by J Porteous
It had been a long time since I had been so glad to see somewhere. We broke through the treeline and dragged the pallet down towards the grand doorway of the mansion. The small group who had been left to dig fortifications had been busy; the ground now full of pits, the sharpened spikes placed in as many as they could get done in time. The sky was darkening now, twilight closing in.
There seemed to be more of a buzz to the place, like more voices were chattering than when I left. I left Felix and Sasha with the pallet and barrels and headed inside to find Thwaite. I rounded the corner and heard a familiar voice. ‘Prism?’ I called out.
Prism poked her head out of one of the rooms and smiled. ‘Jess, guess who’s back?’
Jessica came bounding out of the room and ran towards me. ‘You did it!’ she shouted, her excited voice bouncing back off of the dull stone walls. She clasped something in her hands. Bloody bandages.
I placed my hands on her shoulders to steady her. ‘You haven’t hurt yourself, have you?’
‘What?’ She looked down at the bandages. ‘Oh, these. No, it’s not my blood. More people came up from Hope, they said they followed the tracks until they got here.’
‘How many are there?’
‘Thirty, maybe?’ she replied. ‘They’re all hurt in some way though, that’s why they took so long.’ She scrunched the bloodied material into a small ball. ‘You found the petrol?’
‘We did,’ I said, a smile finding my lips. ‘I think it’s going to help us a lot.’
‘I think so too. They like fire, but it still hurts them.’
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘Have you seen Deputy Thwaite anywhere? I need to speak to her. I’ll come straight back to you after, I promise.’
‘She was down here with the people from Hope, asking them lots of questions. Then she went back upstairs. She looked worried.’
I understood that feeling. ‘Well, I’ll go talk to her, see if I can make her feel better. Are you okay helping out with Prism?’
‘Yep.’ There was that beaming smile again.
‘Good, you’re doing great work.’
‘We’re both helping together.’
‘That we are.’
I left Jessica with Prism, the extra noise of chatter fading away as I ascended the stairs. Thwaite was exactly where I thought she would be, back in her room staring out over the grounds. ‘Thwaite,’ I said.
She jumped, before quickly composing herself. ‘Gamekeeper? You’re back, with good news I hope?’
‘We lost some dead weight,’ I said. ‘But we’ve got what we needed.’
‘Who did we lose?’
‘Jerome. Decided he didn’t want to come back.’
Thwaite chewed her lip. ‘I feel I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. Possibly even more, soon.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Those cultists? From what those new survivors are saying, they were hot on their heels. If they could follow our tracks here, well, I don’t think you need me to fill out the rest of the details.’
My stomach dropped. I had known this was coming since Prism and I went back for Jessica, but it still didn’t make the thought any more pleasant. ‘How much time do you think we have?’
‘It depends on how they are travelling,’ Thwaite replied. ‘Most sane people travel during the day, but who knows what’s going on in their minds?’
‘When we went after Jess, they camped during the night. I think we’ve got time, until morning at least.’
‘The petrol, how many barrels have we got?’
‘Three.’
Thwaite took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair, closing her eyes for a moment. She seemed to take stock of herself and opened her eyes with a renewed steel. ‘It will do.’
‘Then what should we do now?’
Thwaite gave a grim smile. ‘Now? We get ready to give the Children of Ash a welcome they’re never going to forget.’
Chapter Fifteen
The dark of night came quicker than I expected. Over the course of the afternoon, we had dug more holes, placed more spikes, and trailed two of the barrels of petrol across the open ground; ready to turn the rustic gardens into an inferno.
The newly arrived refugees from Hope brought tales of horror with them; the ones who had the stomach to talk about them, that is. One of the men, who was trapped in his shanty house after it collapsed on him, said he watched in silence from the rubble for fear of being discovered. He said the cult were worse than animals, rounding up those who didn’t die in the fighting and offering them to their bonfires. I didn’t press him too hard after that.
