“Like what?”
“Some people say a prayer. Some just say a few words as if they were talking to them. Some say nothing at all.”
“Well, I just wish I’d have been there. I wish I’d have been there with them. Been more of a dad and more of a husband. Maybe in the next life, eh?”
Jules placed her hand over his. “We all have regrets. Words that we didn’t get the chance to say, but I’m sure they knew you loved them, and, in the end, that’s all that counts.”
The words gave Scotty some comfort, and he gave Jules’s hand a weak squeeze. “Can you do one more thing for me?”
“Course I can.”
“When I go, can you plant a seed for me in there? I don’t want to spend eternity alone.”
Jules's eyes widened as she tried to hold back tears. This was one of the saddest things she’d ever heard. “None of us spends eternity alone, darlin’, that’s not how it works, but I’ll happily plant a seed for you in there too. Let’s hope that’s not for some time yet, eh?”
Scotty looked at Jules for a long time and she looked back. She did not know what to do to try to comfort him, to alleviate his doubts, so she just remained there kneeling by his side, holding his hand. Eventually, he closed his eyes. “I think I’ll try to have a nap.”
“You do that. I’ll go and place this with the others.” Jules picked up the plant pot and walked to the door, throwing one final glance back to the frail-looking figure lying on the floor before heading out.
Rog walked up to her. “Thank you for that.”
“You don’t need to thank me. He’s sleeping now.”
“Sleep’s good. Hopefully, it will come for him in his sleep and he’ll go without too much more suffering.”
They carried on walking towards the garden depot. “Is there anyone you want to say goodbye to?”
“Already said my goodbyes. Not much of a believer I’m afraid. I struggle to see how a god could allow all this. I know they say he works in mysterious ways but…”
“But what?”
“I saw a young mother running from those things with her baby in her arms. They caught her and dragged her down. The baby went quiet. Didn’t come back, but she did. I was protecting a group of about fifteen school kids and their teacher at the time. There was nothing I could do about it until that woman started running towards us, with half her throat hanging out. I took down the ones that attacked her; then I had to take her down. So if there is a god, mysterious ways or not, fuck him!” Rog said and turned back towards the cash office.
Jules stood there for a moment, the thought of the woman and child sending a shudder through her. She understood Rog’s anger and his reluctance to believe, but there had to be more than this. There had to be.
CHAPTER 8
“Knock, knock, are you decent?” Jules asked as she stood outside the bay that used to house flatpack children's wardrobes but was now George’s living space. The cloth curtain that had once been a dust sheet (aisle three - decorating supplies) opened, revealing a compact living environment that the Japanese would have been proud of.
George had fixed plasterboard to the rear and sides of the space, giving him and his neighbours more privacy. A framed print of New York City at night hung just above where his head would rest on his makeshift corrugated cardboard mattress.
“Take a seat,” he said, sitting down on the flattened out boxes.
Jules crouched so as not to bang her head on the shelf above and sat down beside him. At the side of the ‘bed’, there was a small upturned plastic box. On it sat a torch, a bottle of water and a family photo.
“You never struck me as a New York type,” Jules said, nodding towards the poster.
“No … no, can’t say I am. I saw it, and it made me smile. It’s just a reminder.”
“A reminder of what?”
“My eldest granddaughter, Robyn. She really wanted to go to New York. I think it was ever since watching that Miracle on 34th Street. You know; the Christmas film. She wanted to see the parades; she wanted to go to the shops. I told her one day I’d take her. I don’t suppose I’m going to get to keep that promise now, but I saw this picture, and it just made me think of her.”
“That’s nice,” Jules said, looking at the picture. “So, what’s on the to-do list today?”
“Well, I was thinking. The road out of town was pretty quiet when we were travelling yesterday. We passed a couple of service stations and a big boarding school.”
“And?”
“Well. There’ll be all sorts we can use from both … before anybody else gets to them first.”
“Okay, the petrol stations I can understand, but what are we going to find at a school?”
George let out a sigh. “What do they have in schools?”
“Books.”
“Who reads the books?”
“Kids?”
“Now, I realise you’re not a parent, but one commonality between all children is they need food. At a boarding school, that’s breakfast, lunch and dinner, and they’re not going to be buying a tin at a time. These places get the best deals by buying in bulk. Everything happened so quickly that there’s a good chance the food could still be there. What’s more, if it looks safe enough, it might be an option for us … to move everyone out of the city.”
Jules sat back, her shoulders rested against the plasterboard wall. She looked across the aisle to the opaque plastic sheeting covering another makeshift bedsit. A figure began to stir within. “I suppose it couldn’t be any worse than this place. But it’s a big operation moving everybody from here, all our stuff.”
“If we don’t do it soon, we’ll never do it.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, think about it. We’re finding new people in the city all the time, some of them not in the best state. The more of us there are, the harder it will be. The fuel won’t last forever and even though we’re on the outskirts, we’re still in an area with a population of over forty thousand. The food we got yesterday was a real bonus, it’s given us a breathing space, but it won’t last forever. And look at this place,” George said, gesturing up and down the aisle. “Do you really want to live here?”
