let him squeeze past before he quickly ducked out of the door and into the night.

  My eyes stayed fixed on the door, my mind deep in thought. I turned to Jessica. ‘Did he seem weird to you at all?’

  Jessica shrugged. ‘I don’t think he wanted to talk.’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I don’t think he wanted to either.’

  Deputy Thwaite came out of the kitchen and walked towards us, checking on the other unfortunates on the way. ‘So,’ she said. ‘I’m pretty sure I’ve got a room you can stay in tonight. The stables are better than they look, the owner was halfway through converting them into holiday cottages by the looks of things. As long as you don’t mind the lack of décor, then I’m sure you’ll be happy with your stay.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I wasn’t looking forward to spending the night outside anyway.’

  Deputy Thwaite led us out into the dark, a bitter wind making me tighten my coat around myself. We walke
d across the cobbled courtyard and entered the large stable building. It was quickly apparent what Deputy Thwaite had meant; concrete had been poured down to create an even floor, and plasterboard walls were in place, all ready to be decorated. The plague must have put an end to those plans.

  Deputy Thwaite guided us to a door on the end of the stables. ‘Here you go, breakfast is served between eight and eight thirty.’ She smiled. ‘Just give it a knock before you go in, yeah?’ She wandered back down the stable block, disappearing back out into the night.

  ‘Give it a knock?’ Jessica said. ‘Are we going to have to share with someone?’

  ‘Only one way to find out.’ I rapped the wooden door with my bruised knuckles. ‘Hello?’ There was no response. I looked at Jessica and shrugged. ‘Shall we?’

  I pushed the door open, my heart lifting at what I saw. In a chair in the corner sat a figure, a pair of sunglasses and a scarf placed on the table next to her. ‘Prism?’

  She leapt out of her seat and threw her arms around me, her tight squeeze making me feel every one of my bruises. ‘I knew you’d make it.’ She moved her bear hug over to Jessica. ‘Both of you.’ She looked me up and down and smirked, the burns which licked her chin stretching her skin. ‘You look like battered shit.’

  I smiled. ‘What can I say? It’s been one of those days.’

  ‘We came back to look for you,’ Jessica said. ‘David went into Hope to look for you.’

  ‘David?’ Prism raised an eyebrow, her expression turning to one of realisation as she turned to me. ‘Ah, so you do have a name?’

  My face flushed as my name reared its head again. ‘Doesn’t everyone?’

  ‘A name is whatever you want it to be,’ Prism said. ‘Who’s saying Prism isn’t my name?’

  ‘Is it?’

  She gave a wry smile. ‘Maybe.’ She dragged two other chairs across to the table from the other side of the room. ‘Sit down,’ she said. ‘You both look like you could do with it.’

  The chair wasn’t overly comfortable, with a bare metal seat and back, but it was enough for my weary bones. Relief flowed up from my feet as I rested myself, a contented sigh leaving my lips.

  Jessica stood awkwardly. ‘I need the toilet.’

  I looked at Prism. ‘Is there a toilet here?’

  ‘If you call anywhere outside of the building a toilet, then yes.’

  I glanced up at Jessica. ‘Do you want one of us to come with you?’

  ‘No, I’m fine.’

  Prism watched Jessica as she left, closing the door behind her. She turned her eyes to me, the smile leaving her face. ‘I was hoping we’d get time to ourselves.’

  The change in tone drew me out of my relaxed mood. I sat up, her words catching my attention. ‘Go on.’

  ‘After speaking to Deputy Thwaite, one of my little birds had some information for me.’

  ‘Regarding?’

  ‘Regarding how our friend Harvey knew where you and Jessica were staying.’

  I edged closer to the table, her words grabbing my attention. ‘And?’

  ‘Harvey was offering a reward for information on who killed his thugs in Old Oxford.’

  ‘I know,’ I said. ‘He offered it to me.’

  ‘Well, someone took him up on it. Said they had seen it happen with their own eyes.’ Prism’s eyes narrowed. ‘Now I don’t know if that’s bullshit or not, but perhaps there’s something or someone you can remember?’

  My mind raced back to that moment in the electronics shop. I replayed what happened in my mind: crashing through the floor, Jessica being taken hostage, and Felix jumping in just in time. Felix.

  He had acted so oddly when we had seen him, and he even apologised about what happened to Jessica. Did he think that she was gone? That I had lost her for good? He would have been staying in the Flophouse as well, and the last thing he would have seen would have been the broken down door and a blood-soaked floor.

  I stood from my seat, knocking it back against the cold concrete. Prism looked up at me, surprised by the speed of my beaten body.

  ‘What? Do you know who it is?’

  ‘I do,’ I said. ‘And I’ve seen them here.’ I pulled the door open, then looked back at Prism. ‘Tell Jessica I’ll be back soon.’

  I stormed out of the stable block, adrenaline returning to dampen my aches and pains. I hadn’t seen where Felix had gone, only that he had left the farmhouse itself. I stalked the courtyard, looking for his pale face, before looping around the farmhouse and checking the back of the stable blocks.

