by S G Read
As the army did not know who was who, they let the children choose good men from all those left or at least men who had not joined the cannibals. They also chose the women who had been held prisoner to try to pick out anyone who has slipped through the net. With their jury selected they just had to parade anyone in front of them for an instant decision. Justice was just as quick for those they pointed out as part of the cannibal element.
Justine and Will still flew over the island after being patched up during the night on the mainland, they had patrols beneath them who were going where they directed to pick up anyone they had missed in the sweep. They were all taken to Newport for inspection and, as in the case of children, to be looked after properly.
One by one the surviving cannibals were dealt with, the same as the clan had been and that night Justine flew food in for a feast and celebration. It was the first time Barry and Justine had met for some time.
‘Hi daddy.’ Justine said when she saw him. ‘You know you were against me have my ears pierced?’
‘Yes.’ Barry answered suspiciously.
‘Well I forgot to duck.’ She lifted her hair to show a torn ear lobe.
‘It will get better.’ Barry said as he held her. ‘When it does we’ll talk again about ear piercing.’
‘No way!’ Justine declared. ‘It hurts like hell.’
Barry held her back for a second. ‘It probably does at that.’ He answered. ‘That is why I never had it done but language like that will soon find the other one pierced.’
She smiled. ‘Sorry daddy. Did you kill many?’
‘A few. Did you?’
‘Me? Nary a one but Will sorted a few out! He said he would give me lessons, if that is alright with you?’
‘What sort of lessons?’
She looked up at him. ‘Don’t be silly what sort do you think? He’s too old for anything else.’
Barry laughed.
‘From the mouths of babes.’ Will complained.
‘Well you keep saying you are.’ Ray replied. ‘If you keep saying it someone will believe you!’
The coast watchers reported in with the numbers of people who had tried to escape and failed and those who had made it. The ones who had made it past them were quickly dealt with by Will and Justine, they had been quite busy.
‘So what happens now?’ One of the few remaining men on the island asked.
‘Who are you?’ Ray asked.
‘Andy sykes.’
‘Well Andy you have to start afresh from today and try to make this island work if you want to stay on it.’
‘It is my home.’ Andy replied.
‘Well there are a lot of children to feed and there will be more, I am sure Charles lot will send out a few things and come and keep an eye on you.’ Ray guessed and then turned to Charles. ‘Did you find the woman we came to get Charles?’
‘Yes thank you and now she is free to choose she wants to stay and she wants to wed so we will have a wedding while we are here. Will you do the honours Ray? I hear you have done that sort of thing before.’
‘They were funerals.’ Ray retorted.
‘Same sort of thing, makes it more important if only one man does it!’
Ray shook his head in amazement. ‘Well, if that is what they want then they shall have it! Someone find a church, so that I can read up on weddings.’
That night they celebrated knowing that the cannibals were beaten. There may be a few left in hiding but the islanders were wary now and had guns, Ray and co had seen to that. Some men were thinking of staying on the island just to keep an eye on things, while a few wanted to stay and make a life.
The party continued until late into the night and then they had a well overdue sleep. Ray was awake and rehearsing his lines by ten am but he was not happy with some so he altered it to make more sense to him. At midday they had a wedding ceremony and the woman who had been a prisoner married another prisoner. Had the rescue come a day later, he might well have been eaten!
With the wedding over and Andy becoming the new leader of the island they all sat down to discuss the future, now that they had one. There was a wind farm along the coast which Will had spotted and he thought getting power out to them would not be a problem after he had done the same for his own settlement. With power came a better life as they could freeze things when food was plentiful, to eat when it was not.
The leaders all pledged to help where they could and by noon the next day Ray was on his way home but this time by boat across the water. They were picked up and taken to their coach which had been refuelled for the trip and by night time they were all sitting in the dining room talking about the attack on the island.
Ray sought out Ralph to find out how he had got on with Myfanwy’s blood.
‘I have made more serum and this time I hope it works or we will be suffering with the plague for ever more.’ Ralph answered. ‘I need to go to the Eden Project in the next couple of days will that be alright?’
‘Go for it. Take them some spare serum as well for the next baby and show them what to do.’
‘I’ll show Dai, he looked after Myfanwy, when she should have died, he saved her. I save with what I know; he used his love and just wouldn’t let her die!’
‘Powerful thing love Ralph. Especially since this thing has struck and man has stooped to about as low as he can get.’
‘I hate to think what else some will get up to!’
‘Is there anything else?’ Ray asked.
‘It won’t be fun finding out if there is.’
Ray returned to the others and sought out Will. ‘How is your leg?’
‘Not bad for an old man.’ Will answered.
‘Are you ever going to let me forget I said that?’ Justine cried from across the table.
‘See what sort of lessons I give you.’ Will retorted.
‘I can be patient.’ Justine answered and ducked as Will’s hat flew over her head.
