The Clearing (Outside #2)

by Shalini Boland

  *

  I stood outside the Perimeter gates in the semi-darkness, wondering what Denzil was talking about.

  ‘Get back up the hill,’ he said. ‘It’s a bomb.’

  ‘You’re kidding!’ Luc said.

  ‘Nope. I don’t think it’s armed, I gotta check. And there might be more.’

  ‘Denzil you can’t …’ I said.

  ‘Don’t argue. Just go,’ he said. ‘I’ll neutralise them.’

  ‘Riley,’ Luc said. ‘I’ll help you get these two up the hill, then I’ll come back and help Denzil.’

  I called out to Seb, the guard on the ground. ‘There’s a bomb out here! Get back! Can you move?’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  ‘Where’s everyone else?’ Luc called to him.

  ‘Inside, taking cover. Arming themselves.’

  ‘Is Eddie here?’ I called as we backed away. ‘And Johnny? Johnny Culpepper?’

  But Seb didn’t reply. He was crawling away to safety.

  We staggered back up the hill, pushing Grey and FJ between us. The darkness was settling fast. Once we were behind the trees, Luc pushed the prisoners together, made them sit back-to-back and cuffed them to one another.

  ‘Gag them again and put their hoods back on,’ Luc said, taking the pillowcase hoods from his pocket and shoving them in my hand. ‘And stay alert. We don’t know how far away Grey’s soldiers are. You’re nicely hidden here anyway. I’ll come back once we know the bombs are safe.’

  ‘Luc . . .’ I said.

  He took a step toward me and took both my hands. I thought he would say something, but he let go and turned away.

  ‘. . . Be careful,’ I whispered as he disappeared back down the hillside.

  My heart was hammering. Any second now I expected to hear an explosion. I prayed Grey’s soldiers weren’t anywhere nearby. That they were still on their way back to Salisbury. Not hanging around here secretly watching our every move. What if they were watching me right now?

  ‘Scared?’ It was FJ.

  I glanced over. He had a smirk on his face. I put my gun down and began to rummage through my bag searching for something to gag him with.

  ‘You should be,’ he continued.

  ‘Quiet,’ I said.

  Grey had slumped forward. Unmoving. I wondered if he was still alive.

  ‘Those bombs will blow your friends apart,’ FJ said, a smile in his voice.

  ‘If that happens I’ll kill you,’ I said, wondering how someone with such a beautiful face could have so much malice in his heart.

  I pulled a length of twine from my bag, but I needed something thicker. A strip of material or something. Anything to quiet his needling voice.

  ‘And Luc?’ he said. ‘He’s a special friend isn’t he. His body parts will be decorating Ringwood tonight.’

  ‘I said, shut up. Unless you’d like me to blow your kneecaps off.’

  ‘I’ll enjoy taking you back to The Close with me, Riley.’ His voice was soft and teasing.

  Maybe if I used my knife to cut a strip from his pillowcase hood? That could work. I just needed to stop him talking. His voice was making me crazy.

  ‘I’ll enjoy making an example of you,’ he continued. ‘Have you ever stood in front of ten thousand people, Riley? I have. It gives you quite a thrill.’

  If he didn’t shut up I would have to shoot him. I took out my knife and made a slit in the pillowcase. Then I tore the material right the way around. It ripped easily and soon I held a long strip of cotton in my hands. I retrieved my revolver from the ground, but I’d need two hands to tie the knot, so I slipped the gun back under my coat.

  FJ’s eyes bored into me as I approached him. I tried not to catch his eye. I was annoyed that I’d allowed him to get under my skin; unnerve me. At least it had stopped me worrying about Luc and Denzil for a couple of seconds.

  I crouched beside him and looped the gag over his head. As I did so, my heart gave a jolt as his hands flew round to meet mine; grabbing my wrists.

  ‘What! What are you doing? How . . .’ He was free! I tried too late to reach for my revolver but he was now squeezing my wrists so tight I thought they might snap.

  He jumped to his feet, dragging me up with him and twisting me around so he now had both my wrists in one hand. He deftly reached under my coat and retrieved my gun. How? How had he got free?

