Walled In

by David Owain Hughes

  Nobody said anything, just drank their tea in silence until June spoke.

  “You two must be tired,” she said. “I’ll go and make up the spare bed for you, Maria. Do you mind the sofa, Jeff?”

  “No, not at all. But what about the children? Where will they sleep tonight?”

  “Well Amy can share with Maria, that’s if she doesn’t mind?” June suggested.

  “That’s fine,” Maria said.

  “Good,” June said. “Dafydd could sleep in the living room with you, Jeff. We have a recliner one of you could use.”

  Jeff nodded. “I’ll be able to keep my ear out for any trouble in the night.”

  “I don’t think there will be much need for that, but if it makes you feel better…” June said – then excused herself to go and tend to the spare room, and get the blankets and pillows that Jeff and Dafydd would need for their night’s sleep.

  Chapter 15

  Jeff placed the SA80 by the side of the reclining chair, so it was in easy reach in case of any trouble, and got back into the chair. He leant back, tilting the recliner backwards, clicking it into place.

  He stretched his leg out, which was ringing in pain. June had stitched the wound before turning in for the night, giving Jeff painkillers to help ease it. They had worn off, leaving him in agony. But it was better that it was done.

  Opposite him, Dafydd lay stretched out on the sofa. Jeff could just about make out the lad’s features in the dim light.

  Jeff sat there listening to the boy’s rhythmic breathing, and was glad that Dafydd was asleep, for he didn’t know what to say to the youngster. Everyone had gone to bed over an hour ago, but Jeff could not sleep. In that hour he had got up and paced the living room over and over. He’d even gone out to the kitchen, and peered through the gaps in the boards over the windows – he was paranoid.

  Now, lying in the chair again, he tried to sleep. But all he could think about was how dark it was around the house. The night had moved in fast, even though it was the summer. By eight o’clock the sun had gone, and the night had set in. Nothing across his sister’s farmland could be seen, and that had worried Jeff. He could picture the infected, skulking behind the fish tanks or hiding in the numerous barns and sheds. Would the plane make it to the morning? He got up.

  Jeff grabbed the gun and headed back out to the kitchen on tiptoes, not wanting to disturb Dafydd. What was he hoping to see outside anyway? Jeff put his face to the boards on the kitchen window, and looked out: the moon was out from behind a cluster of clouds that were in the sky earlier, and Jeff could see an array of flickering stars. A scant mist had moved in from the sea, and now covered the farm and plane. The light bulb in the sky gave an eerie, milky glow to the thin mist.

  Jeff could just picture the infected moving through the haze right now, like zombies marching through a fog banked graveyard. He squinted, thinking he saw something moving out by the plane. A man. A man with a long hilted weapon. No. No, Can’t be. It’s nothing – just my imagination running wild with me, Jeff thought. Then, in the denseness of the night, the figure turned toward him, and pointed a long, bony finger at Jeff, which made him shiver, and coy away from the window.

  “Can’t be,” he said. “How could it have seen me?”

  He looked again; the thing was still there, pointing its finger, before disappearing into the night. Jeff’s back found a wall, and he almost screamed out.

  “Just like the one with the baseball bat in Twsc,” he said. “They know…they can…sense us.”

  “Jeff?” a voice whispered.

  Jeff turned his gun on James, who recoiled out of the way.

  “Oh, Jesus. Jesus, God,” Jeff said.

  “What the hell you doing, man?”

  “I…” He didn’t want to tell James about his new discovery, just in case the man scoffed again. “I thought I heard movement outside, that’s all. What are you doing up anyway, James?”

  “I heard you, I’m guessing. Unless we both heard the same noise?”

  Jeff had lied about hearing a noise, so he knew that James had heard him.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake anyone. I guess I’m just edgy with what I’ve been through.”

  “Ach, don’t worry your wee self, Jeff. Kind of jumpy myself.”

  James’ mix of Welsh and Scottish lingo made him smile, and relaxed him somewhat. Jeff had noticed that his sister had also adapted some Scottishisms too.

