The Bitter End

by James Loscombe

  She nodded, she was sorry for him, she really was, but she had to think about her family. "Dennis, can I have a word with you?" she said.

  He nodded and followed her a few steps away from the old man. She watched him over Dennis's shoulder. He just stood there with his hands clasped behind his back looking out at the fields.

  "Are you out of your mind?" she said in a whisper which she could only hope portrayed her anger.

  "What?" he said.

  "What do you mean, 'what'? You can't just go around inviting random strangers to come along with us."

  "He's not random, he's fine."

  "How do you know? How do you know it's not all some act so he can gain our trust and then when we let our guard down he'll kill us all while we sleep?"

  He laughed but then saw that she wasn't joking. "He's not going to kill us."

  "How can you be sure?"

  "I ... I just ... Just trust me. Okay?"

  She almost exploded at him but she kept her voice down. "No Dennis, it is not okay. What if he does something to one of the kids?"

  "He's not going to hurt the kids," said Dennis but she could see she'd managed to rattle him. That worked for her.

  She spoke more softly, "you don't know that. You can't know that."

  He nodded, went quiet for a moment. "What if we tell him he has to stay on his boat and tell the kids they can't leave ours?"

  She thought about it.

  "If we tell him he can't come there's nothing we can do to stop him following us."

  She thought about the gun under the bed. She thought there was something they could do. But Dennis had a point and she didn't think she had it in her to shoot a (probably) innocent man.

  She nodded. "But if he tries to come on our boat..."

  "He won't," said Dennis, some of the old excitement returning to his voice.

  "But if he does..."

  "I'll deal with him," he said and she could tell by his expression that they were both thinking the same thing.

  "Okay then," she said and Dennis kissed her on the lips before rushing back over to Frank Shorehill to give him the good news.

  Frank left and returned a few minutes later in his boat. It really was something special and seeing it gave Hannah even more reason to be wary of him. It wasn't a canal boat but a speed boat, painted a dull black it looked like the sort of thing the military might have put together.

  That evening they moored their boats next to each other and ate fresh fish that Frank had caught earlier in the day. He sat on his boat and they on theirs. He made no attempt to cross the divide as he told them all about how he had found himself on the river.

  He told them that when the creatures got into his house he ran. He wasn't proud of the fact but he had seen what they could do and that once they found his wife, Margaret was her name, he knew there was nothing he could do for her. So he'd run. Their house was by the river but he wasn't particularly aiming for the water. They didn't own a boat or anything so when he realised where he was going he thought that he would have to swim for safety.

  He found the black boat waiting for him. The keys still in the ignition. He didn't need any more of an invitation than that and took it away.

  He had been wondering the river aimlessly, living on the dried astronaut food he'd found aboard. But he was lonely, he missed his wife and he was plagued by nightmares of her coming back as one of those creatures that everyone was calling a vampire.

  6

  It took three more days to reach Sanctuary. That's what they called it 'Sanctuary'. They were long uneventful days spent watching the green fields float by beside them. They didn't see any more creatures but they tended to gravitate towards the cities, where there were more people, so it wasn't surprising and did little to soften the fear that came from the knowledge that they were still out there.

  She thought the kids had begun to suspect that something was going on. They asked more questions about where they were going. Hannah tried to dampen their expectations as she didn't want them to be too disappointed when they found there was nothing there.

  Frank turned out to be quite charming. He didn't make any attempt to talk her into letting him on their boat but he didn't protest when, two days after she'd made Dennis promise he wouldn't come aboard, she invited him herself. He brought fresh fish and helped her cook it. They talked long into the night and passed around the bottle of twenty year old whiskey he'd bought with him. Ben and Cora fell asleep on the floor.

  The next morning, the morning of their arrival, she was hung over. She thought that, judging by the way he moved, stiffly, as if he were balancing an egg on his head, Dennis was hung over as well. They weren't expecting to arrive until late in the afternoon but, as they would later learn, the little community of Sanctuary, had grown significantly since Dennis's map had be drawn.

  Two boats sat stationary on the water ahead of them, effectively blocking any further progress along the river. "Dennis," she called down into the boat.

  His head appeared a few moments later. He climbed out and saw the two boats. "Cut the engine," he said and she did as he told her. A moment later Frank did the same but she could still hear the engines of the two boats ahead, running to keep them stationary against the river current.

  They drifted towards the two boats. She couldn't see anyone on them. The kids appeared behind Dennis, looked about to ask what was going on and fell silent when they saw the two boats ahead.

  "Sentries," said Dennis. "They've got to be." But he didn't sound sure. Behind them Frank had appeared on his boat. He didn't need to ask what was going on.

  She waited for something to happen but nothing did. They kept drifting towards the two boats and she thought that if someone didn't do something soon they were going to run into them. Her hand twitched over the key but Dennis took hold of it. "Wait," he said.

  She saw people walk onto the decks of those two boats. Dennis smiled and waved at them.

