She was so much more than a boss or a colleague; she was my friend and mentor. She has guided me and supported me for years. The fact that she is gone, that I'll never again see her frown at me in disapproval or look at me with pride, is hard to comprehend. Hot tears stream down my cheeks as I lay in the bed, staring at the wallpaper with the faded roses. Mum is right. They are a bad omen. I turn my back to them and close my eyes, allowing myself to drift away into a dreamless sleep, escaping the horrors of this new reality.
A firm hand shakes my shoulder, waking me. I am instantly alert, cursing that I did not bring the kitchen knife upstairs with me.
“Easy, love, it’s only me,” Robert says, bringing me a mug of steaming liquid in one hand, “I made you this.” He holds the drink out to me, and I accept it gratefully.
He sits down on the end of the bed, “I’m sorry about your friend,” he says. I force back the tears that threaten, but I do not answer and sip at the hot thistle tea, burning my lips.
“We didn’t come here to hurt anyone,” I eventually say.
He smiles kindly, “I know, love. I didn’t believe it for a minute.”
Relief envelopes me, “Really? Luca … well, Luca took some convincing.”
Robert chuckled, “My son is a good man, but he can be a bit of a hot head sometimes. I did notice the new feature in the larder door. I assume that was him?”
I nod as I take another sip of the hot tea, “I’m sorry about that,” I say after I swallow.
He shrugs, “It doesn’t matter, it can be fixed. He, er …” for the first time since entering the room, Robert looks uneasy, “didn’t hit you, did he?”
I shake my head vigorously, “No.”
He lets out a small sigh of relief and smiles, “Good. I would have been furious with him if he had. I brought him up better than that.”
“You brought him up well. Like you said, he is a good man.”
“Aye, I like to think that his mother would have been proud,” sadness tinges his features, “She died, in the initial outbreak, I don’t know if he told you that?”
I shake my head, but stay quiet.
“She worked in London, and I think she was one of the first to be infected. She came home and went straight to bed, claimed she wasn't feeling well. I made Luca's dinner, then watched the news. As soon as I saw what was going on, I knew. I just knew she had it too. I went into our bedroom, still hoping, you know?"
I nod, not wanting to interrupt his flow of words.
"But she had already changed. She threw herself at me, and I had to push her away, to stop her from biting me. Then I got Luca and left. I just left her in our house. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her.” He stared at a spot on the wall behind my head and I got the sense that he wasn’t even talking to me anymore. “It changed me, seeing that. The guilt has eaten away at me for years. I was too weak to give the woman I loved any peace. She may still be there now, forever locked in that bedroom.”
“You shouldn’t …” I started, but Robert carried on like I was no longer here.
“I did what I could in the early days, to survive. But I withdrew from Luca over the years, the guilt too much of a burden. It’s only in the past few weeks that I’ve started to see him for what he is, rather than the little boy that looked so much like his mother.”
This revelation surprises me, because the relationship between father and son seemed natural, longstanding. Not a recent development.
Robert shakes his head and brings himself back to the present, “Anyway, the point is, whatever you plan to do next, I want to help. Absolution for the sins of my past.”
I put the mug on the small table next to the bed and reach out to the old man. I pull him towards me and hold him tightly, “Thank you.”
He pats me awkwardly on the back, “Ah, love, you’ll make an old man blush.”
I laugh softly and release him, “What has Luca told you?” I ask him.
“Nothing, other than that he believes you and he had his reasons for doing so. I didn’t push him to share, I didn’t want to force him to break confidences.”
I take a deep breath and consider how much I should share with him, “I don’t want to put you in an awkward position, but I want to be honest with you.”
He nods, “Any secrets you have are safe with me, love.”
“I know,” I say, and I tell him everything, about the vials, Johanna and Sidney, the plans to free them and my request for Luca’s help. He listens without interrupting as I speak.
When I am finished, he nods, “Like I said, I will help you,” he says, no shocked reaction. No suggestions on how we might face this mammoth task. Nothing.
“Now, do you fancy giving me a hand with dinner?”
The rapid change of subject surprises me, and I laugh.
“Not much we can do until Luca gets back now, is there?” he tells me. He is right. We need to do this together.
~
Luca finds us in the kitchen, where I’m telling Robert about my training, and he’s chuckling at my stories.
Zone G don't have the same assessment and apprenticeships like we do. When they leave school, they either get a job that that is in their family, like farming, or they literally get given the next free job on a list. It sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Luca must have been watching us for some time, because when I hear his polite cough, I turn to see him already leaning against the door frame. He is smiling thinly, and his eyes show the strain of the day.
“How was training, son?” Robert asks.
“It was alright,” Luca shrugs, “Most people are still terrible, although apparently tomorrow we are moving into archery.”
It occurs to me then that the training I witnessed just yesterday is not a zone exercise to build bonds, nor is it a way of keeping the younger people occupied. It is to create an army. An army to be used in the fight against my home.
Luca notices my expression, “I’m sorry Sammie, I should have explained what this training was for.”