  “Come,” he said, leading Jeff to the kitchen table. “Sit yourself down.”

  Jeff was reluctant to go anywhere near the window, but allowed himself to sit.

  “Got a nice bottle of Welsh whisky here,” James said, and laughed under his breath. “Shipped up from Hirwaun’s distillery.”

  He got two small glasses down from a shelf above the kitchen sink. Old bone china plates and cups lined the shelf down, and glass jars with old-fashioned prints on them indicating which Tea, Coffee and Sugar were in.

  The tumblers clattered together as James placed them on the table. The cork made a hollow popping noise as it was pulled from the bottle. The strong smell filled Jeff’s nose, and brought tears to his eyes. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but he felt the time called for one. James gave good measures to both glasses, before returning the cork back to the bottle.

  “I’m glad you’re awake, to be honest,” James said. “The leg okay?”

  “A little bit of pain, but I’m sure the whisky will help. What’s on your mind?” Jeff said.

  “Yes, well, I’ve been thinking long and hard about what you said earlier. About the infected getting smarter.”

  “Okay.”

  James took a slug of his whisky, half emptying the glass. Jeff followed suit, and pulled his lips back due to the brute strength of the fiery liquid.

  “Ha! Good stuff, hey?”

  “You could say that,” Jeff wheezed.

  “Right, taking into account what you said earlier, maybe leaving the U.K would be a sensible move.”

  “I think it is our only option, to be fair,” Jeff said.

  “Maybe, but I think it is our safest. I would have stayed here, locked up nice and tight, but your stories about them getting smart rattled me, got me thinking about your wee plane out there.”

  “About flying to an island?”

  “Yeah. Out to the Orkney.”

  “Do you know the small islands?” Jeff asked.

  “Yes, some better than others. But I have one in mind in particular.”

  “Which one?”

  “North Ronaldsay.”

  “North Ronaldsay? That’s miles out. It’s the most northern of the Orkney isle.”

  “That’s right, Jeff, lad. And not only miles out, but also the smallest of the islands out there.”

  Jeff thought about this for a moment, and liked the idea.

  “Is there any property there?”

  “I used to fish with the farmer who lives out there,” James said. “He’s the lighthouse keeper there.”

  “That’s great,” Jeff said.

  “We could head out there first thing tomorrow. Pack up everything we can take from here, and go.”

  “Sounds like a good plan,” Jeff said. “But we could give it a couple of days before leaving.”

  James looked at him puzzled. “Why would we want to do that, Jeff? You were all for rushing away from here earlier.”

  “I know, but I just thought we could prepare ourselves first. I’d like to give you and June some basic flying lessons, because if anything should happen to me, you lot would be stranded.”

  “Hmm, good thinking, Jeff. I never thought about that. Having someone else capable of flying would be handy.”

  “So we are agreed that you and June will learn to fly first, before we leave?” Jeff asked.

  “Agreed,” James said and swallowed his whisky, as did Jeff. “Another?”

  “Yeah, okay, why not? It’s definitely helping with the pain in my leg.” James filled the glasses half full again, and smiled
over at Jeff. Jeff knew the whisky would help his mind to switch off, and was glad of the big measures. “What about your neighbours, the MacDouglases?”

  “I never thought about them. Would there be enough room to take them, too?”

  “How many of them? June did say earlier.”

  “Six of them: Andrew and his wife, Siobhan, and their four boys – Clyde, the oldest. Kai and Ramzi the twins, and Angus, who’s only three.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. Do you think they would want to come with us?”

  “I can’t see why not. Andrew would only keep them all locked away if there was no means of escape.”

  “Okay. We’ll go over there tomorrow and speak with him?”

  James nodded as he drank his drink.

  “Right, I best try and get some sleep,” Jeff said.

  “Me too,” James said.

  Both men got up from the table, and Jeff waited while James put the glasses into the sink and the whisky in the pantry. As they headed into the living room, they saw Dafydd, who was sitting up on the sofa, sobbing.

