We hurry back through the street market, towards the car park. Nobody stops us as we pass through the exit door. We immediately spot the huge AV at the other end of the car park, which is just as well as neither of us had thought to take note of where we’d parked. Luc’s quiet. He seems annoyed.
‘Are you cross with me for making us come here?’ I ask
‘No. No, not at all,’ he replies. ‘I’m just annoyed at letting that bloke get the better of us. We gave him way too much of our stash. I feel like a bit of an idiot.’
‘I don’t think we could have done anything else. It’s only a few packets of cigarettes and we’ve still got loads more.’
‘I suppose. I’m a bit worried about the time as well. We really can’t be anywhere near Ringwood when night falls.’
‘Should we stay here until tomorrow?’ I ask. ‘We could see if we can find any more people who knew Chambers. Maybe we’ll find out some other stuff about him.’
‘We could, but I think we’re too close to home and I don’t want to risk someone recognising us and telling our parents. They’d probably be rewarded for taking us back.’
‘Really? Who would recognise us?’
‘Any of the workers who come to our Perimeter. Some of the guards’ families live here too. Anybody really. That’s why I didn’t want to come here in the first place, but I do understand why you wanted to. I just think we’re lucky no one’s spotted us yet. I don’t want to push it.’
‘Okay.’
‘And I don’t want to waste too much time. It doesn’t get dark till about half seven, eight. I think we should just go now. Once we get on the road we’ll be able to pick up some proper speed.
We eat a quick lunchtime snack in the AV and then head out of the compound and onwards to find the road.
Luc was right about picking up speed once we hit the Wessex Way. It feels like we’re flying. The speedo now reads an impressive thirty five miles per hour, a vast improvement on the measly five to ten we had gotten used to on the rough ground.
The Wessex Way is a dual carriageway that at one time was divided along its length by metal crash barriers. These have long since been removed and now the central reservation is choked with weeds, bushes and trees, so you can’t see the other side of the road. This suits us fine as we’re not keen to meet any other vehicles anyway. We pass nobody and, about three quarters of an hour later, we come to a huge roundabout.
Luc brakes as we get closer and it’s a good thing he does, as three large army trucks rumble straight across our path and away, to our right. They don’t stop to give way to us or to check us out, thank goodness.
‘They’re heading towards Ringwood,’ Luc says. ‘We’re going to be driving in that direction for a while, until we turn off north to Salisbury.’
‘Shall we wait a bit, so they get a good head start?’ I ask. ‘I don’t like the idea of driving right behind them.’
‘Definitely. It’s only four and it shouldn’t take us more than an hour to get clear of Ringwood.’
‘Good,’ I reply.
‘I’m going to close my eyes for ten minutes.’ He yawns and stretches. ‘Keep a look out, Riley and wake me if you see anything.’
He parks up on the grass verge and switches off the engine. My mind wanders over all we’ve seen this morning and I ponder the sheltered existence I’ve led.
I try to imagine what Skye would have made of it all, sure she would have felt a lot braver than me in the same situation. She was always up for anything. I’m overcome with the familiar wash of sadness that she’ll never have the opportunity to experience anything like this. I want to tell her all about it and see the look on her face as I describe the Charminster Compound, the horseman, everything.
I look at Luc’s sleeping face and revel in the fact that here I am, alone with him. His face is so familiar. I’ve known him all my life, but he’s different to me now. It’s a luxury - being able to really stare at him without having to pretend not to.
I suddenly worry in case I’ve missed something on the road, or that he might wake to find me drooling over him. That would be too mortifying to contemplate, so I quickly look away and stare out of the windscreen. Nothing stirs in the hot afternoon and the AV is already starting to feel warm without the air con. I reach into my bag and take out some bottled water. I sip it slowly.
Luc starts the engine, interrupting my thoughts.
‘Good sleep?’ I ask.
‘Mmm, a power nap,’ he says, stretching his hand out in front of him like Superman.
‘I can’t sleep in the daytime, it makes me moody.’
