Blighted Land: Book two of the Northumbrian Western Series (Northumbrian Westerns 2)

by Ian Chapman

  Becky stood by me. ‘They’re the missiles. From Gehenna.’

  ‘Are you sure we’re ready to go in?’

  ‘Look, Trent —’

  ‘Who’s there?’ said a voice.

  Becky stared at me. ‘Entertainers,’ she said. Then she whipped her jacket off and carried on removing clothes.

  ‘Oh aye? What kind of entertainers?’ A hatch opened up on the left-hand gate a couple of metres up. A face appeared, red skinned and wrinkled. ‘What you got?’

  Becky took off her top so she was just in a bra and trousers then stepped back. She put her hands on her hips and thrust her head back. There was a smile on her face but her eyes were serious. Deadly serious.

  I realised I had the assault rifle over my shoulder so I slid it off. Dropped it into the trench.

  The face wedged itself through the hatch and two watery eyes stared out at her as she waggled her chest at him. He disappeared and there were sounds of bolts moving. Becky sighed and relaxed. The smile vanished.

  A few seconds later the left-hand gate eased open and the man peered out through the gap. ‘Just the three of you?’ he said as he looked us over.

  ‘Just us,’ said Becky.

  ‘Where’ve you come from?’

  ‘Tarbet. We did a show at the hotel.’

  ‘So how did you get here.’

  ‘Walked.’

  ‘Walked?’

  ‘Yes, walked. Took ages.’

  ‘When did you arrive?’

  ‘Just now.’

  ‘Today?’

  ‘Yes, now.’

  ‘You’ve not got a vehicle?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Guns?’

  ‘No.’

  He stepped back and drew the gate with him. I let Becky go ahead then followed with Daniel.

  We stood in a small quadrangle with another gate ahead of us. This one was shut.

  The man had an assistant with him, a younger man. He didn’t say anything but stared at Becky in her underwear.

  ‘What do you do?’ said the older man as he bolted up the outer gate.

  ‘Whatever the customers want,’ she said.

  ‘You performers?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said.

  ‘What do you do?’

  ‘I sing.’

  He pointed at Daniel. ‘And him?’

  ‘Comedian.’

  Daniel grinned.

  The man pointed towards his assistant. ‘Joe here needs to pat you down.’

  ‘Fine.’ I raised my arms and Joe checked me over. He moved down my body with fast hand movements. He did Daniel who giggled at one point. Then he went to the bag where we’d stashed the shotgun and grenades within everything else. If they found this we’d be in trouble.

  He opened the bag and poked around.

  ‘Aren’t you going to check her?’ I said pointing at Becky.

  Even though she was only in her knickers and bra he put the bag down and went over to her, standing close. His eyes were all over her body as he rubbed his hands together. Then he started. First he went over her backside. Across her knickers. Into them. Then he cupped her tits. Gave them a squeeze and closed his eyes. Finally, he slid a hand into the front of her knickers.

  ‘That’s enough,’ said the older man.

  He drew his hand out and stood back. Looked at the ground.

  ‘Okay. You can go.’

  Becky gave them a big grin. ‘Thanks.’

  Joe smiled and showed cock-eyed teeth in his red gums. He led us to the far side of the quadrangle and to the other gate. He hammered on it three times. ‘All clear.’

  There was the sound of bolts being drawn and the gate opened. Three men stood there, two with a rifle and one with a pistol.

  ‘All fine?’ said one.

  ‘Aye, fine,’ said Joe.

  They waved us through. Gave us a good eyeballing. For a moment we all just stood there.

  Then they stepped aside.

  ‘Go on,’ said the fella with the pistol.

  ‘Thanks,’ said Becky then she minced off.

  I followed with Daniel at my side. ‘Maybe see you later.’

  The five men stayed at the gate as we walked on.

  ‘Good performance,’ I said to Becky.

  ‘Yeah. I hope it’s worth it.’ The smile dropped and she slid on her shirt.