  I raised my foot and stamped down hard with my heel onto the top of his boot, but he kicked out with his other leg, knocking my feet from under me. I fell to the ground and he straddled me, ripping the gag from my hand and pulling it down hard over my mouth, still holding my gun in his right hand. I tried to bring my knee up, but he had me pinned too tightly.

  I saw that Grey too had staggered to his feet. It was almost dark now, but Grey’s pale features loomed above me. He pointed a long finger at my face and mouthed something I couldn’t hear.

  FJ’s fingers fumbled, trying to tie the gag. Eventually, he quit trying and balled up the material, stuffing the whole thing into my mouth making me choke. It was pushed so far into my mouth, I could barely breathe. He stood and pointed the revolver at my head as I lay on the ground.

  ‘And now we will call back our disciples and finish what we started,’ FJ said. ‘Father . . .’ He spoke to Grey without taking his eyes off me. ‘Are you well, Father?’

  Grey put his hand on FJ’s shoulder. He had the cuffs in his hand.

  ‘Get up,’ FJ ordered.

  I glared at him.

  ‘Up, or I will shoot you now.’

  I stood.

  ‘Hands out,’ he said.

  I held them out in front of me, taking deep breaths through my nose.

  ‘Want to know how I got free?’ he asked.

  I did want to know, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking interested. Instead I looked at my hands.

  ‘The cross saved me,’ he said, hooking the cuffs around my wrists.

  What was he talking about?

  ‘You remember, back at the house?’ he said. ‘I wore my cross around my neck along with the key to my drawer . . .’

  I did remember. And I slowly began to understand what he was telling me.

  ‘I asked you for my cross back,’ he said, clicking the cuffs shut around my already bruised wrists. ‘And you obliged. What you didn’t know is that my cross is also a key.’

  He held the small metal object out to demonstrate, but it was so dark I could barely see. All I heard was the click as he undid my cuffs and another click as he closed them again.

  ‘Clever eh?’

  Very, I thought. And I cursed myself for being an idiot. I’d thought he had wanted his cross back for sentimental or religious reasons. How had I let this happen? We’d been so close to ending this invasion and now I’d ruined everything. I couldn’t let Grey and FJ call their soldiers back. If they did, we were all dead. I had to at least try to salvage the situation.

  I didn’t give myself any more time to think. Jerking my handcuffed wrists upwards, I knocked the revolver from FJ’s hands. He squeezed the trigger in the process and for a moment I wondered if I’d been shot. If I would feel a sudden explosion of pain before collapsing. But all I felt was the sharp crack in my ears from the gunfire. A deafening, echoing, shock of noise.

  FJ and I locked eyes for a half-a-second. And then everything spooled forward in a tangle of arms and fingers as we scrambled to catch the weapon. The revolver somersaulted out of reach and tumbled into the dark undergrowth. I couldn’t risk staying here to try and find it. FJ was far stronger than me. My best bet was to run.

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  *

  I pelted down the hillside, pulling the balled-up gag out of my mouth and yelling to Luc and Denzil for help. My chained wrists messed with my balance, making me stumble and skid. Finally, I rolled downwards on my side, accelerating towards the perimeter fence where I slid to a stop. I lay on my side, my breath ragged and my body bruised from the violent descent.

 
‘Luc!’ I yelled again. ‘Help!’ I prayed Denzil or Luc would hear or see me. Instead, a shot skimmed my ear. Another shot and then the thud of footfalls following behind. I crawled a little way and then struggled to my feet, heading left where there was more cover from the trees and bushes. I shouted again for Luc and Denzil, but either they were too far away to hear, or something had happened to prevent them coming. Either way, I couldn’t risk shouting anymore or I’d give away my position. I had to lose FJ.

  I moved fast, hugging the perimeter fence. If the bombs were live, then at least FJ would be blown up too. I remembered seeing a wood behind the settlement. If I could reach it, I could lose him. Another shot filled up the darkness, making me wince. After a while, his footsteps were no longer audible and I wondered if he was still following. Without slowing, I tried to think what to do. Finding the others would be the best thing, but I didn’t know if FJ was still somewhere behind me. I couldn’t turn back. I had to keep going. If I circled the fence, surely I would catch up with Luc or Denzil eventually.