  “What’s the matter, son?” James asked.

  “It’s okay, James,” Jeff said. “I’ll take it from here. You get yourself to bed now, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Are you sure, Jeff?”

  “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine. Now go on, get yourself off to bed.”

  “Okay then. Night both.”

  “Night,” Jeff said – Dafydd said nothing. Jeff went back to the recliner, and lay down. “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really, like,” Dafydd said.

  “I know what you are going through, Dafydd.”

  “Do you?”

  “Of course I do, most of us in this house do.”

  The youngster sniffled and snorted.

  “It’s not my dad I’m upset about; it’s my mam, like.”

  Jeff got up, and went over to the boy. He knew he was taking a chance, but he sat down next to him, and put his arm around Dafydd’s shoulders.

  “Hey, it’s okay. We’re all here for each other, but you have to let us help. You have to put your emotional barrier down, and let us in. I’m not going to hurt you. None of us are, Dafydd.”

  “My mother was a germ warfare scientist at Twsc army barracks.” Dafydd felt Jeff’s back go rigid. “What is it?” Dafydd asked.

  “Your mother worked at that place?”

  “Yeah. She hid the fact from me and my dad,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes using his jumper’s sleeve.

  “Why should she want to do that?”

  “She had to, like. She weren’t allowed to say anything about what was going on over there.”

  “She told you this?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bloody hell. Did she tell you what was going on over there?”

  “She said was they were building a new weapon.”

  “And that’s all she said?”

  “No, she said more. She told us that this weapon they were working on involved a virus or something, and it escaped the lab.”

  “Jesus, God.”

  Dafydd shrugged out of Jeff’s grip, and looked the older man in the eyes. “It’s not her bloody fault that it got free, like. She was only doing her job!”

  “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m sure your mother had nothing to do with it,” Jeff said, trying to calm the teenager.

  “Sorry. And I’m sorry for the way I acted and spoke to you and Maria earlier – I know you’re only trying to help me.”

  This made Jeff smile; he felt he was finally getting through to the youth.

  “So what happened to your mother?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Jeff decided not to push the issue.

  “You any good with that thing?” Jeff asked, referring to Dafydd’s bolt-action.

  “Yeah, not bad, see. My dad loved that 410 shotgun. It was the first gun he ever bought. He always used to say he would give it to me one day.”

  Jeff put his arm back round the boy’s shoulders, and pulled him in.

  “I lost my wife, and I’m awfully scared I’m going to lose my sister,” Jeff said. “That scares me more than anything in this world.”

  “She has you here now, Jeff. And her husband. Nothing bad can happen to her.”

  “I hope you’re right about that,” Jeff said.

  “What was James talking to you about in the kitchen, then?”

  “Oh, nothing really. We were just wondering whether to make for one of the Orkney Islands.”

  “I think maybe that would be a good idea.”

  “Yeah?” Jeff asked.

  “Yep. Not going to be many people on them islands. We would be safe.”

  “Nice to know you’re on board with the plan, Dafydd.”

  “I heard James talk about that family, too.”

  “The MacDouglas family?”

  “Yeah, that’s the ones. Them.”

  “James seems to think they will come with us if they know we have a plane.”

  “Will it take all of us?” Dafydd asked.

  “It should do. We may be a bit weighed down, but that just means it will take us a bit longer to get over to the Orkney Islands.”

  “Can you teach me how to fly?”

  “You heard that too, did you?”

  Dafydd blushed, and couldn’t maintain eye contact with Jeff.

  “It’s okay,” Jeff said. “I’ll give you some lesson, but first I want James and June to learn, okay?”

  He beamed, “Okay. Deal.”

  “Deal,” Jeff said. “Right, now let’s get some sleep, or we won’t be good for anything in the morning.”

  Jeff got up, and went over to the candle to blow it out. He returned to the recliner, the pain in his leg minor, and slumped down in it, covering his clothed body with a thick duvet his sister had given to him.