  When I looked back the guards were still watching us.

  We headed on into town, Becky pulling on the rest of her clothes and Daniel humming to himself. The road was flanked by burnt-out bonfires and pieces of bone carved with symbols. There was a long walk into town and I expected the fellas at the gate to change their mind and come after us but they never did. We’d got in but lost the assault rifle. Casper and the Eblis.

  We passed allotments and pens with chickens and pigs and ducks. Open ground with sheep grazing on it.

  Further on there were low buildings made of sheet metal and scraps of wood. Then repair shops for machines and others selling food and booze, drugs of some sort. Each had a sign and people milling around. There were piles of timber at the side of the road and up ahead a factory unit with a ramshackle chimney. Wires ran out of it in a chaotic knot to thread out across the town. Men carried wood in and others brought out barrows of ash they piled at the side.

  We saw carpenters and tailors. More food and drugs sellers. To the right was an old school. Music played and there was laughter and shouting. It was subdued compared to what we’d heard earlier but there was still some kind of a party going on.

  The houses became more solid as we continued, the originals of whatever place this had been. They were stone-build and slate roofed though some had boarded windows and patched doors.

  Off to the left was a tall building. It had once been a hotel or whatever but was now covered in boards with painted symbols: yin and yang and swirling shapes. Flowers and hearts. Topping it off was a giant skull. It was made of dozens of pieces of polished metal nailed onto a wooden frame.

  The road carried on down to the loch, now a lighter blue but still with that dark shape in it: Gehenna. It was hundreds of metres long, the bulbous sections front and back proud of the water with the tower topped by instruments. There was no sign of anyone on it.

  ‘Well, here we are.’ I was regretting being so keen to get in.

  ‘Here we are,’ echoed Becky.

  ‘We need to find somewhere to stay.’ I fished around in the bag and pulled out several Scottish notes from my savings. What I’d brought from Faeston. The money was damp but usable.

  ‘Okay. Let’s have a look around.’

  We found a small place just off the main street. It had been a betting shop but was now run as a hotel. An old fella sat behind the counter. He was thin with a mop of grey hair and stared at us when we went in. He really gave Daniel a good eyeballing. But when he saw my money he warmed up.

  ‘We want a room for three. One that looks out at the loch,’ said Becky.

  ‘Oh aye?’

  ‘We need a loch view.’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Quite a town.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘The name and the skull and the drumming. What’s it about?’

  He stared at her. Then he grunted and led us up the filthy staircase to the second floor. It seemed to take him ages to find the key before he shoved the door open. The room was big with a double and single beds and windows that looked out on the loch. Faded towels hung from hooks on the wall. The room was dusty but less dirty than the rest of the building.

  The fella hung around for a minute then shuffled off. Once he’d gone I locked the door. Becky was straight over to the window but l lay back on the bed.

  ‘Think I’ll take a rest,’ I said. After roughing it the bed felt great.

  ‘You’re some kind of fella, you know?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s me.’

  She grunted and stared out at the loch. Daniel messed around with what few possessions he had: a pack of dog-eared cards and a book of birds. I j
ust lay on the bed and watched the patterns on the ceiling. How the light shifted as the afternoon went on and the music outside got louder and louder until it drowned out any other sound.

  Becky shoved me in the ribs. ‘Do you want to take a walk?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘Let’s get a drink.’

  ‘All right.’ A drink sounded good.

  ‘I think it’s time to go and see Gehenna.’

  That didn’t sound quite so good.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Recon

  SHE TOLD DANIEL TO stay in the room to keep an eye on things then steered me out into the street. It was early evening and men came up from the water’s edge carrying small bags and wearing wellies. The music boomed off the buildings.

  ‘Sorry about earlier,’ she said.

  ‘Earlier?’

  ‘Forget it.’

  She stopped at the quayside and sat down on a bench so I joined her. Gehenna was still in the same position, a dark lump in the evening light. There were a number of boats tied to the quay that bobbed on the light swell. The air was warm but there was a chill to it, a hint of autumn. We were well in land but the loch smelled of the sea.

