by Ryan Casey
“What do you think?” Anna asked.
Phillip frowned.
Anna rolled her eyes and sighed. “About the ‘sanctuary’.” She curled her fingers when she said “sanctuary,” her doubt shining through.
Phillip felt the knot of uncertainty tightening around him when he looked back at the photograph. Part of him wanted to pursue this place. Part of him wanted to take all of his people out of this camp and on this new journey. Mike was going that way. He wanted to stop him.
There was another reason he wanted to leave, too. He could smell the burning in the air and he knew what it was. The bodies. The bodies of the people that had been attacked. The people he’d allowed to be attacked.
The hair on his arms stood on end when he thought about what he’d done. He hadn’t done it out of nastiness, or anything like that. He’d simply done it out of necessity.
Because new people brought new problems.
And new problems brought the threat of collapse.
He looked up from the photograph reluctantly. He stared right into Anna’s eyes, and he prepared to say the words that he knew would define his entire leadership.
“We don’t know where it is so as far as I see it, we have no choice. We stay here,” he said. “We rebuild. And we keep this sanctuary a secret from our people. From all of our people.”
Anna looked disappointed, but she didn’t say anything. She just half-smiled and nodded, then turned around to leave.
“Oh,” she said, stopping before she could exit. “The prisoners we took. The fat guy and the little girl, Haz and Holly. They’re being… difficult.”
A bitter taste filled Phillip’s mouth when he thought of the way Haz and Holly—together with Scott—had stolen from him and then caused this whole mess in the first place.
He thought about what he’d do to Scott were he here right now.
He thought of how he’d punish him, and take everything away from him.
He screwed up the photograph in his hand.
“Show Haz what happens when people are difficult,” Phillip said.
Then, he put in his earplugs.
He’d heard enough screaming for one day.
Chapter Fifty-Two
I looked down the hill at Walter’s Caravan Park and I prepared myself for what I had to do.
It was dark. Night had fallen. The chill had returned to the air. I’d walked so much that my legs were aching like mad, and I was dehydrated, no doubt about it.
But that wouldn’t matter for much longer.
All I needed to do was get into Phillip’s new camp.
All I needed to do was find Phillip.
All I needed to do was find out what had happened to Haz, Holly and Lionel, once and for all.
And then…
Well. I didn’t know what then. Just that I had to confront Phillip. That I had to face up to him for what he’d done to my people.
And so I could hear from him directly what had happened to Haz, Holly and Lionel.
The camp looked quiet. There were a couple of people walking around the grounds outside. I knew I’d have to be careful and keep as low a profile as I could. I knew the chances of me getting caught were high.
But I just had to take that risk right now.
I climbed slowly down the hill. In my hand, I held on to my knife. I wasn’t going to let Haz, Holly or Lionel down. I was finding them. And if it meant using a knife then so be it; I was prepared now.
They were my friends. They were my family. I was not letting them down.
I kept on going down the hill, further towards the camp. There was a main gate, which had about five people around it, so that was obviously out of bounds. But near the back of the camp, there was a narrow gap in the fence. I’d seen it earlier, and hadn’t thought much of it at the time. But I knew if I could get there right now, then I could find my way inside and go from there.
I reached the bottom of the hill, so I was right beside the fencing that was erected around the camp. I could hear voices on the other side. The darkness was intense. I had my torch of course, but I didn’t want to use it. I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself.
I just stood there for a few seconds, staring up at the moon. I asked myself the question—did I want to do this? Was this a risk I really wanted to take, especially when there was no reward guaranteed?
Of course I did.
I had to.
If there was any chance that Haz and Holly were in here, Lionel too, then I had to do everything I could to get them to safety.
As for Phillip…
Well, I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
I walked along the perimeter of the fence, over in the direction of that gap I’d seen underneath it. I didn’t move too slowly or too quickly, just the right pace to make sure I wasn’t drawing too much attention to myself. I held my breath, keeping aware of all my surroundings, using all my senses—sight, smell, sound. I kept on going, the prized access point ever nearer.
Then I saw movement.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
There was someone outside the fence.
They had their back to me, but they were there. They were walking around. I couldn’t make out if it were a man or a woman, whether they were even a part of Phillip’s group or not.
All I could see was that they were holding something.
I didn’t want to take my chances if what they were holding was a gun.
I kept completely still, praying that if I didn’t move, I was invisible.
I swore they turned around and looked at me.
My heart pounded. I waited for a shout. Some sign that they’d seen me.
And then they disappeared.
I stayed still for a little while longer, heart pounding at a million miles an hour. I didn’t want to move, not while that person could still be out there.
But then I heard voices from the other direction, and I knew I had no choice.
I crept further along the fence, moving faster this time. I couldn’t be far off the gap. It had to be nearby somewhere.
