by Ryan Casey
She turned and started to walk.
Jack shuffled to his feet, still a little dizzy. “Wait.”
She stopped. Her back was to his. The dress didn’t quite fit her, Jack could tell from here. It hung awkwardly from her bony shoulders.
She turned around and looked at Jack.
“I saw you. That goose, she belongs to us. You can’t just walk away. Especially not without telling us what your deal is.”
“Believe me,” she said. “It’s better. Better for your people if I don’t tell you a thing.”
Jack wanted to let her go. He didn’t want to make any decisions.
But he wanted to know what her deal was.
“You… you watched me while I was unconscious. Made sure I was okay. That’s not normal behaviour for someone stealing from another person in this world.”
Her face twitched a little, like she was trying to come up with an excuse for what she’d done. In the end, all she managed was a hesitant: “I have nothing against you.”
She went to turn away again, but Jack kept on pushing.
“You—you had to steal from us. Which means you’re struggling. Are… are you on your own?”
She stopped again. But this time, she didn’t look back. She just stared off into the trees. “In a way,” she said. “I’m not quite sure yet. I guess it depends on what I decide.”
None of this was making any sense. “Your clothes. What you’re wearing. If you don’t mind me saying. It looks a little…”
“It’s what He makes us wear. Made us wear.”
It was the way she said “He” that did it. Shivers crossed Jack’s body. The hairs stood on his arms. There was something haunting about this man’s anonymity. Something that made him feel uneasy.
“Who is ‘He’?” Jack asked.
The girl opened her mouth. Then she stopped. She was staring off into space. She looked lost. Caught in a trance.
“Hello?”
She looked back at him and quite visibly swallowed. “You don’t need to know who He is. Just… just be careful.”
She turned around again, went to walk.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She didn’t respond.
“Hey,” he shouted. “What’s your name?”
She stopped again. This time, she didn’t turn around. “My name… it doesn’t matter. Names don’t matter anymore. Not in this world. Only actions matter.”
She started walking, quicker this time. Donny still under her arms.
“You can’t just walk away. That’s my property.”
She looked over her shoulder. “I’m sorry. But there’s no such thing as anyone’s property. Not until you take it.”
Jack shook his head. He didn’t feel at ease about this in any way.
“You can’t just walk away,” Jack said. “You steal from us. You attack me. You stick around and then start talking about some weird man who you sound pretty frigging worried about, if you don’t mind me saying. Who are you? Where do you come from?”
She looked into his eyes and this time, Jack saw something else.
Something that made him feel totally uneasy.
Jack saw fear.
“Your caravan site,” she said. “Heathwaite’s. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but… you need to get away from there. Far away. You don’t want to be there. Not when He arrives.”
The way she spoke was at odds with everything else she’d said. It was like a mask had slipped, and she was finally speaking the honest truth.
“What are you talking ab…”
Jack stopped talking.
The girl froze, mouth ajar, eyes wide as she held on to Donny.
Because just up ahead, Jack heard something.
Footsteps rustling through the woods.
Chapter Eight
Jack heard the footsteps approaching through the woods and tightened his grip around the knife.
He stood there, totally still, as the sun beamed down through the trees. Even though he was surrounded by nature, he felt totally exposed.
He could hear those footsteps approaching. Getting closer.
And he could hear the voices, too.
Only faintly. Barely even whispers.
But audible.
Enough to make the hairs on Jack’s arms rise.
But it wasn’t the footsteps or the voices that scared Jack the most.
What scared him the most was the way the girl who’d knocked him out—whose name he still didn’t know—looked at him.
The fear in her eyes.
“What—”
“Get down,” the girl said, holding on to Donny’s beak to stop her making a sound.
Jack frowned. “What’s happening?”
“It’s them,” she said. “It’s… it’s Him.”
Jack felt nausea building. The way she said those final words—that final word in particular—sent a shiver down his spine.
“Who is this guy?” he asked.
But there was no time to get an answer.
Because the girl crouched down and disappeared into the trees.
Jack looked at where she’d gone. He looked ahead, over at the approaching people.
On the one hand, he wanted to stay put and face them; see what their deal was.
On the other, that look in the girl’s eyes. That fear.
And she knew them better than Jack.
He thought about retreating. Heading back to the farm.
But there was more he wanted to know about these people.
There was more he wanted to know about this girl.
He touched Villain on the back of his neck and then bolted off into the trees, towards the girl.
The trees grew thicker. There was no sign of anyone anywhere. The girl had gone. Vanished into thin air.
Jack didn’t want to let her slip from his grip.
Not when she clearly knew so much about a possible threat on the horizon.
He kept on running through the trees in the general direction of where he’d thought he’d seen her go. He wanted to call out for the girl, but then he didn’t want to risk attracting the attention of those people either.