“I hadn’t really thought about us living here, it was just…”
“A stopgap?”
“Well, yeah.”
“That time’s been and gone, what are we waiting for?”
“We’ve got old people. We’ve got a pregnant woman, we’ve got sick, we’ve got—”
“That’s what I’m saying. We’ve delayed moving, and we’ve even started turning this place into a kind of shantytown, but that school … it could be just what we’re looking for.”
“This is why you should be in charge. I can’t think like you.”
“No thanks. I’m more of a behind-the-scenes type.”
“Okay, I’ll get a group together; we’ll go check it out. I assume you’re my first volunteer.”
“I have a choice? I thought I was your majesty’s chauffeur.”
“I’ll majesty you, you sarky old bastard.”
George smiled before turning more serious. “I’m assuming Rog will be staying here.”
“I’d have thought so, but I’ll ask him. We’ll head out after breakfast.”
✽ ✽ ✽
George was in the lead vehicle as they drove out of town. Jules and Ben were in the two passenger seats. There was another box van and a transit behind.
“I really didn’t expect Rog to be coming,” Ben said, looking into the wing mirror.
“It’s not an easy thing to watch a friend die,” George said.
“No, I suppose not.”
Ben had a rifle clamped between his knees. “You sure you know how to use that?” Jules asked.
Olly’s been giving me training. “We’ve got plenty of guns but hardly any ammunition, but he said it’s good that we get used to them; then, when we do find an ammo store, we’ll know what we’re doing.”
“Great so we’re goin
g to have a bunch of gung-ho halfwits running around shooting at shadows. Remind me to thank him, will you?”
Ben smiled. “So I’m a gung-ho halfwit?”
“When you point that thing, just make sure it’s not in my direction,” Jules replied.
“Your confidence in me is overwhelming.”
“Yeah well, no offence, but growing up with three brothers, I know just what men are like when they’ve got a new toy.”
“No disrespect, but I think your brothers are special cases,” Ben replied.
“Yeah, can’t argue with that, I suppose.”
“I think we’ve got a bit of a weather front coming,” George said, looking towards the black clouds to the left.
“Where the hell did they come from? It was sunny five minutes ago,” Jules replied.
“This is Scotland, remember. You can get four seasons in a day. Still, that’s not a bad thing. I just hope Maggie has the sense to get some buckets out in the garden section.”
“She will. Mags will always keep things running right when we’re not there.”
They carried on for a few more minutes; then the first raindrops began to lash against the windscreen. A sombre greyness shrouded the vehicle and the landscape and, for the time being anyway, all thoughts of summer disappeared in a deluge. Accompanying the rain was a gusting, wind and just the appearance of the inclement weather made them all feel cold.
The fields gave way to a tall, red brick wall enclosing woodland, and George began to slow the box van. He placed the left indicator on and turned. The wall continued on both sides of the road for a moment until it reached a pair of imposing black wrought-iron gates. He pulled on the handbrake and climbed out. The rain tore at his face as he braved the few feet to unlatch the sturdy barrier and push the gates inward. He walked back to the van, climbed in and shivered. “I think we should have brought our big coats. It’s going to be a wet one.”
“Well, if this place is all you think it is, it’ll be worth it,” Jules said as George pulled off the handbrake and the convoy began to roll on. Jules looked at the well-polished brass nameplate by the side of the road. St. Chad’s school for boys. The wall ended and the road was lined on either side with trees as they drove up the long winding track. It eventually widened into a vast gravel courtyard and there stood the magnificent Victorian building in all its splendour. “Jesus! How the other half lives ... lived.”
The building was vast. Hundreds of windows looked out over the courtyard. To the left, there was a rugby field with a football field beyond that. To the right, there was a road with a sign saying, Deliveries. “So where do we start?” Ben asked.
“Well, I’m guessing the kitchen is going to be around the back, so that sounds like a good place to me,” George replied, following the Deliveries sign. Jules and Ben just gawped as the van drove along the full length of the impressive structure.
“Can you imagine the heating bill?” Ben said.
“Well, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to check this place out. I’m guessing it’s got its own furnace. I’m guessing it’s got a lot of things. If there was a power cut, you couldn’t have all those children of privilege roughing it. I’m sure there are all sorts of redundancies here,” George said.
“Smart thinking,” Ben replied.
“I have my moments,” George said, turning a corner and bringing the van to a stop in a spacious tree-lined car park. The flaying rain was not as harsh here as the building and the trees shielded the vehicles from the worst of the weather. Everybody climbed out of the vehicles and gathered together around Jules. George walked up to a pair of wide, dark oak doors. There was a bell button by the side of it with a small sign saying, Please ring for attention. George pressed it, but there was no accompanying chime. He knocked hard against the wood.
“What the hell are you doing that for?” Jules asked.
“You never know. There might be someone at home,” George replied. The knock went unanswered, and he tried the door, but it was locked.
Olly stepped forward with a long crowbar and wedged the thin edge into the narrow gap where the two doors met. Small splinters of wood chipped away as he levered the cold black metal from side to side. He forced the bar in further and pulled harder and finally a loud crack burst through the sound of the wind and rain. The door on the right swung inwards slowly revealing a sizable and well-equipped kitchen with a black-and-white tiled floor that looked like it belonged in a top London restaurant rather than a school.