As I moved, I felt my stomach sink as I imagined what might be waiting for me when I got there. Perhaps there’d be someone there holding a gun. Or maybe I’d get there only to find that the hole wasn’t wide enough for me to fit through after all, and that I’d end up getting stuck, waiting for someone to just put me out of my misery.
As all these horrible scenarios spiralled my mind, the worst of all was that I’d find out the truth about Haz, Holly and Lionel, and that the truth wouldn’t be what I wanted to hear.
I was so caught up in thought that I almost missed the gap in the wall.
I crouched down beside it, startled that I’d reached it at all. I looked through it. I could see inside the camp. And I could see the caravan where “WORKERS” was marked.
I knew that was where I needed to go.
And my path was clear.
I leaned on my belly and started dragging myself inside. There was no time for hesitation, not anymore. I just had to get in and be done with it.
I pulled myself along on my stomach, mud pushing up against me.
I was halfway through. So close. So nearly there.
I thought of what I was going to do when I got to my friends. I’d set them free. We’d escape, together. We’d head to the sanctuary, and one way or another, things would work out. Everything was going to be okay.
I was so lost in hope that I didn’t see the person waiting beside me.
But I felt it when they pressed a gun to my head, stopping me and my hope in their tracks.
Chapter Fifty-Three
“Stand up and put your hands behind your head, very slowly.”
I heard the voice above me and I knew my time was up.
I’d fought hard to get into this place, fighting against the odds to do so, and I’d ended up all alone.
Which, in a way, made my current situation rather typical and expected.
A gun to my head
as I crouched in the dirt, so close to intercepting Phillip’s new home and finding out what had happened to Haz, Holly and Lionel once and for all.
The gun pressed harder into my head. “Hey. I told you to stand up.”
I knew they that there was no point protesting. The rain lashed down on me now, completely drenching my already soaked skin. I could taste blood in my mouth from where I’d bitten my tongue when I’d first felt the gun, the shock hitting me hard.
But despite all of that, I was still here.
I was still alive.
Which meant there was still a chance.
I stood up, slowly, like the man requested. It was so dark that I couldn’t see him, of course. But I still looked at where his face was, into where I knew his eyes were. The rest of the camp was silent. It was just me, this man, and the moonlight above.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said.
The man pushed his gun against my forehead. “Don’t tell me what I do and don’t have to do. You’re sneaking into our camp. I’m guessing you’re one of Mike’s men, huh? Sneaked back in here to try and take us out?”
I realised then that this man didn’t recognise me. I didn’t recognise him either, but I knew that if he was one of Phillip’s people then there was a chance we’d met somewhere down the line.
“I’m not one of Mike’s people.”
“Then who the hell are you? And you’d better tell me fast. I haven’t pulled the trigger for a long time. My fingers are getting itchy.”
I thought about lying; coming up with some fantasy about how I’d just stumbled upon this place when I was out searching for supplies.
But I knew that in no time at all, someone in this camp would recognise me. And then I’d be pulled up for lying in the first place.
There was no other option for me.
I had to tell the truth.
“It’s Scott. I used to be with your people.”
There was silence from the man, as the rain continued to lash down. I didn’t know whether he knew who I was or not, or whether he was some new follower that Phillip had made work for him.
Then, he answered my question. “Scott? Shit. Phillip’s going to be really pleased when I take you to him.”
He grabbed my wrists and pushed me forward, right into the dirt once more.
I spat some of the dirt away, swinging to look around at the man above me. I thought, in the light glimmer of the moon now, that I recognised him. “It’s Paul, right?” I said. “You taught me how to filter water more effectively. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“It doesn’t matter who I am,” Paul said, as he grabbed my back and pulled me up again. “We’re going to see Phillip.”
As I was forced to walk, I realised I had a window of opportunity that I just had to take. I couldn’t sit back and let myself be taken before Phillip. I’d seen from what Phillip did to the people from the suburban housing development that had followed me what he was capable of.
No. I had to make sure that when I did meet Phillip again, it was on my terms.
So I took a massive risk, one that might just cost me my life.
I stopped walking.
The gun pushed right into my back.
“What the hell are you doing?” Paul asked.
I turned around, heart racing, and looked right at him. “I escaped Phillip’s place because I wanted to get revenge on Mike.”
“Well Mike isn’t here anymore, and he’s left this nice place behind for us, so get a move on before I blow your guts out.”
I didn’t move an inch. “I—I realised on the road that there was more to what I was doing, though. I was trying to make things safer for everyone. Because Mike’s a monster. And… and after what Phillip ordered you all to do to my people… he’s a monster too.”
He lifted the gun and pushed it into the back of my neck. “You’re on thin ice. I’m warning you.”
I swallowed a thick lump in my throat. I had nothing to lose anymore. “I know you’re good people. Even though some of you have done bad things. But we won’t get anywhere by tearing each other apart. Mike is on his way to a sanctuary many miles from here. A sanctuary I know how to get to. Perhaps something good will be waiting for him there. Perhaps not. But whatever the case, I don’t want him to get there because people like him don’t deserve a second chance. People like him only want to watch everything fall apart.”