  All of the people on the boats were men, dressed in light green combat trousers they looked like they were out for a day of fishing. The big guns they carried, however, told a different story. She turned to look at Dennis but he didn't seem worried. She tried her best not to worry either but it didn't do any good.

  "River's blocked," said a fat man. They were only a few metres away now and in the silence of the new world it was easy to hear them talk.

  Dennis looked at her but she didn't know what he saw in her expression.

  She heard the engine on Frank's boat start up and her first thought that he was going to leave them there with the men and their guns. But instead he manoeuvred his boat past them and up to the two boats blocking their path.

  She could hear him talking to the men but couldn't make out what was being said. her heart pounded in her chest. Her breathing was shallow. She realised that she had put almost as much faith in the safety of this place as Dennis.

  After what seemed like an eternity Frank turned around. "Follow me," he said.

  Dennis started the engine and took the tiller from her. She was pleased. Her hands were shaking and she didn't think the would have been able to navigate the narrow twisting river ahead.

  They travelled slowly with Frank taking the lead. She desperately wanted to stop him and ask what he'd said to the men on the boats but then she thought about it and wondered if she wanted to know. She liked Frank but she wasn't sure she would like the answer he would give.

  The further along the river they went the more boats they saw. Big boats, small boats, in between boats. Some of them had people standing on them, watching them travel past, most of them looked empty though. The bank gave way to a reed marsh that she didn't think anyone could walk on and then river started to open up.

  On the wider stretches of river the boats that they saw jutted out towards the centre. They were more frequently occupied here and tied together in threes, fours and mores. Neither Hannah nor Dennis spoke.

  It would later seem that she had felt a sense of dread a
s they arrived in Sanctuary but it wouldn't be the truth. She felt confused, certainly, a little apprehensive, perhaps, but not dread.

  Frank led them to what at first appeared to be an island in the middle of the wide stretch of river. As they got nearer, however, she saw that it was actually man made. A floor of wooden boards floating like a boat. There was a hut, or shed in the middle and a long boat moored at either end.

  They circled the island and moored next to Frank. Hannah was too stunned to say anything. She watched in mute astonishment alongside Ben and Cora as two men walked out of the hut and helped to tie up their boats. No time at all seemed to pass before Frank was standing before them.

  "The General would like to see us," he said.

  "General?" said Dennis. He sounded as stunned as she felt. "Who's the General?"

  But Frank just smiled a knowing smile. "Trust me," he said.

  Dennis nodded and took her hand. He turned to her. "You'll wait here with the kids?"

  She nodded but Frank interrupted. "The General wants to see you both," he said.

  "Oh no," said Hannah, suddenly sure they had walked into a trap. "No, no way. I'm not leaving them."

  "Bring them with you," said Frank. "There's room inside."

  She looked at him and scowled. "Who are you?"

  He actually laughed like Santa Claus as well. "All will be revealed my dear. You have nothing to fear."

  Dennis climbed onto the island and she handed Cora to him. Then Ben jumped across and she followed.

  The island wobbled beneath her feet and sounded hollow. She didn't like it, not the island, not the community, not the way they were being treated, not one little bit. But she followed Dennis into the dark hut.

  Candle stubs burned around the single room building giving off a flickering light and making the air hot and moist. Large men with guns stood on either side of the door, four more stood behind a long table and five chairs.

  On the table there were large sheets of paper open. Hannah couldn't see what was printed on them. She felt as if she had stepped into another world. The third she had lived in recently.

  A woman of about forty with short grey hair that still had remnants of brown sat in the middle chair. The other four people at the table were men.

  The woman had been hunched over the papers when they entered but she sat back and put her hands in her lap as they approached. Frank walked up to her, leaned across the table and kissed her on the mouth. "It's good to see you again Margie," he said.

  Hannah didn't know what to think. She held Cora's hand more tightly and waited to see what would happen next.

  "Who have you brought us this time Frank?" said Margie.

  "The Thompson's," he said. "Found 'em down by the aqueduct. Had a map."

  "A map?" said Margie with obviously staged surprise. "How did they come across that I wonder."

  "Said he found it on the boat," explained Frank.

  "I see. And you've vetted them?"

  Hannah was well aware that this was a performance being put on for their benefit. She saw Frank nod to the question.

  "Well lets see then," said Margie. "What have we got here." She put on a pair of black rimmed glasses and stood up. She walked around the table and began to examine them one by one.

  "Name?"

  "Dennis."

  She nodded as if it mattered. "And what did you do, before all of this?"

  "I worked at Lloyds of London," he said. "Not a stockbroker though."

  Margie nodded. Hannah glanced at the table behind her and saw the four men watching. One of them was writing down what was being said. "Any military experience?" she said.

  Dennis shook his head.

  "Have you ever fired a gun?"

  Dennis shook his head again.

  "A pity. And what about you?" she said stopping in front of Hannah.

  She told the woman her name and that her last job was in marketing. She had never fired a gun and the closest she had come to military service was a year in the Girl Guides.

  "Are the children yours?" she said.