I shake my head, “No it’s fine. Besides, I’ve seen how terrible some people are, I don’t we have anything to worry about just yet.”
The joke is hollow, and no one laughs.
We fall into an uncomfortable silence, and I concentrate on stirring the soup that is simmering away on the Aga.
Luca breaks the silence, “We might have a small problem,” he admits.
I turn to him, “What?” scared that he is going to back out of helping me.
“Danny,” he says.
“Who?” Robert and I chorus.
“The boy I was partnered with yesterday.”
“Oh Red-Face,” I say, then turn to Robert, “He had a very red face.”
Robert chuckles, “Appropriate name for him them,”
“I thought so,” I wink at him.
Luca coughs loudly interrupting our exchange, “If you two are finished?” We nod, shamefaced, “Danny was asking me about you today, who you were, why you weren’t training like the rest of the zoners.”
“Oh,” I say. Shit, I had forgotten about him, forgotten that people would have seen a stranger wandering around with Luca.
“I think I managed to convince him that you were a zoner, but couldn’t train because of an injury,” Luca reassures me.
"Petunia saw us together yesterday," I remind Luca.
"Yeah," he nods and scratches at the stubble forming on his chin, "But at best Petunia will know that you were with someone from the zone. She won't have a clue who I am. I’m far too insignificant to be on her radar."
“Even so, son, we should probably execute our escape plan tonight,” Robert says.
“Yes,” Luca nods. I watch him, waiting for him to process the words. I am not kept waiting long.
“Hang on. What do you mean by we?”
“I’m helping, son,” Robert replies.
“No, you are not,” Luca states firmly.
“I believe I am old enough to make my own decisions, L
uca,” Robert’s expressions harden. But Luca looks furious.
“Luca, we need all the help we can get,” I plead.
He opens his mouth to protest, but a loud banging on the door freezes us all. Luca pulls me across the kitchen and pushes me into the larder. He holds his finger to his lips as he closes the door.
In the darkness of the cupboard, I listen intently as the front door opens. But I can’t make out the words being spoken. After a few minutes, the door is pulled open, and Robert is standing on the other side.
“What …” I start.
“No time to explain,” he says. “We need to hide you.” He takes my hand and pulls me up the stairs. Taking me into his bedroom, he quickly pulls the blanket off the bed and tugs a small handle at the foot of the bed.
The bottom half of the bed rises exposing a storage space underneath. He indicates for me to climb inside. I laugh nervously, is he kidding? He nudges me, and I have no choice. I climb in, and he lowers the bed back on top of me.
I’m plunged into darkness. The space is small, dark and cramped. My chest starts to tighten and sweat drips from my pores. I’m starting to panic. I can’t stay here. There must be another option. I push frantically at my shallow ceiling, but it does not budge. I can’t get out. Is this a trick? Did they not believe me? I try to scream, but I can’t even breathe.
Footsteps echo on the wooden floor, and they seem to vibrate through the base of the bed. My fear of the confined space is instantly replaced by the terror of discovery. As my panic evaporates, I breathe in and out steadily and quietly. I hear doors being opened and closed and muffled voices talking. Someone sits on the bed, causing the springs in the mattress to let out a loan groan.
It seems like an eternity before I can no longer hear the sound of footsteps or voices. With the immediate danger passed, the panic starts to build again. I focus on breathing in and out steadily, controlling my emotions until eventually the bed is lifted and I am freed from my tomb.
The harsh light blinds me after the darkness of my entrapment, and I blink at Luca as he holds out his hand to help me out.
“What’s going on?” I demand, churlishly ignoring his hand and struggle to climb out of the bed base.
“I’ll explain downstairs, Dad’s making you tea.”
He catches me as my legs give out from cramp after being stuck in an awkward position for so long. He stands me upright, then gestures for me to go down the stairs ahead of him.
At the foot of the stairs, I stop abruptly at the voices drifting out of the kitchen. Voices that indicate Robert is not alone. I turn to flee back the way I came, but Luca blocks my path, “It’s okay,” he says, “trust me,”
With no other choice, I tentatively walk into the kitchen, and Luca places a reassuring arm on my back, probably completely unaware that it feels like he is restraining me.
Red-face is sitting at the table, drinking tea. I glare at him and notice how his cheeks somehow manage to flush even more crimson than they already are.
“Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?” my voice rises as I speak. Red-face jumps to his feet and holds his hand out towards me.
“I’m Danny,” he says.
I ignore his outstretched hand and turn to Luca, who pulls out a chair, and Robert places a mug of tea on the table.
“Sit down, love,” Robert says, “We’ll explain everything, but you don’t need to worry.”
His voice is gentle and reassuring. I reluctantly take the seat offered by Luca and wait to hear their explanation.
Chapter Eighteen
The carpet in Brian’s office was beginning to show signs of wear from the constant pacing. Patience was not his strong point. He needed to find that girl, and he needed her found now.
His plan had been perfect, wait until the two women from Zone E went out, then sneak into their room. Get the younger one’s bag, take the vial. Then tell them that the doctor hadn’t wanted to go with them and send them on their way. With any luck, they wouldn’t even discover that their treasure was missing until they got back to their zone, and even if they had, he could have pleaded ignorance.
