by S G Read
‘You got here then?’
‘Yep. Those creeps are in for a surprise.’ Jericho answered.
Ray joined them. ‘Just to watch eh?’ He asked.
‘Sorry my heart got the better of me this time.’ Barry admitted.
‘Me too.’ Jericho declared.
‘Well don’t just hang about gassing there are bad guys to kill.’ Ray replied and all three moved on to find more horse riders.
A boy of twelve or thirteen ran along and one of the men hit him with a taser. The boy fell to the ground but the man landed soon after with a bullet in him. Another boy running was grabbed by Jericho and hauled to the ground. The man chasing him arrived and Jericho dragged him of his horse. The quick movement of his hand was barely visible but the man clutched his midriff and collapsed on the ground. The boy still lay where he was and Jericho dropped down on to the ground again.
‘Stay put.’ He hissed and moved on.
Men were dragged off their horses all over the place. Two tried to flee but they were soon out of the saddles, this time you could hear the gun fire but as they were the last ones it did not matter.
One by one they all stood up and Jericho walked back to where the boy still lay.
Chapter 15
‘Do you know where the others will go?’ He asked as he helped him up.
The boy nodded. ‘We were told where to meet if we were raided. I saw Peter go down, is he dead?’
‘We will have to see, those Tasers pack a mighty wallop; I know I have been on the end of one of them.’
The injured were taken to one secluded spot, one that could be easily defended and they waited for them to come round.
‘We walked right into that!’ Ray complained. ‘So much for a quiet secluded spot to land.’
‘You weren’t to know that the people we came to save were hiding here boyo.’ Dai retorted. ‘Now at least we can find out just what is going on.’
‘I hope Barry already knows.’ Ray replied and turned to Barry who was cradling the head of a young man of about seventeen.
‘Not all of it, so find out what the boy knows and then I will tell you what I know.’ Barry answered.
‘So what is going on?’ Ray asked the boy, with the rest of them listening intently. ‘Some of you get out there and make sure we don’t get any nasty surprises.’
Dai posted lookouts before the conversation continued.
‘We had our own settlement this end of the island.’ The boy said quietly. ‘We had cattle and chickens for food and milk cows. The other end settlement raided us and took our cattle, then our milkers and chickens until we had to eat rabbits and other things to survive. Not long ago they raided us and took some men. We did not know what for but on the second raid one of our elders heard them talking: And he heard them told to let one go as he was too small to eat at the moment, he was left to grow bigger. That is when we found out that we were to be eaten if we were caught. We had to move from the settlement to try to keep out of their way but they kept finding us and taking the men and women, then they started taking the older children. There are only fifty of us left now!’
‘We are here to stop them’ Ray said trying to assure him. ‘We need to find the others and keep them safe while we sort out the other settlement.’
‘I think it is too late for my mum and dad, they were taken two weeks ago; hit with those things they use and taken away. I tried to stop them but they just pushed me away and said they’d be back for me when I was bigger.’
‘What are their names?’ Ray asked.
‘Theresa and Mark Jennings. I’m William Jennings.’
‘We will look out for them when we have sorted the others out.’ Ray assured him. ‘Okay let us move out, any one who is unable to walk we will carry, we need to find out how many we can get to safety. Lead the way William.’
William led them down a steep slope and along a track which was hard to walk and those carrying someone had to take it slow and easy. At the end of the slope the track split into two and William led them to the left which was toward the sea with no signs of a refuge. Part way along William turned to his right and pushed through a bush to show another path. Now the walking was easier and they were able to speed up, now that there was no danger of falling down into the water.
They came to a cave and William whistled. A youth appeared.
‘Who are they William?’ He asked worriedly.
‘Friends Byron, they killed all the hunters in our sector and carried Busby all the way here.’ William answered.
‘Is he alive?’
‘They zapped him but he will live. They zapped Peter as well!’
‘Why, they let him go last time?’ Byron declared. ‘He is too skinny to eat yet.’
‘So you know what happens to them when they are taken then?’ Ray asked as they moved into the cave.
‘Yes. They take the women for slaves or sex, some they eat but it is mostly the men they eat.’ Byron answered, standing to one side to let them inside. ‘What happens now?’
‘You hide out here with two men with guns to make sure they do not take you while we go and sort them out once and for all!’ Jericho answered.
‘Give me a gun and I’ll sort them out!’ Byron declared.
‘Better to give you a gun and you stay here to protect your friends.’ Ray answered. ‘We’ll go and teach them the error of their ways.’
Two men stayed and one showed Byron how to use the pistol he gave him, the rest headed for their positions a little later than planned. As soon as the reached the top of the slope which shielded the cave they heard gun shots. They flattened against the ground and moved forward to be able to see. They could hear a plane engine as they looked over the top. They saw the plane veer off and heard a man’s voice.
‘What are you trying to do, it was out of range?’
‘I was just trying to bag dinner; it looked like there were two in it.’ The other man answered. ‘It’s coming back I’ll have another go!’