Paul didn’t say anything. He just kept his gun on my neck.
I took a chance and turned around so I was facing him completely. “I don’t believe you want to kill me. And I don’t believe you wanted to kill anymore. You had a good home. A good camp. Phillip brought you here not to find you a new good home, but because he couldn’t bear the thought that I was on the run with Haz, Holly and Lionel, and that I’d stolen from his supplies. I was his. I wasn’t one of his people. I was his property. And he was willing to let you all die to get that back.”
Paul shook his head, but I could tell from the shaking of his gun that he was wavering in his certainty.
I took the biggest chance of all and I put my hand on his rifle.
“Lower the gun. We can talk. I just… I just want to know that my friends are here and that they are safe. If they are… then I guess I can just leave, and we can pretend none of this ever happened.”
Paul lifted the gun again, but I kept my hand pressed against it. “You’re in deep shit.”
I pushed the gun down once more, the rain falling down heavier than ever. “My friends. Where are they?”
He didn’t say anything. Not at first.
Then he lifted a finger and pointed to the caravan with “WORKERS” that I’d been heading towards. “Just—they aren’t in a great way. We haven’t hurt them. But—”
“Thank you, Paul.”
I pulled the knife out of my pocket.
I slammed the back of it against Paul’s head.
He fell to the ground without any protestation.
I looked at his body as he lay there, twitching. I knew that he wouldn’t be out for long. I knew that I had to be quick if I was to get Haz, Holly and Lionel out of here.
But they were alive.
That was the main thing.
I crouched down and picked up Paul’s rifle.
I turned around and faced the caravan with “WORKERS” etched onto it.
And then I took a deep breath and walked towards it, ready to do whatever I had to do to get my friends to safety.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Holly squeezed her eyes shut because she didn’t want to watch Haz get punched again.
It was dark in this caravan, and it was very smelly. There were three heads dangling from the ceiling, which she didn’t want to look at. It wasn’t like the nice caravan that Mum and Dad took her on holiday to when she was six. That caravan had a television and even a Nintendo Wii. Her favourite game was Animal Crossing. She’d cried when they had to go home, not just because she’d had a good holiday, but because she couldn’t take Animal Crossing home with her.
She wished she was back in that caravan when she heard the grunt from Haz as another punch hit him.
The man that came into the caravan had been punching Haz for a long time now. She’d remembered the look on his face when he’d first come in, though, and she’d thought he was going to do something bad to her. She knew there were a lot of bad people in this world. She just hoped he wouldn’t hurt her.
She wished she was back with Scott.
She heard a whimper to her left and she knew it was Lionel. He was tied up in here just like her and Haz. He’d done a wee, and some of it had moved over the caravan floor to where Holly was. She hadn’t liked it at first because it made everything smell even worse, but then she realised Lionel had only done it because he was scared, too. She didn’t want him to be scared. She wanted everyone to be okay, and for things to be back to normal again.
She peeked through her eyelids, as if doing so would mean the nasty man wouldn’t see her. She a
lways did that when she was at home and when she thought the monsters were coming to her bed. She’d just peek, and that way they wouldn’t see her either.
But right now, she could see the man swinging at Haz.
She could see that Haz’s face was bruised, and that he wasn’t even fighting back anymore.
She’d seen a lot of horrible things since the lights of the world went out. She hoped that she’d be able to forget them, one day.
The man moved away from Haz then and looked right over at Holly.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
As her heart raced, she heard the man chuckle. It was the big man. The one who looked like he had a nasty face. He sometimes said bad words, evil things he wanted to do that Holly didn’t understand.
But she knew those things couldn’t be good.
He walked over towards her. She could hear his big heavy footsteps getting closer. She curled up into a ball, Lionel right beside her whimpering. She wanted him to protect her, like the wolves on that Game of Thrones program that Dad used to watch and told her it was too grown-up for her to be watching.
And then the footsteps stopped.
Holly’s heart beat fast. Everything was silent.
She didn’t want to look. She didn’t want to risk peeping because maybe then the monster would see her.
But she had no choice.
She opened her eyes.
The man was standing right over her. His hands were at his side.
His smile was wide, lit up by the moon that shone through the window.
“Now it’s your turn,” he said, cracking his knuckles.
Holly covered her face with her hands and prayed for Mum and Dad and for Aiden and for everything to be okay again.
She heard a thump.
She thought at first it was him hitting her, but she didn’t feel anything.
Then she heard more footsteps banging on the caravan floor, and then something heavy hitting the floor in front of her.
She didn’t want to look this time. She couldn’t. She wasn’t falling for that again, not now the monster was so close.
“Holly?”
The voice sounded familiar but it scared her. Maybe it was the monster tricking her.