  Over to our right was a house with a collapsed wall and a hole in its roof. Next to it was a pile of rubble where another building had been.

  ‘That our doing?’ I said.

  Becky stared at the ruins. She pursed her lips but she didn’t say anything. We sat without speaking as the music thudded through the town.

  ‘What are you up to?’ I’d been drawn into this but there’d been no talk of what she had planned. I was here but hadn’t agreed to help.

  ‘We still have a sub to blow.’

  ‘Oh, that should be easy enough…’

  ‘Just look.’

  Gehenna wasn’t as tidy as it had seemed from up the road. Parts of the hull were marked with dents and barnacles grew all along the waterline. There was a boat tied off halfway along and a hatch open on the deck at the rear.

  We stayed there for ages and nothing happened. Gehenna was just part of the scenery. Then a crew member appeared at the top of the tower and walked back and forward, looking over the edge at each end.

  ‘There’s a fella in the tower thing,’ I said.

  ‘The conning tower.’

  The man disappeared and a few moments later another one popped out of the hatch on the deck. He got out and walked around. He was in uniform, dark blue with a small hat. Several others joined him and chatted.

  They went over to the boat. One slid in holding onto the hand of the another. One by one they clambered into it. One of the crew stood at the front with a rifle and while two men took the oars. The untied and started rowing.

  We watched as they came towards shore.

  ‘Talk to me, Trent.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘Anything. Just so we don’t look weird.’

  ‘Are you hungry?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You said talk.’

  ‘Okay, yes. I’m hungry.’

  ‘What do you fancy to eat?’

  ‘I don’t know. Ice cream, bananas. Rice and sweetcorn and other stuff that is hard to get hold of.’

  The boat tied off at the far end of the quayside and the crew stepped onto dry land. The man with the gun stayed in it as the others made their way into town. Their uniforms were worn and patched in places but they still looked smart compared to the townsfolk.

  ‘Fancy a look?’ said Becky.

  ‘At the sub?’

  ‘Just the boat.’

  ‘And then what?’

  ‘Just take a look.’

  She walked over towards it and I followed. She stopped and nudged me. ‘Take my hand.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Just take it.’

  Her skin was dry and her fingers moved around. As we got closer she gripped me tightly. The man on guard didn’t even look at us as we walked past. He was in his forties, thin and clean shaven. He held his gun across his chest and stared off into the distance.

  We walked on and Becky leant against a wall beside a cottage. The house had a neat garden of small plants and shrubs set in gravel. She pointed off into the distance towards the town.

  ‘Do you think you could overpower him?’ she said.

  ‘What are you pointing at?’

  ‘Follow my gaze and nod as if you’re interested.’

  I tried to act as if the low building she was pointing towards was fascinating.

  ‘So can you? Overpower him?’

  ‘Maybe. But he has a gun.’

  ‘So have we.’

  I looked the fella over. He wasn’t big but he’d be able to whip round that gun soon enough. Even if we got a shot off we’d attract the attention of his friends. And everyone on the sub. We’d seen what that had the power to do.

  ‘Not in daytime,’ I said. ‘Not when we can be spotted.’

  Becky stood up and offered her hand. ‘Coming?’

  We walked away from the quayside to our hotel. Even when we were out of sight of the boat we held hands.

  On the way back we passed a butchers so we bought three meat pies. All that talk of food had made me hungry. Pity we hadn’t had the drink she’d promised.

  Daniel was at the window when we went in. ‘You have a nice walk?’

  ‘Fine,’ I said. I sat beside him and looked out at the submarine. The man on the quayside was obscured by the building but I knew where he was.

  We ate our pies then Becky went through my bag and took out the gun and grenades.

  ‘How are we going to do this?’ I said.

  ‘I don’t know. We need to think it through.’

