by RR Haywood
Her aim is too not so much smooth over the cracks, as to take a huge trowel and smother the gaping holes with as much cement as possible. The children are shell-shocked and despite the natural resilience of the young, they’ve all seen far too many horrors to be anywhere near normal yet. That’ll take a long time so for now they just got to get through each day.
Glancing back at young Billy, she feels a pull on her heartstrings. So young and tiny, staring about with wide eyes at everything. He looks to be the same age as her little one was before, well, before all this happened. God knows what he’s been through and then having to do whatever the Doc does with ‘em. Well she can’t help that but she can try and put a smile there now.
At the sink, she wets a cloth to wipe her face; the heat is incredible and so close. Muggy as you like. Everyone is listless and getting tired too, snapping at each other and no wonder the Doc keeps losing his mind.
It’s troubling times that’s for sure, so she does what she can to help, smiling and fussing over the children.
‘There you go, ain’t nothing special but it’s food and it’ll fill your belly up,’ placing the plate down she watches for his reaction. When it doesn't come she reminds herself he’s too young to notice the significance of having a sandwich to eat. Proper bread sandwich too. The adults notice it all right and love it when she makes fresh bread, course it isn’t anywhere near like the supermarkets had it. Bit too doughy and heavy but its bread all the same, and they soon wolf it down alright.
Billy tucks in. He doesn't feel the slightest bit hungry but he knows his manners and he knows Meryl wants him to eat so he does. Picking up the sandwich he takes the first bite. The bread is tough and chewy but the jam inside is sweet and bursting with flavour.
After days of eating tinned and junk food, his appetite soon comes back. Biting and chewing as he gets strawberry jam smeared round his mouth.
Sitting down with a steaming mug of black tea Meryl watches him eat, grinning at the obvious pleasure he’s getting from it.
‘Good boy,’ she nods at the empty plate, ‘now you can have a treat but don’t be expecting them all the time ‘cause I don’t give ‘em out willy nilly.’ She pulls a packet of crisps from the large pocket on her apron. Billy doesn't want to tell her he doesn't want crisps. He’s eaten more bags of potato chips in the last two weeks than ever before, but Billy knows his manners, so he dutifully eats them up, munching slowly through the packet while staring at the ruddy faced woman.
‘Will Lilly come here?’ He asks speaking for the first time. Meryl freezes for a split second, the grin remaining but the happiness sliding off her face. She hates this bit; when they ask about their families. She doesn't know who Lilly is and she doesn't want to know. Knowing just makes it harder to deal with.
‘We’re very lucky to be here Billy,’ she says in a kind tone, ‘very lucky and we all lost our families so we’re all the same now. No more about the past, we gotta look to the future so eat thems crisps up then you can go play with the other children.’
Billy nods. He doesn't feel very lucky right now, in fact he feels very unlucky but Lilly will come. His young mind can’t quite grasp what happened during the night, but he does know Lilly wasn’t there and she didn’t get hurt so he knows she will come. She has to, she’s his big sister and that’s what big sisters do.
Forty
‘Probably about a mile now,’ Nick judges the distance on the map then glances up to view the surrounding countryside, ‘we should leave the van here and go on foot.’
‘Okay.’
‘There’s a hill here, see the lines get closer together? We should aim for that so we can look down and maybe get a view of the house before we decide anything.’
‘Got it,’ she nods quickly, ‘we’ll need water in this heat.’
Grabbing bottles from the back, they empty an old rucksack found in the front cab before filling it with fluids and snack bars. With the van parked at the end of an old track, they lock up and set off, Nick checking the map positions before folding it away to light a cigarette, figuring this might be the last chance for a smoke for a while.
‘You okay?’ He asks mildly.
She nods, scanning the area ahead as they climb a fence into a wide field. Sticking to the hedgerow, they walk side by side over the hard sun baked earth.
Shock threatened to pull her under, but with Billy at risk there is no choice but to swallow it down. What happened to Todd plays over and over in her mind, blending with images of Samantha on the ground with that animal between her legs, Norman bleeding, and seeing her father blown to bits. All of it whirling and blundering through her head but only serving to strengthen her resolve.
Those first hand experiences of how quickly death can come increases the pressure to find Billy and make him safe.
Nick was so quick, he didn’t hesitate and knew exactly what he was doing. If she is going to survive and protect her brother then she has to very quickly become more like him; ruthless and hard.
Only that isn’t everything he is. The kindness and compassion of the young man pours off him, the easy way he blushes, swears, laughs and constantly checking she’s okay.
‘Thank you again,’ she gives voice to her thoughts.
‘You don’t have to keep saying it,’ Nick replies. His thoughts were with his team, wondering where they were and what they were doing. Being separated like this was horrible and above else, he wishes Mr Howie was here to deal with this. Clarence, Dave, Lani and the lads, even the dog. Together they would get this sorted quickly. He still has that strange sense of knowing that they are all ok, but he wishes they were here by his side.
Swigging from a bottle of water, Nick glances up into the blue sky, hazy with an incredible sense of oppressive heat. Even the plants and branches wilt from the absurdly high temperatures. The sun scorches exposed skin but with very little choice they have to keep moving.