  “Nighty-night, Jeff,” Dafydd whispered in the darkness.

  “Night,” Jeff said, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him.

  *

  Dafydd woke up the next morning to voices coming from the kitchen. He recognised one speaker as Maria. He looked over to the recliner, and saw that Jeff’s duvet was now folded and sitting in a neat bundle on the seat.

  Dafydd stretched his arms, yawned and settled back down. He could now hear Amy speaking, but he couldn’t make out what they were talking about. His nose filled with the smell of frying bacon, and the noise of pans and china clicking tuned his ears.

  He didn’t want to move from the warmth of his blanket, and instead lay there letting the smells from the kitchen fill him, making his mouth water.

  Dafydd thought about the conversation he’d had with Jeff last night. He felt guilty again about how he had spoken and reacted to them all at the hangar. Then his bladder forced all thoughts from his head – it was time to get up.

  Throwing the duvet to one side, he practically jumped from his lying position to a standing one. He arched his back, yawned again and ruffled his shaggy hair. He walked out of the living room. There was a rumble coming from somewhere in the building, and he realised it must be the generator – June had told them that she put in on from time to time to get some things done, like bathing and cooking food.

  Dafydd entered the kitchen and saw Maria standing by the oven, keeping an eye on the sausages that were browning nicely. The bacon was stacked on a plate with black pudding and mushrooms. Amy was sitting at the table, and Gypsy was in her basket.

  “Morning, Dafydd,” Maria said.

  Amy followed suit – “Morning.”

  “Hey,” he said. “Breakfast smells lush. Where’s everyone else, then?”

  “Jeff took June and James out for flying lesson. They shouldn’t be much longer; they went out early this morning.”

  “Sorry, I have to pee,” he said, and darted off to the bathroom.

  Amy giggled. “Boys!”

  Maria smiled and turned back to the sausages that were ready to come out of the
pan. She placed them all on the plate and put the plate in the oven to keep all the food warm. They shouldn’t be much longer, Maria thought.

  “How long before we can eat?” Amy asked Maria.

  “Not much longer.”

  “I’m starving, I am.”

  Maria smiled, “I know you are.”

  The flush on the toilet startled Maria, and then she realised that it was just Dafydd.

  “Duw, I needed that – I was bursting.”

  “Eww,” Amy giggled out.

  “Nice,” Maria said.

  Dafydd smiled and sat at the table opposite Amy. “Problem with that?” he said.

  “Yeah, it’s disgusting, like.”

  “That’s boys for you,” Maria said.

  “Charming,” Dafydd said, almost laughing now.

  “Well you asked for it,” Amy said, poking her tongue out at the boy.

  “Watch a bwganbran don’t come out of the fields and pull your tongue out,” Dafydd said.

  “A what?” Maria asked.

  “A bwganbran – it means scarecrow in Welsh,” Dafydd explained.

  “I knew that,” Amy said. “I went to a Welsh school too.”

  “Then you know how evil they are then, right?”

  “Scarecrows are not evil. They are made of hay, like. What’s so evil, and scary, about that?”

  “Okay, don’t believe me then.”

  Maria could see doubt starting to creep into Amy’s eyes, and could sense her starting to get worried.

  “Right, that’s enough, Dafydd.”

  “Oh, come on, I almost had her then.”

  “Nah, you didn’t,” Amy said.

  Dafydd shrugged his shoulders.

  “Can you get the teapot off the fire for me please, Dafydd?” Maria asked.

  “Yeah, sure thing. But didn’t you just use the kettle this morning? They have the generator running.”

  “They don’t have one,” Maria informed him.

  “Ha-ha,” Dafydd laughed. “Us city folk ain’t used to living like this, ma’am.”

  Amy sniggered.

  So did Maria.

  Then he got up, walked over to where the pot was hanging over the fire, and took it down. He put it in the centre of the table. Maria was busy getting mugs off the shelves. She handed them to Dafydd two at a time for him to place. Then Maria got cutlery out, and again handed them to the boy.