  I heard the thud of footsteps behind me once more and increased my pace, my lungs straining at the effort. I ran for my life. Another crack of gunfire. My feet smashed down onto the ground as I willed myself onwards, gasping for breath, tears of cold streaming from my eyes.

  I came to a dense clump of foliage which I had to force my way through, disturbing a bird from its slumber. It flapped away into the night sky, screeching in protest. Sharp twigs clawed and ripped at my face and clothing, but somehow I managed to stay upright and I pushed on, uncaring.

  Suddenly, I heard a noise so loud, it shook my bones and rattled my teeth. My whole body vibrated.

  The bomb.

  Oh my God. What did that mean? Luc? Denzil? I wanted to turn back. To see what had happened? To make sure they were okay. To make sure they weren’t . . . But if I turned back I would be captured and that wouldn’t help anyone. My ears rang and for a few seconds the air felt quieter than it had ever felt before. As though the very night was in shock.

  And then, once more, the thud of footsteps behind me. The crack of breaking branches and the swish of leaves. I couldn’t stand here all night. I had to keep moving.

  Looming ahead, the dark shape of the forest beckoned. If only my hands weren’t cuffed, I would be able to move quicker, but there was nothing I could do about it. If I could make the treeline it would be easier to lose him. And then I could double back and search for Luc and Denzil.

  After a while, I couldn’t tell if FJ was still in pursuit. There were no further gunshots and I heard no footsteps, but perhaps that was down to the violent pounding of my pulse and the rasping breaths which filled my ears. My chest felt tight as though it would burst. I had to stop. Just for a second to catch my breath. Daring to slow, I strained my ears, but all I heard was the clattering wind in the trees and the thumping rhythm of my heartbeat.

  And then I heard them.

  A moment of terror came upon me when I realised what it was – chanting. They were back. They were coming for me. Grey’s disciples. Was FJ with them? Had he somehow called them back from their retreat? Or was I losing my mind? My feet gripped the earth in fear and my thoughts jumbled. What should I do?

  Run.

  I wasn’t far from the forest now. Maybe I could lose them in there.

  As I ran, I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu, as though I had been here before in this exact same situation: Heading towards a dark wood where capture was inevitable. But I couldn’t let myself think like that.

  I finally reached the forest edge. Slipped into its velvety darkness. The chanting grew more muffled. It became all-at-once louder and quieter, the eerie sound winding its way through the trees, rustling the leaves and wrapping itself around me. I had the sense that time was running out.

  As I travelled deeper into the wood, the way grew increasingly more dense and tangled, slowing my progress. It was beginning to look as though I could go no further, when suddenly I stumbled onto a narrow track and heard the strangled gurgling of running water. I flew along the path, throwing glances over my shoulder, but the darkness made me blind.

  The ground was now becoming boggy with sucking mud and the rush of the stream was getting louder. Within seconds, I found myself in a grassy clearing. Exposed on all sides. A small herd of wild ponies had been startled awake by my sudden arrival. They snorted, whinnied and trotted away into the forest. Retreating.

  Take me with you, I silently pleaded. But they disappeared and the clearing lay empty, except for me, my breath coming in tight gasps, sweat drying on my forehead. A cloud moved to reveal a quarter-moon. The stream bubbled and the branches creaked and moaned.

  What should I do? I didn’t know which way to run. I couldn’t go back and I didn’t want to run right through the open space. I decided to veer away from the stream and back under the canopy of trees, but the chanting had grown louder. It had penetrated my body and filled up my mind, drowning out my thoughts.

  They were coming. . .

  They were here.

  I had let myself be herded like a helpless lamb. Somehow I’d known this was going to happen. A premonition perhaps. Either way, the fight had disappeared from my body. I let my shoulders slump as the dark hooded figures bled out of the trees encircling me. They seemed to glide forward, taking their time, closing in. I was rooted to the spot, surrounded. Rather than witness their approach, I turned my gaze up toward the racing clouds as they smothered the briefly hopeful moon and everything went black.

  ‘I’m impressed.’

  I lowered my gaze and came eye to eye with Freddie Junior.

  ‘So now it’s just you I have to deal with,’ he said. ‘Looks like your friends got blown up.’

  My body trembled with shock and rage and exhaustion. In the darkness, I made out the dark shapes of a hundred or more of Grey’s guards circling the clearing. They had fallen silent, thank God. No more freaky chanting.