‘I want to get us hooked up to the wind farm as soon as possible.’ Ray continued, ignoring the devilment.
‘Give me a gang and a lift that will get them up a pylon and we’ll start.’
‘Go out and get what you want tomorrow and we will start the next day if you know where to get what you want.’
‘I know where most of it will be but some will be hard, we might have to use hoists to get the workers up to where they have to be!’ Will answered.
‘What do I do tomorrow?’ Jethro asked.
‘Start on the control room where the power is arriving, Will will give you an idea what it should be like and how big it should be.’
‘The new canteen is going to take a long time like this.’ Jethro complained and went off to bed.
Will did the same as he would be up early in the morning. Ray stopped up long enough for Clem to come out of the bathroom so that he could have a long soak in the bath before going to bed and reading.
The light shining through the window told him he had not closed the curtains last night and the sun was shining brightly outside. He toyed with the idea of closing the curtains and going back to sleep but decided against it. He dressed and walked down for breakfast. Some were eating and some were already out working. He sat down opposite Clem who did not look well.
‘Poorly are we?’ He asked.
‘Been a bit sick.’ Clem answered.
‘Done it then?’ Ray asked.
‘I reckon. Do baby’s heads really come out of there?’ She pointed below.
‘Fraid so.’
‘But they have huge heads!’
‘They do.’
‘You aren’t helping you know.’
‘It is a good job we have Ralph and Donna or I would have to sew you young girls shut until you were big enough to give birth naturally.’
‘I shall give birth like everyone else does!’ Clem declared.
‘I’ll ask you again nearer the day.’ Ray replied and winked.
He left Clem sitting there feeling sorry for herself and
went out to see what was happening. Will’s team were already out getting what they needed to connect them to the wind farm and the rest were working on the new power house. As if in protest the generator coughed and died. Ray found himself going out to find more diesel for it, no one had bothered to check the level.
Each journey was longer and longer now as they used up the nearby supplies. Clem came out while he was getting the lorry started and jumped in beside him when it was started.
‘I’ll be your bodyguard.’ She declared. ‘It will be a bit like old times.’
They drove out and saw Ralph drive out the gate before them with two men as an escort.
‘Where is he going?’ She asked a little annoyed.
‘To Wales to save a newborn baby, if the latest serum works.’ Ray answered. ‘Donna is still here but I don’t think you will need either of them for a few months yet. Pick a place to go to.’
Clem consulted the map. ‘I think Mayfield sounds good, plenty of oil there!’
‘Mayfield it is then!’
When they reached Mayfield they found a thin winding road going right through the middle of it and were surprised when a man ran out and flagged them down. Clem drew her gun and cocked it without thinking, while Ray slowed down to see what he wanted. He was unarmed but it could always be an ambush, so he too had his gun hidden but ready.
‘Can we help?’ He asked when he had wound the window down.
‘My girl has just given birth, we were so happy but it has the plague!’ The man blurted out, he was obviously very distressed.
Ray picked up the handset to the radio.
‘Ralph we need you at a place called Mayfield just in the edge of Sussex, it is a chance to try your serum without going to Wales.’ He announced.
‘On my way.’ Ralph called back. ‘Whereabouts?’
‘We are in the high street at the moment.’ He leant out the window. ‘Where is the baby?’
‘In the hotel.’ The man answered.
‘It is in the hotel in the middle of the high street Ralph.’ Ray parked the tanker and followed the man inside while Clem stayed put with the doors locked.
He was taken to a room where a new born baby lay and looked very sick.
‘Help is on the way lass.’ He said reassuringly. ‘We have a serum which might save your baby.’
Outside Clem was getting a little concerned and people were appearing out of the buildings. She tooted the horn. Ray looked out the window.
‘Who are all those people?’ He asked.
‘People have been turning up here for some time, food is a bit awkward but we are growing what we can. We have a few good recipes for dogs.’ The man answered.
Ray went down to allay Clem’s fears and they were soon talking to the other people. Twenty minutes later Ralph arrived with his bodyguard. Ray showed him up to the room where the baby lay and left him to it. He decided not to raid Mayfield for oil as they would need all they had and carried on talking to the others while Ralph tried to save the baby. Ralph emerged an hour later.
‘It is up to the serum now. I have a drip in her and she is still with us. I will be here a few days.’
‘Okay Clem and I will go and find some oil from somewhere else and go and get the generator going.’
They drove of giving the others a wave as they went.
‘Nice to meet a group of people who don’t want to hump you, eat you or generally be bad to you.’ Ray said as they drove away.
‘Talk for yourself, I had a few offers and it all involved humping!’ She declared.
Ray laughed. ‘They sound normal enough to me. It is a good job I’m not younger.’