He hadn’t considered the younger one, Sammie, would have taken the bag with her. He also hadn’t thought that the older one, Annie, would have been back so soon.
It was Petunia’s fault. She should have told him quicker. She should have kept watch and distracted them if they returned. She should have told him that Sammie still had her bag. Stupid cow. The part of his conscience that knew that he hadn't asked Petunia to do any of those things was pushed deep into the recesses of his mind.
She should have offered up the information. Offered to distract them.
The black and swollen eye she now sported was justified.
As soon as the door to the guest accommodation had opened, Brian had known the plan had to change. He had taken advantage of Annie's surprise and rushed over to block the only exit. He laughed as she watched him first in fear, then horror and finally realisation as he sliced himself in the chest with his knife. Leaving her trapped in the room, he called out loudly for help, attracting the attention from a resident taking an early evening stroll. They had panicked when they saw the blood and fled to fetch some guards. Just a few minutes later, back-up arrived and dragged a kicking and screaming Annie from the room.
He acknowledged now that it had been a mistake to hold her out on the streets for as long as he had. He had expected Sammie to react instantly upon returning and seeing the sight of the older woman surrounded by guards. Not to flee and hide. He hadn’t pegged her as a coward. The time had, however, served a small purpose. It had given him the opportunity to tear their room apart and be sure that neither the bag nor the vial were in there.
Being unable to stall the guards any longer, he had them bring Annie up to his office. He left her tied to a chair, while he dressed the flesh wound on his chest, purposefully applying more gauze and bandage than was needed. When he was satisfied he had created the desired effect, he had returned to Annie and ordered her to remove her top.
Annie ignored him. Instead, she sat stoically and stared out of the window as though he hadn’t spoken. He gave her one more chance to remove it, but she did not comply. So he had removed it for her.
He stared down at her body for a few moments, appreciating the way the black bra clung to her ample breasts. He grinned at her and licked his lips, taking pleasure in the fear that flashed in her eyes. Taking the knife he had stabbed himself with earlier, he drew the blade up gently up her body, starting at her belly button and ending at the nape of her neck. She did not react.
He increased the pressure, causing a small nick in her neck, blood bubbling up from the cut. Still, she did not react. Moving the knife, he sliced the top of her breasts. She kept her lips firmly together, refusing to cry out in pain. But the tension in her body gave her away.
He sliced again, deeper. Blood was slowly streaming out of the cuts. They weren’t deep enough to cause any lasting damage, but she would have a nasty scar.
“Where is the vial?” he asked, expecting her to remain quiet.
Instead, she replied immediately, “I told you, we didn’t bring one with us.”
“Liar,” he said and cut a shallow slash in her stomach.
“We didn’t,” she insisted, but he noticed that she did not have a pleading tone. She wasn’t begging for her life. This very fact angered him.
He put a hand on each armrest of her chair and leant so close to her that he could feel her breath on his face, “You’re lying,” he whispered. Then he held himself in that position, demonstrating the power he had over her.
Eventually, he stepped back, “Where is your friend?”
For the first time since getting into the office, Annie gave something away. She smiled. It was faint, and it was brief, but it was there, “I don’t know, she went for a walk. I don’t know where,” Annie said.
Brian cursed, he could have played that better. Told her he had Sammie and threat
ened her life unless she told him where the vial was.
Then he smiled. It worked both ways.
The zone meeting the next day was a ploy to draw Sammie out of hiding. The lure of finding out about her friend was bound to bring her to the square. He had guards posted throughout the crowd, but with only his description to go on, he received no signal that she had been found. The execution was necessary. Surely no one could watch their friend murdered in front of them and not react. He had watched the crowd as Gary slit Annie’s throat, but nothing. The girl was either not there or she didn’t care about her friend.
So he had ordered a house-to-house search. She couldn’t hide for long. A knock on the door disturbed his thoughts and brought him back to the present time, “Come in.”
The door opened and Gary stood at the threshold, wringing his hands and looking uncomfortable.
“We’ve completed the search of all of the buildings in the zone; we can’t find her.”
With a thunderous roar of anger, Brian launched himself at Gary. As he beat the scared man, he did not notice the trickle of urine spreading across the office carpet.
Chapter Nineteen
Luca studied Sammie’s face as she listened to the explanation. She sat sullenly, arms folded and face pursed, angry from being trapped in the bed while the guards had searched the house. He knew that her reaction was born from fear, perhaps from claustrophobia. He couldn't imagine how it must have felt in there, but he knew it was better than the alternative. Given time, she would realise it too.
As Danny talked of his past, Sammie tapped her fingers impatiently against the side of the mug, frustrated at the time he was taking to get to the point.
Danny was a loner, he had lived a few streets away from Luca, with his mum and younger brother, Ben, all his life. He explained that their mother had got them working with the horses as soon as they could walk and his early life had been spent at the stables.
Safe Zone (Book 2): The Descent Page 16