Light At The End | Book 2 | Light To Dark

by Benson, Tom

  Sandy approached when he had the opportunity. “Bill, two weeks before the big mission means we’ll have to make plans for that other thing we had in mind.”

  “I know, mate, and I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.”

  “Do you still want to play it the way we discussed—two of us pay a visit, and then you do a one-man O.P.?”

  “Unless one of you guys can come up with an improvement, I also think we can remove one phase.”

  “I talked to Flint about it when we were setting up the firing range the other day. Our only worry is that you’d be out there alone overnight and neither of us is comfortable with the idea.”

  Bill shook his head, dismissing Sandy’s concern for him. “I’ve come up with one slight amendment to avoid awkward questions and to allay any suspicions about the three of us being involved in something secretive. Have a word with Flint, and if you can get away together, I’ll meet both of you in about half an hour along at the main doors.”

  “Okay, mate, we’ll see you there.”

  While several people were still standing or sitting around chatting about the plan for the big adventure, Bill quietly told Fiona about his meeting. She wasn’t happy about the subterfuge but accepted the importance of the three men planning without involving anybody else.

  Half an hour later, Bill, Sandy and Flint met in the shadows at the huge barricaded inner doors far from where anyone else might wander on an evening stroll. It didn’t take long for Bill to explain the slightly revised plan and it met with approval by his two companions.

  .

  Tuesday 19th July

  Early in the morning, a group of eight were standing beside the cafeteria door waiting for Calvin. Not surprisingly, three of the people were the military men. After a brief explanation of the session, Calvin conducted a warm-up. He then used the broad main road within the mountain as the exercise area.

  Due to the physical effort being performed daily on various projects, most of the community had maintained a basic fitness, so Calvin’s regime was designed to push the volunteers.

  “Today was not only easy,” Calvin said, “it was an introduction to how each morning session will work. Over the next two weeks, we’ll increase effort by going outside to build up strength and endurance on the mountainside.”

  When the group disbanded after the session, they were all grateful for the auto-dry showers which they’d become so accustomed to using after a day’s work. If there was one area that every member of the community would agree upon it was that they had all learned to be continually grateful for simple things. Nothing was ever taken for granted.

  For a week, the physical training continued for the volunteers. Except for six people in the community who had no interest in being able to shoot, everyone had taken part in the firearm training sessions. Some surprising results came to light, like Jay-Dee, the male nurse, who was a natural shooter. He was also acclaimed as a fisherman. He joked that his skills were traits passed on from his ancestors who had to survive in the jungles of India.

  The pathway was completed to within two hundred metres of the banks of Loch Awe. It was supported on the lower edge along its entirety with heather so there was no severe gradient or subsidence issues. Due to the team using the path several times every day while on its construction it smoothed and toughened the ground with no need for extra stone chips to be added.

  Marie, with the assistance of a handful of others, built two small shelters embedded into the mountainside at different locations. They were halfway down the main slope and fifty metres apart.

  While people continued with tasks from the front door and down the mountain, Sandy and Flint were labouring at a higher altitude. They worked in a shift system together from Tuesday to Thursday, dangling from the climbing rope to clean the short metal handrail and the rungs on the two stretches of the emergency exit above the height of the glass balcony. Due to working together, they were able to leave the door wedged open for a smooth changeover.

  In the appropriate climbing harness and with a safety rope and gloves, the work would have been easy. They took turns to strap themselves into position with a harness they’d manufactured from the climbing rope, but they had no protective gear. Their task was to remove one hundred years of growth from the dark metal rungs. Neither man complained, and because both had retained their high standard of physical fitness, they were equal to the challenge.

  .

  Friday 22nd July

  The day was as typical as any day could be on Auchcarn. After breakfast, others were preparing to start the day’s toil or getting the children off to Jean for fun and education. It was time for the first phase of a special mission to take place.

  Bill met Calvin after breakfast and explained that he had been up in the glass balcony late on the previous afternoon and seen movement near the edge of the forest. “I know that the tree-line is two miles away, but if it were a wild creature, it’s not a great distance to reach people working on the mountainside.”

  “Should we keep everybody indoors for a few days?”

  “No, I don’t think there’s any reason to panic, but for safety reasons, Sandy, Flint and I have decided we’d investigate. Those two guys will go out today and do a patrol of the nearest section of the forest.” Bill paused and shrugged casually. “They’ll be able to check for tracks and look for signs of activity.”

  “What about protection for people working on the mountainside in the meantime?”

  “Jay-Dee and Tina are both good shots so they could be employed as the two armed sentries to perform shifts in the open area between the pathway and the distant forest.”

  “Right, and they could carry the two laser rifles recovered from the wildlife reserve.”

  “Yes, mate, so it’s good to know those weapons are already proving that it was worthwhile to have taken them and made them operational.”

  “Okay, Bill, thanks for keeping me in the loop. I’ll have a word with Jay-Dee and Tina and ask them both to carry a rifle whenever they’re out there until you guys say otherwise.” He paused. “We don’t need a meeting. I’ll use my community list and go around to update everyone individually.