They drove a long way before they filled up with diesel and hurried back to restart the generator, after all they did not want the deep-freeze to start defrosting. As soon as the generator was running Ray loaded up James’s car ready to go back to Mayfield. Despite her offers for a good humping Clem climbed in as well but this time James came along for the ride.
The baby was still alive and the sight of food cheered everyone up. The hotel kitchen was soon busy cooking the food which would otherwise go off, the tinned food they kept for later.
It was dark when they drove home and Ray sought out Will and Jethro to find out how things had gone.
Will was sitting in the library reading when Ray found him.
‘Any news Will?’
‘We ran a trench from the new power shed across to the pylon we are going to connect it to and dropped the cable in it. Tomorrow we will haul the end up and connect it in place of the link cable so that only we get the power. Then we go to the end of that pylon run and cross connect to the next pylon run. That way we will have a run all the way back to the wind farm ready for when we connect up. The power shed has to be up and running before we connect it up or it might be a bit lively when I do it.’
‘How far did Jethro and his team get?’
‘The footings are in and the wall is started. He reckoned to have it finished in four days unless we want the inside plastered?’
‘Any point in that?’ Ray asked.
‘Not really, it will just make it look nice.’
‘Then tell him not to bother. Will there be enough power?’
‘At 80 mega watts per tower there should be. I can also send some down to Matilda and up to London if we are careful what we leave connected.’
‘And Mayfield?’
‘I heard about that, how is the baby?’
‘So far so good, I am going back over there tomorrow. I hope the little one survives then at least we will know we can beat the plague.’
‘I can route some power over to them from one of the pylon runs and connect it up for them, I might be able to send some out to the East Anglia mob.’ Will declared.
‘Not a bad thing, if you can do it but we will need to train up a team who can go out and service the towers, that is if you have to service them.’
‘Oh they need looking after. They have moving parts and they have to be kept in good trim or we will get nothing.’
He let Will return to reading his book.
‘Isn’t that the book you were reading last week?’ He asked when he saw the cover.
‘It is. It is one of the gains of getting old, reading a book takes longer and longer. As soon as I start my eyes close and I get to read very little, what I do read I am unsure about so I have to read it again when I wake up.’
He left him reading, still with his eyes open and decided to watch a film, the film, and think about Miriam while he watched it. Later on Clem joined him and sat quietly, as he sat there with tears rolling down his cheeks. She said nothing, just watched the film next to him and then they both went to bed.
Clem was sitting in James car waiting for Ray to finish his breakfast in the morning. James was working with Jethro and not coming to Mayfield but Clem wanted to see if the baby survived, she had a vested interest now.
The news at Mayfield was the same, the baby was alive and fighting the plague. If it was still alive in the morning it would be a good sign. Their greeting was different when they arrived. People came out to say hello and it was like any other day in the past.
They drove back to work at the settlement. Will had sent men to connect the wire to the top of the pole and then gone with Justine to see how easy it would be to connect other people.
Jericho had a message from Roberta and he went off there to try again, he took two men with him and they were going to catch fish before returning to the settlement. Ray thought he would take some fresh fish to Mayfield for a surprise.
By the time Will came back the pylon was connected and they all moved off to connect the pylon Will had marked two fields away. This meant another trench and a lot more cable but there was no problem with that.
Ray and Clem went up on to the wall and used an electric powered buggy to go right round to where Tom was on duty at the front gate.
‘It would be a lot quicker if you sorted out a way of getting up here.
’ Tom declared when they arrived.
‘True but it gave me a chance to inspect the wall right round.’ Ray answered. ‘While Clem was busy enjoying herself.’
‘I don’t feel sick this morning.’ Clem declared.
‘What do you think, you were just ill then?’ Ray asked.
‘I’ll find out I suppose.’ Clem answered. ‘Do we have to stop doing it just in case?’
‘No, you won’t hurt the baby if there is one.’ Tom answered.
Clem looked at him in surprise.
‘Just because my legs don’t work it doesn’t mean the rest doesn’t work either.’ He answered with an all knowing smile. ‘I had four kids before this plague struck. One before I was stuck in this chair and three after. It’s not easy mind!’
Outside an elephant appeared out of the trees.
‘Good morning Nelly.’ Tom called down and threw her a bun.
She picked it up and ate it then waited for another.
‘Only one more and that is your lot.’ Tom called down and threw her another.
She walked away again.
‘How do you know she is a she?’ Ray asked.
‘Only four legs.’ Clem answered.
‘And she is pregnant.’ Tom declared. ‘She is getting bigger in all the right places.’
Jericho and his team found the boat where they had left it and took it round to where they were going to refuel it before going back up the Thames and out into the sea. Jericho knew the area and they were soon hauling in fish. They stopped at the mooring they had used before and carried it all up to the sheds above. They started the icemaker while Jericho found a moped and left them to pack the fish while he sorted out business. He took some fish but was soon upstairs with Roberta. He had to admit he was starting to enjoy the time he spent with her.