  My veins burned when I saw him. He paced back and forth at the back of the farmhouse, beside a tractor entrapped in ivy and rust. I charged towards him, moving faster than I had in days.

  I crashed into him as he had his back turned, sending us both sprawling into the cold mud. I turned him over, grabbing his collar and shaking his head back and forth. ‘After everything we did for you!’ I brought my fist down, a satisfying crack coming from his nose. ‘Why did you do it? Why?’

  Felix spluttered as blood flowed from his nose. ‘I’m...I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘It was too good to pass up.’

  I grabbed his collar and lifted his head towards mine. ‘What did he offer you? What was enough to sell us out?’

  Felix coughed and spat blood out of his mouth. ‘It doesn’t matter now, it’s all gone. All of it.’

  I threw him back down into the mud. ‘You piece of shit.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I’m sor-’

  My fist crashed into his face once more, knocking his head back into the dirt. Arms grasped me and pulled me off of him. In my blinkered rage, I hadn’t noticed the small crowd which had gathered in a small circle around us.

  A hand grasped my jaw and turned my face towards Deputy Thwaite, her face as dark as thunder. ‘Knock it off,’ she said, releasing my jaw. ‘We’ve seen enough violence and death for one day.’

  I turned back to Felix. He was propped up on his elbows, a dazed look still holding onto his bloodied face. ‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘He knows what he did was wrong.’

  ‘You’re damn right I’m right,’ Deputy Thwaite said. She turned to the gathered crowd. ‘Break it up, we’re done here.’

  The gathered bodies dispersed back into the night air. Deputy Thwaite gave me one last look, then disappeared back into the farmhouse. Felix dragged himself to his feet, wiping the blood from his face and spitting out what he could, splattering the patches of snow around him a sickly pink.

  I flexed my fingers, inspecting my already battered knuckles; it seemed I was doing more harm to myself at the moment than anyone else. From the corner of my vision, I caught a figure standing still and watching.

  Jessica stood alone in the patchy snow in her over-sized winter coat. The look she gave me tore my heart in two; her eyes holding a mixture of fear and disappointment. I opened my mouth to speak, but she turned away and left me alone in the cold.

  I stood quietly for a moment, listening to the silence I had been left in. The boisterous chatter from the farmhouse had been dampened, with only the shadows on the windows of those dwelling within giving any sign of life. Footsteps approached from behind. ‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘I won’t do anything else stupid.’

  A hand touched my shoulder and held its grasp. ‘It’s alright, I would have done the same.’

  I turned to see Prism, her face half-lit by the silver moon. ‘Try telling that to Jessica.’

  ‘She’ll understand in time,’ Prism replied. She laughed. ‘Maybe one day she’ll realise that the world isn’t all rainbows and bright colours.’

  ‘I thought you said she was a spark that needed protecting from the world?’ I replied. ‘As soon as she becomes as jaded as us, the spark is gone.’

  ‘Possibly,’ Prism said, looking back towards the light from the farmhouse. ‘But when a spark burns as bright as she does, I think her mind can survive the impact of reality. Perhaps it can even strengthen it.’ A small smile crossed her lips. ‘I think it already has.
’

  Prism made a good point. Jessica had come far with me. She had been through a lot, seen a lot; a world made of death and dishonesty, yet she still endured. Perhaps the shine had come off of the edges, but the core still gleamed brightly.

  ‘Come on,’ Prism said. ‘You need some rest before tomorrow, we all do.’

  ‘You go ahead,’ I replied. ‘I’ll catch up in a bit.’

  Prism looked at me in silence for a moment. ‘Sure. Just don’t go punching anyone else, yeah?’

  I snorted a laugh. ‘I’ll try.’

  Prism melted away into the darkness, leaving me standing alone in the blood-splashed snow. I looked up at the clouds, looking for a rare glimpse of the glowing moon. Fuck this world.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I dreamt of Cait and Toby again that night. It was the same dream as it always was, but now it seemed a little less painful. Their faces were still obscured, and details only appeared as shadow, but seeing at least part of their memory almost soothed me.

  Something nudged my ribs. I groaned and rolled over; I couldn’t remember the last time I could sleep without looking over my shoulder, and I was not about to give up such luxury. It came in again, harder this time. I popped one eye open to see Deputy Thwaite stood over me.

  She looked down at me. ‘I need your help. Get up.’

  ‘My help?’ I struggled to see why she would want any help from me after last night’s outburst. ‘Why?’

  Deputy Thwaite crouched down. ‘Because you’re a resourceful one. You saved your girl and warned us. That’s exactly what I need right now.’

  I looked around to see Prism and Jessica fast asleep, nestled next to each other in the corner of the room. They looked so peaceful; I couldn’t help but be envious of their undisturbed rest. I sighed and clambered to my feet, aches and pains chasing each other through me.

  Deputy Thwaite held my coat out to me. ‘You’ll need this, it’s cold outside.’

  Night had barely left the world. The grey clouds above were lightening, but there was no way it was fully daylight hours. My breath clouded in front of me as we walked past the old farmhouse and away from the camp.