  A short while later, Bill met up with the two soldiers in the main roadway within the mountain.

  Sandy and Flint wore their combat suits and carried the minimum of equipment; water, snack food, binoculars, their personal weapons and knives. They both performed a pre-patrol check in front of Bill. He then discreetly handed over the written message to leave behind if they discovered Patsy’s lair. Phase One now encompassed Phase Two—a suggested meeting.

  Although it was daylight, it was still a suitable operating procedure to be able to move quietly in any terrain. Going into the forest during the day would give the two soldiers leeway to search for prints and any well-worn routes used within the undergrowth. The downside was that they could be seen from a long way off as they approached the forest.

  When the two men had set off downhill, they were close together. After the first mile as they continued down the mountainside and started to walk across the open area towards the forest, they parted company to walk a few metres apart. They were both acutely aware of the possible threat. They preferred to offer two separate smaller targets rather than one large one, which was created when two people walked close together. They didn’t want to tempt anybody to try their luck.

  To have the chance of hitting a target the size of a human at anything over one hundred metres would take accuracy with a firearm. The ability to hit that same target from anywhere more than fifty metres away when using a rudimentary weapon like a spear or bow and arrow would take incredible skill and accuracy. Erring on the side of caution, the men were considering that not only was the possible foe armed but also self-taught and skilled with some form of weapon.

  Bill arrived upstairs in the glass balcony. “How are they doing, my love?”

  “They’re making good ground as you’d say.” Fiona continued to focus with the
large binoculars which were always left in the balcony. “I have to say that nobody else could walk down a mountainside and traverse it while making it look so easy.” She handed the big field glasses to Bill.

  “Thanks,” he said and within a few seconds was gently teasing the focus with a fingertip. He first checked his two friends and then scoured the long edge of the distant forestry. “I have every confidence in those guys, but I’m not holding out too much hope of success on the first pass.”

  “They will be safe, won’t they?”

  “I’ve no doubt about their safety today. If our wild woman is in there, it will be her natural instinct to defend herself, but unless she is attacked, she’ll keep her distance to observe our guys, to see what they’re up to.”

  “There must be so many scenarios running through the minds of those two men, Bill.”

  “We covered a large number of areas and what to do. When you go on a mission, one of the key areas to critique each other is the ‘what if’ scenarios. In military terminology, the responses are referred to as the ‘actions on’. Sandy and Flint only have to give each other a hand signal, and they’ll both understand how to react in a given situation.”

  Fiona rested a hand on his shoulder. “Why am I getting the impression that all three of you are taking some perverse pleasure in this life and death venture?”

  Bill laughed but didn’t lower the field glasses. “There’s nothing perverse about it, it’s an instinctive reaction to dealing with a prospective threat.”

  Fiona lifted the smaller binoculars and gazed at the distant tree-line. “How wide would you say the forest might be … the tree-line facing us?”

  “Perhaps two miles from the edge of the loch and all the way up the hillside. It then goes back for several miles and gets wider and denser.”

  “If those two men are going in with no idea of where to look for tracks, how can they possibly have a clue where to start?”

  Bill continued to watch his friends advance steadily towards the greenery. “They’ll stay a few metres apart until they’re in natural cover and a short distance into the forest. Instead of going deeper, at a given point, they’ll turn and set off downhill looking for any footprints or other signs of somebody moving through the trees and undergrowth.”

  “Surely that just tells them that somebody has been there before them?”

  “No, what it will tell them is where somebody has come from deep within the forest to look out at our people working on the mountainside. When they discover those prints or a trail, they can work out the direction of travel. They’ll backtrack on it to see where the other person or people came from.”

  “Is there any hidden danger doing it that way?”

  “Yes. If the person they are tracking is in the area and sees what they’re up to it would be possible to set a trap somewhere along the route. Fortunately, those two guys are well aware of the pitfalls of tracking and backtracking.”

  “Did you ever have to … you know, backtrack and things all those years ago when you were serving your country?”

  “I did, my love,” Bill whispered, “and sometimes with amazing results.”

  Fiona kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll leave you to it now. I’m going down to help Noreen with a few regular check-ups for the children.” She laughed. “It’s wonderful to look into a child’s mouth and not see the rot caused by fizzy drinks and snacking.”

  Bill grinned and turned briefly to watch the trapdoor being lowered as Fiona went down the internal ladder. “I can’t stop being a soldier, and you can’t stop being a dentist,” he murmured in the solitude of the glass balcony. Bill observed until Sandy and Flint disappeared into the forest.

  12 - Signs of Life

  Sandy took point as he and Flint walked amongst the undergrowth, both on high alert. Due to there only being two of them, either front or back was stressful, so the pair agreed to change places every half hour. The man in front was tracking and alert to danger from the front. The other had responsibility for the defence to both flanks and the rear.