‘Really? I feel great now. I so needed that snooze.’
We cruise around the roundabout and take the last exit, the same one the soldiers’ trucks took. We’re heading towards Ringwood now and I’m keeping my fingers tightly crossed that we don’t encounter any trouble from the riots. The reality of our vulnerability is starting to sink in.
Chapter Thirteen
Eleanor
*
The next two weeks were life-altering for me. Connor and I stole every spare moment we could. My family wouldn’t have shown him such generous hospitality if they had known exactly how we were spending our time together. We couldn’t get enough of each other. While my parents and brothers were out working, we went off in Connor’s camper van and, as soon as we found a quiet place to park, we would close the curtains. There, in the illicit gloom, our minds and bodies became the source of endless fascination.
‘Ellie, you’re amazing.’ He kissed my arm, soft butterfly kisses that sent me half-mad and he wasn’t afraid to look right into my eyes, unnerving me with his candour. I savoured every single word and every single kiss, memorising it all and storing it away to dissect and revel in later.
He pushed me gently down onto the converted bed. ‘I feel like this is my real home - here with you,’ he said with a half-smile. ‘I know it sounds cheesy, but ... it’s how I feel.’
‘I know,’ I whispered, looking up at him. ‘I just wish we could stay here and forget everyone else. I never want to have to go home.’
‘So let’s pretend there’s no outside. This is all there is.’ He leant over me so his dark fringe fell into his eyes. He lowered himself down and kissed me until I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
The time we spent in each other’s company flew past in a momentary flash of brilliant light, but the hours we were apart plodded by like so many centuries of darkness. I lost my appetite for food, but felt like I could live on the love-infused air I gulped down.
Abi couldn’t understand any of it, and I felt bad for neglecting her so much. I didn't want to be one of those people who dropped their friends as soon as they got a boyfriend, but I couldn't help it. These feelings were outside my control - a need that made everything and everyone else unimportant.
Even after all this time, I still felt unimaginably nervous in his company. I was always trying to impress him with witty sarcasm, trying to be cooler than I was. I couldn't understand his interest in me. I imagined his type of girlfriend to be an edgy blonde with tattoos and piercings or a svelte raven-haired indie chick. I was a boring middle class brunette to whom nothing exciting ever happened. But he seemed to want to be with me and I couldn't believe it.
One warm evening, we sat together on the top of Smallpox Hill amongst the heather and rabbit holes, gazing out across the sun-faded countryside.
‘I like it here,’ Connor said. ‘It’s peaceful. But I miss Ripon.’
‘Is that where you’re from?’
‘Yeah.’
I wanted to ask him how long he would be staying down here, but I didn’t want him to think I was being clingy or needy.
‘When was the last time you went home?’ I asked instead. ‘And where is Ripon, anyway? I know it’s up north somewhere …’
‘Ripon’s in North Yorkshire, but I don’t go home. Not anymore.’ His mouth hardened into a thin line and he started tearing small clumps of grass out
of the ground.
‘Don’t you get on with your parents then?’
‘My mum’s great. It’s my dad …’
‘Oh. Sorry.’
‘Yeah, well. I like my life now. I just work wherever. And I’m lucky I’ve got my bus. My grandad left it to me in his Will.’
‘What happened with your dad? Tell me to shut up and mind my own business if you like.’
‘Nah, you’re alright. We never got on. I was never good enough for him. All I ever felt when I was at home, was pressure. Like I was gonna suffocate.’ He sent a clod of earth spinning down the hillside and put his hands up in front of his face. I heard him grit his teeth in anger. ‘I knew nothing I did would ever make him happy, apart from maybe being a brain surgeon or winning the Nobel Peace Prize or something. So I just thought it would be easier if I did a runner.’
‘Connor, I’m so sorry.’ I put my arm around his shoulders and he gave me a closed-lipped smile.
‘It wasn’t easy for Mum though and I feel bad about leaving her. But at least she’s not walking on eggshells any more, trying to keep the peace, you know?’