‘You’ll be lucky.’ The other man declared.
The plane flew lower and very even, not banking or wavering and the man aimed up at it. Suddenly his head spurted blood from the back and he fell down dead. The other man panicked and headed for the nearest cover, the same cover Ray and his men were using. Barry was first to react and killed him quickly and quietly.
‘That is for letting him shoot at my daughter.’ He said as he let the man roll down the hill behind them.
‘So you are there then!’ Will called over the radio. ‘Can we get this show on the road then? I am tired of being shot at!’
‘Okay, let’s take up our positions and start moving along the island.’ Ray ordered. ‘Can you see anyone about from up there Will?’
‘Nary a one, but there do seem to be a few bodies strewn about near you lot.’
‘We walked into a situation. You can tell Justine we have hooked up with her dad.’
The men spaced out along the area they were covering while other groups were already spaced out where they should be. It was a large area to cover but with the aerial cover they hoped to spot anyone who tried to sneak through later. Slowly they moved forward until each group encountered the opposition and, taking them by surprise, wiped them out. Their guns were more than a match for the tasers and it showed quite quickly. If one of those facing immanent death turned and fled Will took him out before he had gone too far.
They moved into Niton and made sure it was clear before moving on. They did the same to Chale and St. Lawrence before moving on. The opposition still appeared to know nothing about what was going on. They would find out when the rest started moving across the area above them. The team set out for Bembridge while the rest searched through the smaller villages in their path. Ventnor, usually a thriving holiday resort was deserted but they still searched each and every house and shed thoroughly. A boy ran out yelling that he was too small to eat when he was caught. He was taken back to the cave for his safety by one of the men, as there was n
o fighting. They moved on in a line until the team were ready to go into Shanklin and there they stopped until the other man had returned but Shanklin was as deserted as Ventnor had been. The line moved up until it reached a place called Chillerton where the men there found an underground bunker but when they opened it a shotgun blast nearly took their heads off.
‘What do we do Ray.’ They asked in code over the radio.
‘Have you got a dummy hand grenade with you Robert?’ Ray asked in return.
‘Yes.’ Robert answered.
‘Warn whoever is in there that you are going to throw in a hand grenade to see what happens, then throw it if nothing happens. If they are hiding from the cannibals they might well think you are they. It might be a family.’
‘Will do Ray.’
‘Bring over that box of hand grenades we have a nest of those cannibals in here to clear out.’ Robert called loud enough for the people inside to hear.
‘How long a fuse do you want?’ another man asked.
‘Only five seconds but be ready to shoot anyone who comes out.’ Robert answered.
‘There are no cannibals in here.’ A man called out. ‘We thought you were cannibals!’
‘Easily said. Show your selves so that we can make up our own minds.’ Robert answered.
There was no reply and no movement.
‘I’m waiting.’ Robert added.
‘Come in and get us.’ The man answered.
‘Think about it Andy.’ A woman’s voice cried. ‘Think about the children.’
‘Better dead now with us, than what they have planned.’ Andy replied.
Robert threw in the dummy hand grenade. There was panic inside and Robert pictured the man diving on it to save the children. He waited a few seconds before he spoke.
‘That was a dud, the next one won’t be!’ He warned. ‘It is my job to make sure we get all the cannibals so show yourselves and we will take you to safety, if you are not cannibals.’
An argument raged inside and the men outside listened. The woman was obviously for going out and the man against but who would win?
‘Where are you from?’ The woman called out.
‘Me I’m from Wales maam. I came over with this army because one of the settlements sent people onto the island and they didn’t come back. Another settlement sent a couple of men out here an one of them nearly ended up being eaten, so we came over to get the woman who came, if she is still alive.’
‘I’m from Sussex maam.’ The man with him called in. ‘The woman is a friend of mine and I aim to take her home.’
‘How many other settlements are there?’ The man inside asked.
‘Four to date that we know about. There is the East Anglian settlement, the Kent settlement, my settlement which we call the Nomad settlement and the Welsh settlement. There are a few people in London who send northerners to one of the settlements. I assume there are settlements up north but we have not made contact with any yet.’
‘I’m coming out.’ The man declared.
‘Well don’t bring the popgun with you or you won’t get far I aim to live through this!’ Robert warned.
The man appeared without the gun.
‘You’ll be Andy.’ Robert said as he covered him with his gun. ‘The rest of you come on out and leave all the weapons inside.’
The rest crawled out. There were four children and the woman.
‘How do we know if they are cannibals?’ The man from the 303 settlement asked.
‘I don’t rightly know Peter but he isn’t wearing a scarf. Go in and get the guns and check for scarves.’
Peter crawled in and came back out with the guns. ‘No red scarves.’
‘Do you know St. Catherine’s point?’ Robert asked.
‘What sort of question is that?’ Andy replied. ‘I live on the island. My kids play near St. Catherine’s point.’
‘I’ll take that as a yes then. I will arrange for you to go there under escort to where the others are.’ Robert replied.