Rolling pastures of green fields become desert like, with heat shimmers and a feeling of being baked in an oven.
The land starts to rise, gently at first but with increasingly more hostile terrain of devoted fields and furrowed lanes. Each step becomes an ankle twisting hazard and although only a mile has to be walked, it feels far greater.
Lapsing into silence, they aim for a thicket of trees at the crest of the hill, with a deep longing to be amongst the shaded copse and out of the blistering sun. When they reach it, both are bathed in sweat with clothes clinging to bodies and hair lankly plastered across their foreheads. The very air seems too thick to breathe so they slump down amongst the fauna, trying to catch their breath.
Water is poured over heads and down throats, sweat rinsed off but little comfort does it give. Nodding at each other they push off, threading through the dense foliage to reach the edge of a sweeping, shallow valley. There in the distance, nestles what can only be Chapsworth House. A huge sprawling mansion surrounded by manicured gardens. At the rear of the property, beyond the rear lawns lies a glittering river meandering through the scene.
A long driveway stretches from the front of the house towards a high wall and what looks like a gated entrance. They are too far away to be able to see any detail, but can see the basic layout.
Movement at the gate, a vehicle approaches. Another van like they type they took in the town. The van pauses as tiny figures to move around it. When it moves off, Nick and Lilly track the movement as it heads slowly down the long driveway stopping at the front.
Another small figure exits the house and stands near the front of the vehicle. Nick imagines a conversation taking place. The figure walks off and the van moves round the side of the house stopping at a set of doors.
Two people get out the van, open the rear doors and start unloading items which are carried into the house and out of view.
Nick settles low and lets his eyes move gently over the vista before him. The figures at the gates must be guards and there must be others at the front of the house. Scanning the grounds he spots a
nother two figures strolling from the river towards the house. They stop in the middle of the grounds and Nick watches as a large group come into view from the back of the house heading towards the river.
Children, lots of children with two or three larger figures which must be adults. The group moves towards the two guards and stop, words must be exchanged before they all head off, crossing the grounds before stopping just short of the water.
The black insect like figures seem to wait with small movements indicating something is happening within the group. After a few minutes a few start to filter off, crossing the last bit of land before disappearing out of sight.
With the glittering reflection from the surface of the water, neither Nick or Lilly can make out the figures swimming but the action is obvious. Movement from the figures as they move in and out of the water. Fast movement of children running, chasing each other. In and out of the river they go. The adults with them stand close by and appear ready to react.
This doesn't look right. The house is beautiful, the grounds are large and well cared for. It looks serene and nice and with the children playing in the river it wasn’t anything like either of them were expecting.
Chain gangs or something, sexualised predators intent on deviant activities maybe, but this? Children swimming under the watchful eyes of adults, and judging by the running motions they are having fun too. Nick’s mind works to fill in the blanks and he can almost imagine the children laughter, calling out as they splash and run. The adults standing close, smoking cigarettes while chatting amiably.
The two men from the van have stopped unloading and are standing talking to a larger figure. Things are stacked on the ground next to them which can only be the items taken from the vehicle. The larger person seems animated, waving their arms about as they talk. Within a couple of minutes the larger figure disappears then comes back out carrying something. Heading away from the house, the person stops and starts bending over then standing back up.
‘Putting washing out,’ Lilly mutters at seeing light coloured things being fastened to what must be a rope or wire.
The two men from the van walk over to the larger person, one of them stands still while the other helps hanging the clothes up.
‘Your brother must be with that lot,’ Nick says quietly.
‘He loves swimming but this…this is…’
‘Not what you were expecting? Nah, me neither. Looks nice as fuck down there like proper posh. I bet you had a house like that.’
‘No!’ Lilly exclaims.
‘Yeah with horses and Llamas.’
‘Llamas?’
‘Don’t posh people have Llamas?’
‘No Nick, they don’t and I’m not posh.’
‘You talk posh.’
‘My dad was bankrupt and we lived in a little flat near the town centre.’
‘Oh shit, sorry Lilly.’
‘You didn’t know.’
‘But you still sound posh.’
‘Yes okay Nicholas.’
‘Fuck, don’t call me Nicholas.’
‘Stop saying I’m posh then.’
‘Nope.’
‘Okay Nicholas.’
‘Okay Lilly…er…Lillyander.’
‘What? You made that up! That’s not even a name.’
‘It is…Lillyander.’
‘Whatever Nicholas. Now would you mind awfully if we focussed on rescuing my brother.’
‘Awfully?’
‘I said that on purpose.’
It helps making mindless, stupid jokes that cost nothing. It doesn't take the pain or fear away but it helps to cope, giving a façade of being okay.
‘I think that side entrance looks the best bet,’ Nick says seriously, ‘it looked like those men just walked in, they didn’t stop to wait for someone to open up.’
‘Agreed,’ Lilly nods, ‘do we wait for night time or…?’
Nick tracks back to the area of the main gate and the figures moving around it. Counting four of them he looks back at the river, there were two people there first then two or three adults came out with the children so that makes about five. Nine people split between the gate and the rear and if they can afford to have that many just on guard then they must have a whole lot more inside.