I didn’t know. I realised how lucky I was to have my warm, loving family to support me. Connor was on his own.
‘But it’s not all bad, Ellie. If I hadn’t left, I wouldn’t have met you.’
His words gave me goose bumps and I smiled at him. In my eyes, he was amazing, with a strength of character I envied. I had never considered I could ever feel like this about another human being. He smiled back at me and pulled me towards him. We kissed a long deep kiss that spread throughout my body. This relationship was turning me into a new person. Someone who was ready for the world. I could do anything I wanted.
Then, one hazy summer day, everything suddenly changed to break the spell.
Chapter Fourteen
Riley
*
Luckily, Luc and I don’t see a soul on the Ringwood road. We make it safely around the town in daylight, without encountering any riot of any kind. I’m actually starting to feel less worried about the journey. Luc looks tired though.
‘Do you want me to drive?’ I ask, willing him to say no.
He flicks his eyes towards me and then back onto the road. He smiles.
‘That’s okay, Riley. I’ll drive today if you like. Maybe you could take a turn tomorrow?’ I think he can see the apprehension in my eyes and has taken pity on me.
‘Okay then,’ I reply, relieved.
We don’t say much, just odd comments about the scenery. We talked so much back home, planning our trip and how we would track down Chambers. But out here, on the open road, we just speak when necessary. Maybe there’s too much to think about or maybe we’re just tired and a bit spooked by the unfamiliar surroundings.
The road opens up to reveal a great lush green floodplain that must once have been rich summer grazing land, but I can see no sign of cattle or sheep. I suppose the road makes the area too exposed to farm and valuable animals would have to be kept out of site.
‘That’s the River Avon,’ Luc says. ‘This road completely flooded last winter.’
I look around and see beauty I never imagined could exist in real life. Soft, rolling hills frame each side of us in every colour green imaginable. Dense copses of willows and poplars nod their heads along the river and fields. The clear blue sky is fading to white and the sun bleeds red and gold into the uneven horizon. It’s a tranquil rural landscape and it inspires new primitive emotions inside me.
I’ve never been so scared and so exhilarated in all my life. I’m terrified we won’t make it, that something awful I can’t even imagine will befall us. But the gentle splendour of the countryside awes me. I can’t remember ever feeling so uplifted by nature. It’s raw and incredibly freeing.
I suddenly wonder how late it is. ‘Should we find somewhere to stop for the night?’
‘We’ve probably got a couple of hours of daylight left,’ Luc replies. ‘Maybe we should keep going for another hour or so; get a few more miles in.’
‘Yeah I don’t mind. I suppose we should keep going while we can.’
The engine’s steady thrum is lulling me to sleep. We’ve only ever reached a maximum speed of about thirty five miles an hour and that felt fast. But the road’s pitted and scarred surface means we’re now bumping along somewhere between five and twenty miles per hour. Not very good for fuel consumption, but luckily the AV’s got deep tanks.
I’m drifting in that vague place, somewhere between awake and asleep when I hear my name being whispered.
‘Riley, Riley. What’s that?’
I come to with a start and look up. It feels like I’ve dozed for a couple of minutes at most, but when I open my eyes I see that it’s twilight already. I must have been asleep for over an hour. As my eyes focus, I make out a long dark shape in the road up ahead.
‘What’s that?’ I echo stupidly.
‘I don’t know. It looks like a fallen tree, but ...’
As we get closer, I see it is indeed a fallen tree. Or a log, to be more precise, lying across the whole width of the road.
‘I don’t like the look of it,’ says Luc, as he brings the AV to a halt, squinting ahead into the fading light.
‘Don’t worry,’ I say. ‘I’m sure we can shift it. We’ve got some rope in the back. We could tie it to the AV and drag it to the side of the road.’ I make to open the door.
‘Stop, Riley!’ shouts Luc, grabbing my arm and making me jump.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘Look.’ He points into the hills.
‘What?’ I look and see twinkling lights. ‘What are they?’
‘It could be a raiding party.’