‘There are only two of you.’ Andy declared. ‘Who is going to escort us?’
‘The same two who would shoot you down without my clearance.’ Robert answered and pointed up.
The others heard him talk what sounded like gibberish into the radio and heard the plane approach.
‘He’ll watch to make sure you and your family get there.’ Robert announced and waved to Justine at the controls.
‘We aren’t really a family.’ The woman answered. ‘The plague took my family and Andy’s wife. We just seemed to have collected the children since then.’
‘I’m sorry for you losses but we need to move on and you need to get going.’ Robert replied.
The six hurried away and the line moved on. Now it was getting thin as the island was getting wider but as soon as they had searched Sandown the team coming from Bembridge would be able to join the line and hopefully before any one knew what they were doing. They passed through Lake and reached Sandown which had a few people hiding there, mainly women and children. They had to find transport to take them down to St. Catherine’s point and wait for the driver and his mate to come back before they moved on. At Sandown they stopped. The line now spread across from Sandown to Atherfield in a straight line. With time moving on Ray ordered the line to wait until the Bembridge group met them at Sandown. They soon arrived and they moved on, Ryde was inhabited by cannibals but the battle was short and they were taken by surprise but there was a radio in one hotel with someone asking what was going on and who was attacking, they knew they were there now!
The team made sure Ryde was empty and moved up to the A3055 then they swept forward relentlessly while there was still light to see. As they moved toward the centre of the island Ray’s line was added to when the two lines overlapped. This allowed them to move forward from Atherfield and they moved on but stopped just past Brightstone on the edge of the forest.
Will watched the six head down to St. Catherine’s point and made sure they were met at the other end before rejoining the others. By then four boats had left port and were headed through the Solent, obviously to get behind the line and Justine flew to intercept. The red scarves were prominent on the boats and they fired at the plane as soon as it came near but Justine zoomed down toward the leading boat to let Will shoot at it. He had to fire quickly but two men fell on to the deck which caused the others to hide. Justine chose then to turn back over the boat so that Will could drop a hand grenade. He pulled the pin and let it drop but it exploded before it landed. He reset the fuse and they flew over again, this time into a hail of bullets but they did not turn away. The hand grenade hit the deck and bounced out into the water before it exploded.
‘It is supposed to blow the boat up!’ Justine declared with blood oozing from a wound in her ear.
‘A little higher then.’ Will ordered.
This time the grenade exploded as it hit the deck and the boat shuddered.
‘Let’s get the next one.’ Will cried waving a hand toward the boat he wanted.
When they finally blew up the second boat the other two turned and were heading for the coast.
‘We can let them go.’ Will declared, as he bandaged a wound on his leg. ‘They are in for a surprise.’
The line moved into the outskirts of Newport from Chide and stopped as the fighting increased. The rest of the line stayed put as the idea was to drive them back toward the Needles. They were expected to try to go round the attackers but they were not going to manage it.
Peter and his team moved into Newport in the face of stiff opposition but they were better armed and also carried grenades. If they could get close enough they moved in and threw grenades, if not they tried one of Jericho’s missiles; that usually did the trick. The cannibals were pushed back and out of Newport, they fled into the growing gloom. Once Newport was declared clear, that part of the line stopped for a rest. They had not reached the prison yet. Now the top of the line moved on Cowes. Cowes took a lot more effort and casualties
but as night fell it was theirs. The line stopped and settled down for the night but now was the time they might be outflanked, that meant no one slept. The cannibals were left with a quarter of the island, they either went into the prison, hid in another town, tried to get out over the sea or break through the cordon. They did find people locked inside one building after they had cleared it, there were men, women and children.
Ray had wanted it to be all over before dark but it was not to be. They were forced to light big fires along the line to highlight anyone trying to come through. Ray imagined that the red scarves were history by now and toyed with the idea of his side wearing a different colour scarf but in the end ordered ‘no movement’ ‘not even to pee’ that had to be done where they lay. They just had to remember which side not to roll on to. Each man had his fire to tend but that had to be notified before the man stood up and he had to be down again as soon as possible. To say the night was uncomfortable, was an understatement but it worked and ten men were shot trying to sneak through the line by Brightstone forest. With morning came relief, they were tired and felt unclean but they could stand up at last, if they were careful. The forest was difficult and Ray ordered them to stop while the line caught up with them. They had found the prison empty and unlocked and guessed who the cannibals might be. Now they had to sweep through Parkhurst forest but with the narrowing of the island the line became more robust. They took their time on the forest to make sure no one had gone to ground and then swept down almost encircling the other forest. Now they started into it from the south and made sure no one escaped. With that clear they were on their way to Totland and were hearing reports of boats trying to land and the men being killed or wounded. Finally they stood on the needles and the island was as clear as they could make it. There were survivors and others who had hidden from the cannibals and there had been casualties. They made up patrols to travel round and collect anyone they saw, including those hiding on St. Catherine’s point and they were all taken to Newport. They had seen a boat land near the point and they had taken them all prisoner with guns and the cannibals own tasers.