The group filtered through the entrance, leaving the cold wind and rain behind. Not a single pot or pan was out of place. “This kitchen is bigger than the assembly hall at my old school,” Jules said.
“It’s bigger than my old school,” George replied.
They advanced down the centre aisle towards a painted white door. “I’m guessing that’s the pantry,” Jules said.
“Only one way to find out,” Ben replied, opening it. It was dark inside, and he flicked on a torch. “Holy crap,” he said as the beam panned around. The room was around thirty feet by twenty feet; it made the pantry they had found at the barracks look like a small tuckshop.
“This will keep us going for months,” Jules said, turning on her own torch and walking inside. She looked at the food on the shelves. The tins were all big-name brands. “No cheap generic shite for this lot.”
“The fees for this place will have been thousands per term. They’re not exactly going to have to buy Aldi’s own-brand baked beans to make ends meet, are they?” George said as they headed back into the light of the kitchen.
“Right, so what's the plan?” Rog asked, looking towards Jules.
Jules looked around at the assembled faces. “There are sixteen of us. If we all go around together, it’ll probably take us a week to check this place out. We’ll split up into groups of four. Rog, you lead one group. Olly, you lead another. Ben, you take another group. We’ll start on this floor; then, when we’re happy it’s clear, we’ll head upstairs.
“Okay, so how do we this?” Olly asked.
“A room at a time. We need to clear it in sections and not separate out too much. We don’t want anybody getting stranded if there are some nasty surprises lurking anywhere. Everybody be careful. The place looks empty, but you never know.”
Rog and Olly began to divide the group up into smaller teams, but Ben sidled up to Jules, gently guiding her to one side. “I don't like the idea of you being in the only group without a rifle.”
“We’ve all got weapons. We’ve managed so far without guns, we can manage now and, trust me, if we run into trouble, I’m not exactly the shy, retiring type. You and everybody else in this building will know about it.”
Ben smiled. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” He looked around the fixtures and fittings. “This place could be just what we’re looking for. It could be somewhere to build a future.”
“I know,” Jules replied, “a comfortable future at that. I mean, can you imagine what the dorm rooms are like? These rich little fuckers will hardly have been slumming it, will they?”
Ben smiled. “You have such a way with words.”
“Funny, George said the same thing.”
“It must be true then,” Ben replied.
They both shared a smile before Jules clapped her hands. “Okay, everybody knows what they’re doing, let’s get to work.”
Ben, Olly and Rog all led their teams out of the internal kitchen doors leaving Jules, George, Ellen and Justin in the huge kitchen. “Hang on a second,” Justin said, looking at the unimpressive knife he brandished as a weapon. He walked over to the far end of the kitchen and pulled a shining meat cleaver from a magnetic rack on the wall. “Yeah, much better.”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Ellen said, placing her own knife down on the counter and grabbing a much longer, sharper-looking one from the same rack.
Jules looked at the crowbar she held, gauging the weight of it in her hand; she was more than happy with her choice of w
eapon. “Come on then, let’s get to work.”
They left the kitchen and, despite there being no lights on in the long hallway, enough natural light bled in from the many windows for them to be able to see what they were doing. Rog’s and Olly’s teams were assembled outside two rooms; Ben’s team had already entered the first classroom in the left corridor.
Jules watched as Rog knocked on the thick wooden door. She realised he was the only one who really knew what he was doing. He would have probably done this a dozen times before. He should be leading this mission; he should be leading the group. Maybe soon. Maybe, after he’d settled in a little and got over the impending trauma of his friend’s death then, he could take over from her. That would be good … better than good. The group would have someone who wasn’t just guessing and hoping all the time. They would have a leader with experience and abilities.
Rog waited for a few seconds; then, when he was sure there were no charging feet or hellish growls, he pushed the door open and entered the room. The rest of his squad followed. Jules noticed that Olly had been watching him too. He copied Rog’s actions at the entrance he was standing at; then it was down to Jules. She walked up to the next door in the hallway and tapped on the wood with the end of her crowbar. She waited for a few seconds and then opened the door.
It was a classroom with just a handful of desks and chairs. Jules looked out of the window to a giant square courtyard. The entire school was built around what was once a beautifully kept lawn. The grass was a little overgrown now, but she could imagine the pupils out there at break times and on hot summer afternoons. “This place really was something else.”
“It still is,” George said. “This could be all ours. There’s no reason we can’t move everybody out here, Jules. It’s already not far off being a fortress. We could reinforce the gate, we’d be out of the city; it would be perfect.”
Jules turned towards him. “We could plant crops,” she said in an almost dream-like way.
“Never mind just planting crops. We’ve got greenhouses and polytunnel kits back at the Depot. Look at the square out there. It’s almost blowing a gale, but barely a blade of grass is moving. It’s perfect; we wouldn’t have to worry about our food supply being wiped out by a bad storm. This place has got everything we need.”
Before Safe Haven (Book 4): Jules Page 6