The two men finish unloading the van and one goes into the house while the other gets back into the vehicle, slowly turning round to drive towards the front of the house then straight across to the far side and out of view.
‘Another one,’ Lilly nudges his arm pointing to the gate. A big, blue van is going through what looks like the same procedure as before. There is some movement at the gate then the van goes down the drive. The figure comes out the house, has a chat then round to the side to unload. Nick nods, he was right. One of the figures went straight in so that door can’t be locked. More figures come out this time to help unload. One of them stands at the back of the van handing items over to be carried inside.
‘Too many,’ he mutters quietly. Turning his head he casts a sad look at Lilly, ‘there’s too many for just two of us.’
‘We can wait for night and try sneaking in.’
‘No way,’ Nick shakes his head gently, ‘they’ll see us way before we get inside the house. Look at how many men they have. Four or five on that front gate, more out the back with the children and every van looks like it has two people in it, plus we don’t know how many vans are parked round the other side. That house could be full of men like those back in that town.’
‘I’m not leaving Billy here,’ Lilly hisses.
‘We’ve got to be smart here,’ Nick explains, ‘if we go down there now we’ll be caught. Fact. No way round it. That bloke who took Billy saw me standing over his mate, so I’ll probably be recognised and even if they don’t know you, there’s no fucking way you can go down there.’
‘Why not?’
‘What you gonna do? Just walk in and ask for your brother back? Lilly, I don’t mean this in a rude way but like er…well you’re fucking stunning, really beautiful…they’ll take one look at you and…’
‘Norman,’ Lilly sags.
‘If that was the bloke that tried it on last night then yeah, it’ll be like that but probably worse.’
‘What do we do? We can’t just leave him.’
‘If they took Billy from you like that, then all those kids would have been taken from people. This isn’t just about Billy, this is about all those kids. We can’t leave any of them there but then we,’ he motions between them, ‘can’t do fuck all with just two of us.’
‘I can’t….’ Lilly starts to say.
Cutting her off quickly, Nick pushes on, ‘Look though, they’re swimming,’ Nick points down the hill, ‘they ain’t been fucking tortured or anything right now, they’re running about and playing which means they’re fine.’
‘For now.’
‘Yeah I know but Billy only just got here but some of those kids might have been here a while and they’re still running about and swimming. Those vans are going into the towns to bring food back so they got loads to eat. I get it Lilly, really I do. We can’t just leave them there without knowing they’re okay but we cannot fucking go down there with just two of us. Fuck, no we could but we’d probably get killed and then Billy is fucked left right and centre. Mr Howie doesn't know where I am so he can’t come rescuing us. We gotta go down to the fort and find the others, then we come back with my team and deal with this properly.’
‘What if they don’t want to come back,’ Lilly asks with a look of pure fear on her face.
‘They will,’ Nick urges.
‘They might not, they might see it as someone else’s problem.’
‘No, not a chance,’ Nick replies firmly.
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘Cause I been with them since this started,’ Nick says with an earnest expression, ‘I know what they’re like. A few days ago we were walking through this fucking awful shitty council estate right. It’s night and we’ve been a
ll over the place doing weird stuff but anyway, as we go along we hear a fucking shit loads of zombies attacking this place in the middle. Now we could have just crept away, they didn’t see us and we could easily have slipped past them and been done but we didn’t. Mr Howie saw we had a chance to cut them down so we went for it. Last night we were out fighting for hours, and we left others in that car park we went to earlier. We were off down the road in the Saxon and could see there were fucking thousands of them trying to get into that car park. Again we could have fucked off and gone somewhere else but Mr Howie, well he got that Saxon right through ‘em so we could get to the top and help the others. See what I’m saying? There’s no way he’ll leave these kids here.’
‘I can’t Nick,’ Lilly says with a pleading look, her eyes brimming with tears, ‘I can’t just leave him.’
‘We don’t have a choice.’
‘No, I’m not going anywhere without Billy.’
‘Lilly, please listen to me. There are too many men down there, you’ve already seen what they did to your father and that girl…’
‘Sam.’
‘Yes her, sorry I couldn’t remember her name. If we get caught, which we will, there will be nobody left to come and help do you understand that?’ Turning back to stare down the hill he looks between the gate and the river, ‘and how the hell are we going to get all those children out? We can’t just take Billy and leave them.’
‘Do you promise?’ Lilly implores him, begging with her eyes for re-assurance that this isn’t it, that they’re not just walking away.
Shifting position Nick puts his hand over hers, squeezing softly, ‘I swear Lilly, I totally fucking swear.’
‘You keep on swearing,’ she smiles sadly as a single tear rolls down her cheek.
‘Sorry,’ he flashes a quick grin, ‘we will come back, even if we don’t find the others, no matter what happens I swear I will come back and get your brother.’
‘Okay,’ she whispers seeing the honest intent in his eyes.
‘They’re okay,’ Nick whispers, ‘they’re splashing about and having fun, fuck I wish I was down there cooling off in the water.’