He kept on going until he saw movement to his left.
He stopped. Grabbed Villain, urging him to stop, too.
There was someone moving between the trees.
Jack stood totally still. He held his breath. He swore his heart was pounding so loud that anyone nearby would be able to hear it, or even feel it.
That person moved further forward. Further towards a gap between the trees.
Jack had no choice but to move.
He shifted over to the right, over towards a patch of tall grass.
He crouched there, Villain beside him, trying to hold his breath, trying to keep his shit together.
He clutched his knife in hand.
That’s when he heard them.
Right in front of him, there were footsteps.
There were lots of them. More than he first thought, although in the thickness of the woods, he couldn’t figure out how many exactly. And they were just metres away from him, if that.
They walked past him. He could see their bare feet just through the grass. Men and women all trailing these long white dresses against the ground, just like the one the girl was wearing.
He watched them pass by and he clung on to Villain’s neck, praying he stayed silent, praying he didn’t budge.
And then he heard a growl.
Villain was growling.
His heart skipped a beat. A bolt of heat swallowed up his face.
They’d hear him.
If he didn’t stop growling, they’d hear him.
He watched those footsteps keep on moving by.
And then he saw one of them stop.
It was a woman. She turned. Looked over in Jack’s general direction.
“Quiet, boy,” he whispered, rubbing the back of Villain’s neck. “Please. Quiet.”
Villain’s growlin
g eased.
The woman kept on looking in his direction.
She walked closer towards him until she was just inches away, and he knew this was it. He knew his time was up.
He held his breath and then he heard it.
A loud squeal from Donny.
He heard the woman stop.
Saw her turn around.
Donny hissed louder.
The woman raced towards him.
Jack heard a struggle.
Then a snap.
And then Donny’s hissing and squealing stopped.
Jack felt a mixture of emotions hit him as he lay there, flat on his stomach, Villain beside him. Relief that the woman had redirected her attention. But also sadness. There could be no doubts about the sound he’d heard. Donny wasn’t here anymore.
But he couldn’t afford to sit around, as urgency filled his body.
The urgency to get as far away from these people as possible.
He stood up and went to make a move to the right.
And then he saw someone right in front of him.
First, fear gripped him, tightened its intensity around his throat.
And then he realised it was the girl who’d knocked him out.
She had her finger to her lips.
Jack didn’t realise why at first.
Not until he looked just to their left and saw him.
He was short. Quite well-built. Bearded, with long, dark hair trailing down to his shoulders, and burning green eyes. He was a handsome guy, in all truth. He was dressed all in white, and he had a smile to his face that Jack could see even though the guy wasn’t looking right at Jack and the girl. He looked charismatic, and he looked generous.
But there was something Jack couldn’t put his finger on about him.
Besides, Jack didn’t need to be told who he was to know it was the He who this girl feared so much.
He was right there.
And when he turned around, he was going to see them.
The girl nudged him.
Jack looked into her eyes.
She nodded, gesturing him to retreat.
Jack didn’t want to move. He wanted to know more about this girl.
But then on the other hand he didn’t want to face whatever He might have planned.
He shook his head. Went to say something.
Then she backed away, slightly, into the trees.
Jack watched this girl get further away.
He watched her disappear further into the woods.
He wanted to go after her. To stop her leaving.
He wanted to know more about her.
And he wanted to know more about Him.
But all he could do was hide behind a tree as He looked around in Jack’s general direction.
For a solitary moment, Jack thought this man looked right at him, right into his eyes. He thought their gaze locked, just for a second.
And he thought He smiled.
But then the man turned around and disappeared into the woods.
Jack stood there for a while longer.
Alone, other than Villain by his side.
The girl was gone.
The group was gone.
He was gone.
But Jack knew damn well this was only the beginning of something much bigger.
Chapter Nine
“So let me get this straight. You’re saying there’s some kind of weird ritualistic cult out there in the woods, right on our doorstep? You’re saying one of them knocked you out, warned you about them and then let you go? And you say they’re all wearing, like, weird pagany gear?”
Jack heard Harry’s words and he couldn’t help blushing. When he heard it broken down like that, it did sound a little embarrassing.
But he couldn’t lie. He was worried. And this wasn’t just him being paranoid. He’d seen them, and he feared what they might be capable of. And the girl, as conflicted as she was, had warned him to make sure everyone got away from Heathwaite’s before it was too late.
It was afternoon. Another scorching day. Sweat trickled down his forehead. He hadn’t done much work at all. His forehead was aching more and more, the lump on it turning large, bruised and nasty. He was standing in the main square near the old caravan site reception area. He’d been reluctant to call a wider meeting, especially because it was something people with responsibilities were more likely to do, but this seemed like something he couldn’t avoid. Everyone was here. All of them staring at him. Watching.