  "They are," said Hannah.

  "Good, you can't be too careful. What are their names?"

  Hannah told her and it was noted by the man at the table.

  "Well then," said Margie. "Welcome to Sanctuary. You will find us a pleasant community. We have very few rules but we don't tolerate antisocial behaviour. We look after each other. Frank will show you where you can moor up for now, until we can find you a permanent spot."

  They followed Frank out of the cabin. She scowled at him when he looked at her. He led them further down the river to an empty space between two small boats.

  "You'll be alright here," he said. "Few days we'll see about getting you somewhere more permanent. Maybe another couple of boats."

  She didn't thank him. She couldn't forget that he'd lied to them all. He'd spied on them to make sure they were 'suitable' for Sanctuary. He left them to get settled in and she tried to talk to Dennis about it but he dismissed her concerns.

  That night Frank returned with food and water for them but he didn't stay to talk. He told them he had work to do.

  1

  Ben crouched in the long grass and watched the rabbit move. It loped a few metres and then stopped, lifted its head and looked around, twitching its pink nose. Ben held a homemade spear in his hand. It was made of a piece of tree that he had sanded and made straight and on the killing end there was a razor sharp tip made out of scavenged metal. They did have guns at Sanctuary but they were noisy, cumbersome things. They used them for defence rather than hunting.

  Mentally he had drawn out a circle on the ground and now he was waiting for the rabbit to hop into it. He held his breath as it came nearer, paused to sniff the air and then continued into his killing circle.

  He launched the spear through the air. It was silent but his grunt echoed and a flock of birds took flight from a nearby tree. Sometimes there were animals bigger than rabbits to hunt and those were good days, but they were few and far between. Most days they had to make do with rabbit meat or nothing.

  He crossed the long grass to where the rabbit lay pinned to the ground. It wasn't moving. He pulled the weapon free and shouldered the furry meat. He carried it back to his hiding place where he strung it up with the other four he had caught that morning and prepared to make his way home.

  He could remember a time when they hadn't lived on a boat but it was a distant memory, vague and unsettling, tinged as it was with their flight from the vampires. The name had been settled on a long time ago. Sanctuary was safe though. The nearest land was more than a mile away and as far as he was aware no vampire had ever attempted to reach them. The only thing they had to worry about was pirates.

  He approached the village in the little raft that he had made himself out of the discarded hulls of other boats. When his parents had agreed that he was old enough to go out by himself he had spent long summer days roaming up and down the river collecting useful bits and pieces.

  The laughter of children carried on the wind. Careless laughter, he thought, most of them had never even seen a vamp. Most of them didn't know that there was anything out there that could hurt them. He could hear splashing in the water and as he got closer tiny waves rocked the little boat.

  Ben rowed through the outskirts of Sanctuary, where the people who had come later lived. Their boats were mostly single hulls and they were crammed in together. None of them seemed to mind, they were simply happy to have somewhere they could feel safe.

  The Island had been expanded over the years and there were now three structures on top of it. The oldest was the Village Hall, where the General - the title persisted, although it had been years since the leader of Sanctuary had been an actual military General - worked. It was where Billy and his family had gone when they'd first arrived and where every new arrival since had gone to be vetted. There was an annex at the rear where the weapons were stored. The biggest building was the hospital. It had only been finished th
e year before but the General had big plans for it.

  The last building was the Market. A long narrow building where the residents of Sanctuary could trade food. It was meant to prevent private bartering, which led to arguments and, once, a particularly memorable murder. Ben played the game of trading there but he was well aware that private trading still went on.

  He tied his little boat to the dock and climbed off. He ignored the Market and the Hospital and went straight to the Village Hall where he found the General waiting for him.

  General was an elected position in the village. Every four years there was a meeting where prospective candidates put their names forwards and gave little speeches about why they would be good at the job. Then the citizens of Sanctuary voted. The current holder of the title was a man called Nicholas Clipper. He was forty-three and the youngest person to hold the position yet.

  It was claimed that he was a member of the royal family. Although, by unspoken consent, no one discussed their past, Ben wouldn't have put it past Nicholas to drop the claim casually into a conversation or to make sure it was overheard by people he knew would repeat it. He had no idea whether it was true or not but the claim seemed to have strengthened his position and the power the role had.

  Ben approached him. The desk that he sat behind was grander than the one Margie had used. He remembered her fondly, they had become good friends over the years. He still missed her. There was no one else in the Hall which was another mark of Nicholas's; he still had a council, that was a necessity prescribed by their laws, but whenever he could he chose to work alone.

  "Ben," he said, looking up from the book he was writing in. "It's good to see you."

  He dropped one of the rabbits on the table.

  "Are you coming for dinner tonight?" said Nicholas. "Cora will do wonders with this."

  As well as being General, Nicholas was also his brother in-law. It still didn't mean he had to like him. He had twenty-years on Cora and Ben didn't think she was happy, or maybe he just hoped she wasn't.

  He nodded. "If you'll have me."