Jessica stood next to me, clutching hold of my sleeve as I looked out across the mansion grounds. The last group of volunteers were making their way back through the long grass, taking care not to fall in their own traps as they came. Sweat and mud dirtied their arms and faces, but just beneath the filth seemed a glimmer of optimism. After what happened at Hope, where the enemy had sneaked in due to complacency, we were all determined that wasn’t going to be the case here.
‘Do you think it will keep them all out?’
I looked down at Jessica. ‘I hope so,’ I said. ‘It will at least keep them caught up for a while if it doesn’t.’
Jessica turned her eyes up to me. ‘And what do we do then?’
‘Well, then we keep moving.’
‘I’m getting tired of moving. My legs still hurt.’
I let out a low laugh. ‘And so do mine,’ I replied. ‘But as long as we stay ahead of them, then we’ll be fine.’
‘Do they ever get tired?’
I shrugged. ‘Everyone gets tired sooner or later. We’ve just got to make sure they get tired before we do.’ I cleared my throat, making way for the conversation I didn’t want to have. ‘Jess, when they come, you stay with me, okay?’
Jessica nodded. ‘If we stay together, we’ll be fine.’
‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘And you listen to everything I say too, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘And that means everything. You understand that, right?’
Jessica nodded, then clutched onto my arm even firmer than she already did.
I had come to the decision that, if things were to get that desperate, I could hold back a couple of them while Jessica ran. I was her protector. Against everything, I had to keep her safe as long as I physically could. I owed her father that much. From the way she clutched at my arm, I was sure she thought I would end up the same as him too.
‘Do you think they’ll come tonight?’
The question sent dread spreading through me. I couldn’t lie to her, I needed her to be ready. ‘If they’re going to come for us, then yes.’
‘For me, you mean.’
I looked down at Jessica, her face obscured in the dark. I crouched to her height and held her cold hands. ‘You can’t think like that,’ I said. ‘What they did to the people of Hope, they would have done that either way. You heard them yourself, they won’t stop until the world is clean again. Whether you were there or not, those people would have faced the same fate. It’s the cult that’s the problem, Jess, not you.’
She gave a slight nod. ‘Okay.’
I wasn’t convinced. ‘Think of it this way; if you or the cult didn’t exist, who would cause a bigger change to what happened? If you didn’t exist, the cult would still be burning and killing. If the cult didn’t exist, then Hope would still be there, wouldn’t it? It’s the bad things that need cutting out, not the good.’
‘We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?’
I couldn’t tell her an honest answer to that. I pulled her in close and held her, Jessica neatly tucking her head into my neck. ‘Of course we are. We’ve just got to be careful, that’s all. Are you all packed?’
‘Almost.’
‘Go inside and finish,’ I said. ‘Help the others if they need it too. If we need to leave, we’ve got to make sure we’re ready.’
Jessica nodded again, this time more
enthusiastically. ‘Okay, shall I come to find you after?’
‘No, I’ll come to you. I’ve got some bits to finish myself.’
I watched as the shadow which cloaked Jessica fell away as she stepped into the dim light inside, leaving myself alone in the darkness. I had always found something calming about the night; perhaps it was the thought that everyone else should be asleep, or perhaps the calm and quiet air itself. Before the contamination had started, I had always enjoyed my quiet drive home in the early hours of the morning. Not tonight though.
There was something in the air, a tense expectancy of what was to come. It wasn’t just present out here in the quiet, but in the terse conversations between those indoors, the anxious packing of bags. It was contagious.
I took one final deep breath of the cold night air and headed indoors. The corridors and rooms were filled with worried faces. The dim hand-cranked lamps which sat against the walls every few metres threw out fleeting shadows as people worked away. The quiet murmuring from huddled groups spilt out into the hallway; a constant low noise of dread.