Looking to him for support.
“I know it sounds… bizarre,” Jack said. “But I can’t lie about what I saw.”
“And isn’t this a bit, well…” Bella said.
Jack frowned. “A bit what?”
“A bit convenient,” Hazel intervened. “Last night, you were telling us all about how you’re uncertain about this place. Today, you conveniently run into someone who tells you something’s on the horizon.”
“If you’re trying to say this is some kind of elaborate conspiracy, try telling it to the frigging lump on my forehead.”
“Nobody’s questioning your intentions, Jack,” Gregory said. He was the de facto leader of this place. An older guy with a large grey beard. Friendly eyes, always smiling. People looked to him for the decision-making, for answers, and for security. “I just… Well. You have been sceptical about this place for a long time. You have to understand why people might question your motives here.”
“And I understand that,” Jack said, growing ever more frustrated. “But I’m literally telling you there’s something coming our way. A girl who escaped them, she literally told me this place is in danger. She told us to get away from this place.”
“And you don’t think we could deal with them?” Gregory asked.
Jack thought about them all drifting through the woods. They didn’t look violent. If anything, they actually looked pretty peaceful. Aside from what they did to Donny Osmond, anyway, but that could be shrugged off as just catching food.
But he couldn’t shake the way that girl had spoken about them.
He’d heard right from her mouth that the group weren’t peaceful. That they meant harm.
The people of Heathwaite’s had to heed that warning.
“Why now?” Hazel asked.
Jack frowned. “Why now what?”
“You spend three months sinking into the background. Now you decide you want to be a leader again. Why now?”
“That’s not what this is about. It’s about being ready for whatever’s coming our way. If we don’t… I fear something bad’s going to happen. And I don’t want to be the one to say I told you so. That’s all.”
Silence followed. A few mutters amongst the crowd. Mrs Fuzzles groaned as she sat awkwardly on Harry’s lap. She looked bothered by something in the woods. Intrigued.
Eventually, Gregory sighed and stood up. “You’re right. We can’t be melodramatic, but at the same time, there are people out there with ill intentions, almost certainly. We’d be foolish not to prepare for any kind of conflict. But that’s all it comes down to. Preparation. We have people. And we have the weapons to deal with any threat that might come our way. We have what it takes to defend ourselves. So that’s what we will do.”
Jack wanted to say that bravado wasn’t enough. He wanted to tell Gregory that a bunch of knives wasn’t going to do the trick when the bulk of the people carrying them weren’t adequately trained. And the two rifles that the guards carried would only go so far with limited ammo.
He also felt that urge to leave this place, to get on the road, to find somewhere new. It felt like the news of the impending threat backed up every doubt he’d had about this place for a long time.
But then Gregory was the leader. He was the more rational one here. He was the one who made the important decisions.
And Jack wasn’t one to question that.
He sighed and he nodded. “I hope you’re right.”
“We increase the border checks at night,” Gregory sai
d. “We make sure we know exactly what we’re dealing with. We’re going to protect this place, if anything comes its way. You know that, Jack. You’re just as willing to protect your home as anyone.”
Jack nodded.
He looked around at all these people. The men. The women. The children.
Then he looked back, over at the woods.
He swore he saw movement in there.
But all he could do was swallow a lump in his throat as a light breeze drifted across the fields in their direction.
And all he could do was think of the fear in that girl’s eyes.
You don’t want to be there. Not when He arrives.
Chapter Ten
Bella felt Harry’s arms around her body and she couldn’t help smiling.
It was late. Early hours. She slept better these days, even without the aid of sleeping pills that she relied so dearly on in the old world.
But tonight, something was bothering her. Something was keeping her awake.
When she was in Harry’s arms, she didn’t mind. Because he made her happy.
She felt him tighten his grip around her, and turned around.
He was wide awake. His bright blue eyes peered into hers. He was smiling.
“What’s keeping you awake?” she asked.
He puffed his lips. “Oh, I don’t know. A beautiful girl beside me, perhaps?”
“Shut up.”
“I’m serious.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been so lucky.”
“I bet that’s what you tell all the girls.”
Harry smirked. “Oh yeah. All those post apocalyptic girls. They’re in abundance, you know.”
Bella laughed. Truth be told, Bella and Harry were taking their relationship slow, and keeping it quiet. She didn’t want to jump into anything. She was still getting over what’d happened to Wayne, after all.
She’d never been with Wayne, but there had been a connection there between them that was undeniable. Losing him had been difficult to take. Especially for someone as emotionally fragile as her.
But Harry had made her transition to life at the camp easier.
“But truth be told,” Harry said, “I’m a bit worried about Mrs Fuzzles.”