‘What!’
‘I didn’t want to mention it before. I hoped we wouldn’t run into any.’
‘What do we do?’
‘It might be a trap. That log didn’t fly into the middle of the road on its own. Someone wants us to get out and try to move it.’
‘But those lights look like they’re miles away.’
‘Yeah, they are. But whoever put the log there is probably really close by and watching us.’ As he’s speaking, he flicks on the blackout mode to shield us from view.
I look out of my window and see that our ambushers could be hidden anywhere. Darkness is seconds away and there are any number of dense trees and bushes to hide behind. I shiver.
‘We could drive over it,’ Luc ventures, ‘but we might damage the underneath.’
‘I don’t want to break down here.’
‘Me neither. I don’t think we should risk it.’ Luc puts the headlights on full beam. ‘Oh God, look closer, Riley.’
‘Look where?’
‘At the log. It’s got nails or something sticking out all over it.’
I look and sure enough in the gloom I can make out hundreds of evil little spikes along its length, confirming Luc’s theory that this is indeed an ambush. We’re in a tough, virtually impenetrable armoured vehicle but it doesn’t stop an unwelcome fear from inching through my body.
‘Maybe … Could we shoot at it?’ I ask, feeling the tremor in my voice. I don’t really take my suggestion seriously and wait for Luc to tactfully dismiss the idea.
‘Hmm. That’s not a bad idea. If we gun a weak spot near the middle, we might be able to split it in two. It might shift out of the way as we drive into it. What a waste of bullets though - shooting at a tree.’
‘Don’t worry about that.’
‘And the run-on-flats will get us out of here if we get punctured from the spikes.’
‘Can we do it quickly?’ I ask. ‘Cos sitting here is really freaking me out.’
‘Yep,’ Luc agrees. ‘Where‘re the guns? Thank God we brought shed loads of ammo.’ He reaches behind and unclips the gun case, passing me the PK and taking the heavier M60 for himself.
‘Should we both fire at it?’ I say, beginning to panic. ‘Or … I don’t want to get out though. Maybe we should open the roof and sta
nd up.’
Luc turns to me. ‘Look,’ he says softly, realising I’m about to go to pieces. ‘I’m going to shoot at the tree and you’re going to cover me. If you see anything moving, shoot at it. If you hear any shots apart from mine, shoot in that direction.’
I nod, feeling numb.
‘I doubt they’ve got any automatic weapons, but when they see ours they’re gonna start drooling. They’ll want what we’ve got. Here are the binoculars, keep scanning around for trouble.’ He smiles. ‘We’ll do this, okay? It’ll be fine.’
I nod again, mute, and sling the bins around my neck as Luc opens the roof hatch.
At least I’ve had good training, as have all of us Perimeter kids. Pa taught Skye and me from the ages of eight and ten. We had advanced driving lessons, comprehensive weapons training and rudimentary survival skills. Of course it had all been great fun, but I see now, that Pa was equipping us for every eventuality.
It all feels like it’s happening in slow motion. There’s no time to feel scared anymore. One minute Luc and I are discussing what we should do. The next minute we’re firing off rounds into the dark, silent countryside.
They come at us from the far distance, to the left, where the sun has recently set. From what I can see, most of them are on horseback, but there are a lot on foot, swarming down from the hills. I can’t see how Luc is doing so I just spray bullets, even though my targets are way out of range. But if the raiders keep on coming, it won’t be long until I hit something … or someone.
The riders are wearing what looks like old fashioned riot-police helmets and bullet proof vests over their clothes. They look like futuristic cowboys. It’s a surreal and menacing sight. They’ve got weapons, but I can’t feel bullets anywhere close.
After what must be less than thirty seconds or so, the raiders turn tail and disappear back up the hillside. Luc stops firing and so do I. I looked at the fallen log. It’s been decimated, reduced to a million splinters. Luc grins at me.
‘That was quick,’ I gasp, the adrenalin still racing around my body.
Outside - a post-apocalyptic novel Page 7