  Sandy led the way downhill. He was on the lookout for signs that somebody had walked toward the edge of the tree-line. It would offer a view of the open area around the lower part of the mountain. He had turned to look back at the view several times on the way in but it had been early in the proceedings when he noted that the trees blocked any clear sight of the grassy hill beyond.

  Sandy’s eyes moved slowly left to right, up and down, looking for any slightly damaged foliage or undergrowth depressed by footprints. His lips were slightly parted. This enhanced his hearing but the stealthy movements caused a problem—the birds weren’t alarmed, and so their happy chirping was constant. The noise would cover any other people moving stealthily. The upside was, of course, that the birds weren’t crying out in alarm which would be a warning to anyone else in the vicinity. As he breathed in steadily through his nose, Sandy was trying to filter the natural aromas of the greenery hoping for any human scent.

  The slow but steady progress downhill through the forest was physically and mentally demanding for both men even though they changed places often. More than once, they’d stopped and squatted briefly to listen. It was an exercise they infrequently performed because regular patterns in movement or pauses could be recognised and might prove fatal during a patrol.

  Flint was in the lead when they arrived at the southern edge of the forest where it was close to the banks of Loch Awe. He paused and squatted before reaching the edge of the tree-line. Having found no trace of another human being the two men were confident that somewhere near the water’s edge, they would be rewarded for their patience.

  Sandy nodded for Flint to relax for a while first, so he enjoyed a piece of fruit and a protein bar. While Flint had some nourishment, Sandy remained a few metres away, crouched among the undergrowth, watching, listening and concentrating on the aromas carried on the breeze.

  After a short while, they changed places although Sandy sat in a location a few metres from where Flint had rested.

  “Somebody is bloody watching us,” Flint whispered and glanced towards Sandy, who was sitting on a fallen tree.

  Although he was taking a short break, Sandy nodded. He was far from relaxed, his eyes surveying the depths of the forest as he finished eating.

  Flint was holding his rifle in his right hand but used his free hand to indicate underarm and then lifted his fingertips to his nostrils.

  Sandy nodded. He continued to peer among the trees, and when he caught Flint’s eye, he indicated that he was going to the edge of the tree-line where it met the open greenery. Five minutes later, Sandy returned and crouched beside Flint.

  “Nothing?” Flint whispered.

  “No, but you were right, there was a faint aroma of sweat.” Sandy looked around. “Okay, mate, we’ll go as planned, along this southern edge where it’s close to the lochside. If she’s in here somewhere, she’ll be coming to the loch for fish.”

  The theory paid off, and twenty metres along the bank of the loch were definite prints, large and small. Both sets were human and encased in a soft material because although the indentation of toes could be seen, they were not clearly defined.

  When both men had examined the tracks, they were convinced they were dealing with an adult and a child. The people had been in the vicinity very recently, and possibly within the past couple of hours. A few of the smaller prints were in soft sand, which was close to the water’s edge and would easily be washed away. The child’s footprints were clear and some distance from the adult. It suggested that the adult and child were comfortable being separated in their environment.

  Sandy and Flint set off into the forest again, commencing the difficult task of tracking uphill. They trekked through foliage and dense woodland acutely aware that there was somebody around who might mean them harm.

  While on a shift in the Control Room, Cherry was studying circuit diagrams of substation units. The units would be out in the countryside or on the outskirt
s of a town or village. When Des had shown her the old manuals, the wiring looked complicated until he explained that most had been standardised. The Mark 4 was the latest and best circuit. It was still risky to tinker with such installations unless it was done with a sound knowledge of circuitry and a healthy respect for the dangers of electricity.

  “… Harry … Hello … Harry ….” the female voice and the signal were fading in and out. The voice and sounds of static were coming from the short-wave radio which Harry had brought from his old train to install in the Control Room.

  Cherry lifted the handset and pressed the switch to transmit. “Hello, this is Cherry … I’ll fetch Harry … Hello, this is Cherry … I’ll fetch Harry, over.”

  A blast of static came from the old reconditioned transmitter/receiver.

  Cherry flicked the intercom and pressed the button for the lab. “Harry … you’ve got a caller on your short-wave.”

  Harry’s deep voice filled the Control Room. “I’m on the way, Cherry—thank you.”

  One of many improvisations was the removal and re-siting of a few of the speakers from the cafeteria. They were refitted in places like the glass balcony, the lab and Harry’s Place, which was the old train refurbished as an education centre and play area. The lab was shared with Victoria although Harry spent much more time in there.

  The Control Room door flew open, and the scientist nodded to Cherry as he dashed to the battered old short-wave radio he’d rebuilt only a few years before.

  “It was a woman’s voice, Harry, but it was indistinct and fading.”

  “Thanks, Cherry.” He lifted the handset and flicked the transmit switch. “Hello, Marianne—this is Harry … Hello, Marianne—this is Harry, over.”

  Static was followed by “Hell … ry ….” and more static.

  “Count for me, Marianne … count to twenty, over.”

  “… Roger … ting … two … four ….” the static got louder.