  I was doing some thinking of my own. Maybe we’d work out a way to destroy the sub. Maybe not. Maybe we’d just hang around for a while. Then again, there were pubs and plenty of places to eat. It wouldn’t be such a bad place to spend some time.

  She sat at the window. Stared out at the sub. I played cards with Daniel, an easier version of Blackjack, then he went to bed. After sunset the music carried on, loud as ever, thudding through the town. All the buildings. I played patience for a while.

  Then I stood and stretched. I fancied another look around. See what else the town had to offer. ‘I’m going for a wander.’

  For the first time in hours Becky moved from the window. ‘I’ll join you.’

  We left Daniel sleeping and went out.

  Strings of bare bulbs lit the buildings and a couple of spotlights shone on the sculptured skull. People wandered around drinking. Laughing and dancing.

  ‘Think it’s always like this?’ I said.

  Becky shrugged.

  I pointed towards the school, where the music was coming from. ‘Fancy this?’

  She didn’t answer but walked with me as I went towards it.

  The school’s fence and signage was still there but it was now renamed Gehenna Club. We passed through the gate into a field filled with people dancing. They were all ages, toddlers bouncing around through to oldies leant on walking sticks. The grass had long gone and the ground was pummelled into hard-packed earth. The low building of the school block had all its doors and windows open. Power lines ran into it and there was bunting strung up hung with lightbulbs. In the school hall a DJ leant over a couple of turntables where he mixed music, just like at an old-world club.

  We stood at the side and watched.

  We were there for some time. As the music thudded through us and the town.

  The sky went from dark blue to black and the music picked up the pace. After a while we walked away from the school and back towards the hotel.

  ‘This is some place,’ I said.

  ‘It is.’ She stopped and looked past me and towards the loch. At the submarine lit with a couple of lights.

  As we stood there I saw someone watch us. It was the man who’d let us in the gate. The older one. He frowned and stared at us. When he saw me looking back he turned and walked away
.

  Maybe this wasn’t some place we could stay.

  We carried on back to the hotel. When we went in Daniel was still sleeping. I lay on the bed and watched the patterns from the lights on the ceiling. Listened to the music. Becky returned to the window and watched the sub. I tried not to think about the fella I’d seen. What his look had meant.

  Eventually the music stopped and I dozed off. Dreamt of people dancing on the deck of Gehenna.

  I awoke to sunlight shining through the open curtains. Becky was on the bed beside me asleep, fully clothed. There was no sign of Daniel.

  I went to his bed. It was neatly made and some clothes folded on it.

  I shook Becky and she woke. Stared at me.

  ‘Daniel’s gone,’ I said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘He’s not here.’

  The door opened and Daniel came in. He had a towel over his arm and his hair was wet.

  ‘Where’ve you been?’ I said.

  ‘There’s a shower.’

  Becky slid off the bed and grabbed a towel. ‘Shower sounds good.’

  While we waited, me and Daniel played cards. He asked what we were planning to do for the day and I said I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure about much but it was worse for him. He’d been dragged along here without any idea what was going on. I figured he needed some kind of explanation. ‘Listen, Daniel.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Do you know why we’re here?’

  ‘To look at the submarine?’

  ‘Yeah. That’s right. To look at the submarine.’ I wanted to say more but I wasn’t sure how to put it. ‘Anyway, this is for you.’ I went into my bag and drew out some money, a bundle of notes. Thrust them at him.

  ‘Why do I need this?’

  ‘Pocket money.’

  ‘Pocket money?’ He put the notes in his pocket.

  Becky came back with the towel tied on her head. As she dried her hair the music started up. ‘Should we go take a walk?’

  Daniel put his cards down. ‘Yes. Please.’

  The three of us went down the quayside. The boat was tied onto the sub and there were only a few fishermen around. They brought in a catch which they loaded onto a cart pulled by a donkey, taking it off along the quayside. Gulls wheeled above us and the waves lapped at the dockside. There was no movement from Gehenna or any of the crew.