I rounded the corridor and proceeded up the stairs to see Thwaite. As I entered the room, I saw that the others were already there. Felix and Sasha stood in silence; Felix gnawing at his fingers and giving a nod in greeting. Sasha held a stoic vigil, her eyes glazed over as she stared at the floor. There were a number of others too, not as able-bodied as the rest of us, but when the stakes were this high I had little doubt Thwaite took all she could get. They talked among themselves, no doubt anxious to hear Thwaite’s plan.
Thwaite stood at the window, as usual, staring out into the darkness beyond it. She held a long length of chain in her hand, the ends of it gently clinking with the breeze which drifted through the open window. Her fingers tightened around it as she turned to face the group.
‘Thank you,’ she said to the room. ‘It’s good to see so many volunteers here. I’m not going to bullshit you, as I’m sure we all know what we are up against. They may not come tonight, they may not come in the morning, if we’re really lucky they may not come at all, but we need to be ready. We need to have a plan.’
The gathered bodies nodded in agreement and grunted in approval. There was a disturbing air of finality around the group which sent a shiver down my spine, as if they all thought of themselves as being consigned to their deaths already.
‘The traps are as prepared as they can be,’ Thwaite continued. ‘The pits, the spikes, the petrol.’ She looked around the room. ‘Of course, we’re going to need someone to light the petrol, someone to volunteer.’
Before anyone else could respond, Sasha spoke up. ‘I’ll do it.’ The glaze had left her eyes and now bore into Thwaite. ‘I’ll light it up.’
Thwaite studied her for a moment. ‘You understand the weight of what you are agreeing to?’ It was very much a kinder description than simply saying that it was in all probability a one-way task.
‘You need someone fit and strong to run out into the field and light it,’ Sasha replied. ‘I’m the strongest and fittest here.’
‘Okay,’ Thwaite said, almost reluctantly. There was never any easy way to send someone to their death. ‘That means you stand the best chance of making it back too.’
Sasha gave an odd little smile but stayed silent. Perhaps she thought of it as a way to avenge her son’s death, she certainly alluded to such on our way back from retrieving the petrol.
‘I need another volunteer,’ Thwaite said, turning her gaze back to the rest of the group. ‘An equally dangerous job. We’re going to make sure that everyone here makes it through the cellars and out the gates on the other side. The cult is going to think they’ve got us cornered and will come down after us.’ Her eyes sparked at the next line. ‘Once we’re all out, we’ll close the gates at the other end, but I need someone to slam shut the entrance of the cellar too. You’ll pour the rest of the petrol into the cellar. Whoever does it needs to stay hidden until they are all in, otherwise...’ her voice trailed off at the thought of the unthinkable. ‘Otherwise, the plan will fail. And I think we all know what that means.’
The group stayed silent for a moment, and I didn’t blame a single one of them. The idea that so many people’s lives were weighing down on you would be enough to daunt even the bravest man. One wrong move, one fuck-up, and the whole plan would come crashing down.
‘I’ll do it,’ a quiet voice said.
I followed the voice to see Felix stood open-mouthed, seemingly shocked that those words had actually come from himself.
‘I’ll do it,’ he repeated, louder this time. ‘I understand how important this is. I won’t fuck it up. I promise.’ His eyes rested on me as he spoke those final words. I gave a respectful nod.
‘Good,’ Thwaite said. She played with the chain which swung from her hands. ‘The rest of you will need to act as guides and ushers in the cellars. You’ve all been down there, it’s dark and nigh-on impossible to find your way through. You will stand at strategic turning points to guide the others then follow through yourselves.’ She tightened the chain in her hands. ‘Once we’re all out, we loop this through the bars of the gate the other side and hold it, trapping them in. Once the petrol trickles through, we’ll light it. Then it’s game over for the cult. Either the flames or the smoke will get them.’
The gathered group stood in silence for a moment. It was an ambitious task, and one that carried a great amount of risk. If it worked, then we would be free of the cult, free to rebuild our lives once more. If not, well, it didn’t bear thinking about.