  ‘Perhaps I should kill you here,’ FJ said. ‘You’ve caused me a lot of trouble tonight. It would be the best thing all round.’

  ‘Where’s your precious Grey?’ I asked. ‘Did you leave him on the hillside to die? Are you taking over now, is that it? Going after the top job.’

  ‘Our Father is perfectly safe. He is with his disciples. They are caring for him. But that’s not your concern.’

  I shivered, the sweat from my exertions suddenly turning cold and chilling my body. I had so many thoughts flying around my head: Luc, Denzil, Pa, Eddie, Rita . . . Were any of them left alive? If not, I would be better off dead. But then what about Ma? She didn’t know about Connor yet. I couldn’t let FJ kill me - Ma would never recover.

  ‘You need me,’ I said.

  FJ raised an eyebrow.

  ‘As a hostage. I’d be a useful bargaining chip.’

  ‘Maybe. But your little band of Perimeter guards are all dead. Who else would want you?’

  I bit my bottom lip, trying not to let his words get to me. I knew he was trying to goad me. He couldn’t know what had happened to the others. There hadn’t been time for him to find out. Surely he was bluffing.

  ‘You’re pathetic,’ I said, overtaken by a surge of anger. ‘Really pathetic. You’re supposed to be a Christian, but all you do is hate and bully and kill. You’re the opposite of a Christian. It’s just an excuse to terrorise innocent people and make yourself feel big.’

  As I spat out the words, FJ strode over to me and grabbed my face, squeezing my cheeks so hard I thought my bones would shatter. ‘Shut up, you stupid bitch.’

  ‘Truth hurts,’ I managed to hiss.

  ‘Let her go, FJ.’ A voice cut through the clearing. Luc’s voice. My heart leapt and I felt like laughing and crying at the same time.

  FJ spun me around and pulled me close to his body. He stuck a gun under my chin and jammed the cold metal against my skin.

  ‘Let her go or we’ll kill the old man.’ Luc and Denzil appeared out of the darkness, propping up the half-conscious Grey
between them. Grey’s guards parted to let them through.

  ‘Seems you were right about the hostage situation,’ FJ hissed in my ear. ‘But make no mistake, I am going to kill you. Even if it’s not today. I’ll take great pleasure in hunting you down, humiliating you and executing you publicly and painfully.’ He radiated anger. The level of his hate shocked me.

  ‘You can try,’ I said.

  ‘Let. Her. Go,’ Luc said, his words icy cold.

  I had never seen Luc look so furious. His eyes glittered with rage as he approached us.

  ‘You first,’ FJ said.

  ‘Here’s what’s going to happen, FJ,’ Luc said, stopping only a few feet away. ‘You’re going to let Riley go and then you and your weirdo guards are going to leave Ringwood. Once you’re back in Salisbury, I’ll drop Grey outside your gates.’

  ‘How do I know you won’t kill him?’

  ‘You don’t know. But you’ve got no choice because that’s what’s going to happen.’

  ‘Father?’ FJ said. ‘Father, can you hear me?’

  But Grey was totally out of it. His head lolling.

  ‘He’s ill,’ FJ said. ‘He needs help.’

  ‘You’re telling me,’ I said.

  ‘Don’t make me shoot you,’ FJ whispered in my ear, tightening his grip.

  ‘He’ll be fine,’ Denzil said.

  We stood like that in silence for a while. I could tell FJ was weighing up his options. Wondering if he could trust Luc. Suddenly, he released his grip and shoved me away from him with such a force, I tripped and almost fell.

  ‘Take her,’ he cried.

  Denzil took hold of Grey as Luc held out his arms to me. I staggered into them, trying to keep it together. Breathing in Luc’s familiar scent of spicy warmth and soap.

  ‘Everyone’s safe,’ he whispered. ‘Your Pa and my parents. They’re okay. I haven’t seen them yet, but one of the guards told me.’

  The weight of everything bad evaporated and I was overcome with a lightness of being I hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

  ‘Let’s get out of here,’ Denzil said.

  Luc smoothed the hair away from my face, kissed my forehead and clicked open my cuffs. It felt good to have my hands free again.