‘We’ll take turns taking watch from the windows,’ Thwaite said. ‘If there is any movement, any at all, you raise the alarm. Better safe than sorry.’ She pointed to a woman stood near the front of the group. ‘Steph, you take first watch. Wake one of us when you get too tired.’ She looked around the group once more. ‘The rest of you get some rest, we’re all going to need it.’
All of us spilt back out into the corridor, a sombre silence over us. Felix wandered beside me, his face drained of any colour. ‘You’ll do fine,’ I said.
He looked at me, brow raised. ‘What?’
‘With the cellar door. You’ll do fine.’
He offered a weak smile, as if behind it were a flood of tears ready to roll out. ‘I won’t let you down,’ he said, almost trying to convince himself. ‘Or Jessica.’
Those words hit me like a hammer. ‘You don’t have to do this because of what happened.’
‘No, I want to do this,’ he replied. ‘I told you, I want to do some good. I like to think it’s what Diego would have done.’
‘I’m sure he would have been proud,’ I said. ‘Whatever happens, I’ll see you on the other side.’
Jessica stood waiting at the bottom of the stairs, a smile spreading on her face when she saw Felix and I talking together. She gave Felix a wave, who returned a sheepish smile before darting off down one of the darkened corridors.
‘Are you friends again now?’ she asked.
I watched his back as he disappeared into the shadows. ‘Not quite, but I know he’s one of the good guys now.’
‘Wasn’t he one before?’
I had forgotten that Jessica did not know the truth about what had happened for her to be kidnapped. Felix could be dead by the morning, and me too for that matter. I decided that the truth didn’t matter, one last time. ‘He was. He just made a mistake, that’s all. We all do.’
‘As long as you learn from them, that’s what Dad always said.’
‘Wise words. How’s the packing going?’
‘Come see,’ she said, clutching my hand in hers.
She led me through the stone corridors, pointing into the occasional room as we passed, the occupants going over their scant collection of belongings. ‘That’s Helen and Em, I helped them pack their bags. And that’s Dan in there, he came with the second group.’ Her pride shone through her words.
Eventually, we arrived at the room we had. A bag was neatly packed in the co
rner, a couple of pots and a length of rope attached to the side of it. ‘Where did you get those?’
‘A couple of people gave them to me for helping. I thought they might come in handy.’ A beaming smile found her lips.
I smiled and ruffled her head. ‘You’re right, they will. Good job.’
‘Are you staying here now? With me? You don’t have to do anything else, do you?’
I sat down next to the bag, taking the weight off of my feet with a heavy sigh. I smiled. ‘No, nothing else to do now. Not for the moment at least.’
Jessica let out a small cheer. ‘I’ll go get Prism, she’s got to be nearby.’
I watched Jessica run out of the room and down the hall. Prism was good for her, I thought, almost giving her the friend she never had growing up. If anything were to happen to me, then Jessica couldn’t be in better hands.
Jessica came bounding back in, dragging Prism behind her. I glanced up at Prism, the wrinkling around her eyes giving away the smile beneath her scarf.
‘Finally got time to sit down?’ Prism asked.
‘Finally,’ I replied, pulling my boots off. My feet ached at their new freedom, a strange relief coming from them. A strange smell too.
Jessica wrinkled her nose. ‘Maybe put those back on.’
Prism snorted a laugh. ‘I’m with Jess on this one.’
‘Give me a break,’ I replied. ‘I’ve been walking miles in these things. Besides, I’m sure both of your feet stink too.’
‘Well, yeah,’ Jessica replied. ‘Not like that though.’
They sat beside me, the glow of an old hand-crank lantern casting our shadows up the wall. For the briefest of moments, there was silence. It was an odd feeling of tranquillity, the calm before the storm. Perhaps we were all just tired. I knew I was.
It was in that silence that I noticed an odd sensation creeping through me, one I had not felt for a long, long time. Even in silence, we managed to comfort one another. Not too long ago we were complete strangers; untrusting and unsure about each other and the world, but now we were something more. A bonding had come between us, cemented by our struggles. In this cold and lonely world, we were no longer alone. We had each other.