by Chris Ward
‘I’m pretty sure I can imagine,’ she said, wiping sweat from her hand off on to her shirt.
‘You can’t imagine it,’ Clayton said, regaining his composure. ‘Unless you’ve seen it.’
Dreggo closed her eyes. ‘Well, pretty soon I’ll have a chance to, won’t I?’
Chapter Fifty
Breaking and Entering
Reeder stopped the Land Rover on top of the rise. Ahead of them the dirt trail headed down into the valley, snaking through abandoned, overgrown farmland and into a thin thicket of woodland which spread across the valley floor. They could see it again as it broke out of the copse, angling up the hillside to where it ended at a small car park, a low brick building at its rear. A short distance beyond the building they could see a tall fence that stretched away for as far as they could see in either direction.
‘Is there anything they haven’t fucking enclosed in this country?’ Switch said, climbing out and spitting on the ground. ‘What the hell is behind this one?’
Reeder climbed out beside him and lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He scanned back and forth. ‘There. There’s one.’
Ishael had climbed out beside Switch. Paul, Owen and Carl had jumped down from the back. In the front, Marta and Jess were both sleeping, their heads close together.
‘What is it?’
Reeder handed the binoculars to Switch. He pointed towards a stand of trees on the rising slope just beyond the fence. ‘Look there, just to the right of those trees.’
Switch put the binoculars to his eyes and scanned back and forth. ‘I don’t see anything . . .’
‘Use the button here to focus it.’ Reeder tapped the top of the binoculars.
‘Ah, okay, got it. There! What the fuck is that?’
‘What is it?’ Ishael asked.
‘It looks like a man. Sitting down, head slumped over. What, is he dead?’ He passed the binoculars to Ishael and glanced back at Reeder.
‘He’s not dead,’ Reeder said. ‘Just resting.’
‘I thought there were no people in there,’ Ishael said.
‘It’s not a man. It’s a Mistake.’
‘No,’ Ishael said. ‘He lifted his head. It’s definitely a man.’
Reeder shook his head as Ishael passed the binoculars first to Paul then Owen and Carl in turn. ‘You don’t understand,’ he said. ‘That’s what people call them. Mistakes.’
‘Mistakes?’
‘They used to bring them down here in truckloads. These days, so I’m told, they come in trickles rather than floods. Their experiments must be improving.’
Owen said, ‘That’s not a man. His face isn’t right. It’s furry, like a dog. Like one of those things. Are there more of them in there?’
John Reeder nodded. His face, smooth and youthful when they first met him, was now etched with worry lines. Even his neatly curled moustache had bent out of shape. He looked to have aged ten years overnight.
‘Them, and worse, maybe,’ he said. ‘In varying states of repair. What you see before you, gentlemen, is Mega Britain’s live experiment junkyard. For every failed experiment, if the test subject doesn’t die, it ends up here.’
Switched cursed under his breath and looked around at the others. Paul took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, while Carl sat down on a rock and ran a hand through his hair. Ishael’s face was unreadable, while Owen lifted the binoculars and swung them back and forth across the far hillside.
‘So to get to this tunnel we have to get through a whole country of fucking broken down Huntsmen?’ Switch said. ‘This just gets worse.’
Ishael pointed. ‘I saw a sign on the gate saying Fence Checkpoint Three. Is it manned? I don’t see anyone.’
Owen swung the binoculars round. ‘Can’t see any vehicles, but that building is quite big. There could be a garage or something round the back. There’s another one. Leaning against the fence. They gonna cause us any problems?’
Reeder shrugged. ‘They might do. I don’t know.’
Can we get through that fence somewhere else?’ Ishael asked. ‘Cut through?’
‘It’s electrified.’
‘It can’t be,’ Owen said. ‘That bastard creature is leaning against it!’
‘Maybe it’s dead,’ Paul said.
‘It was moving!’
Reeder gave the others a wry smile. ‘Quite possibly it’s feeding. Let’s not think about it too much. Hopefully it’ll leave us alone.’
They went back to the Land Rover. Reeder turned them around and they backtracked down the hill before turning right and cutting through the fringes of the forest. Soon they were deep into the trees. Reeder slowed the Land Rover down and jagged the vehicle back and forth, following a route close to the road up to the checkpoint but just out of sight. A short way back from the edge of the copse, Reeder pulled the Land Rover to a stop and they climbed out.
‘We have to go up there and see if the gate is guarded,’ Reeder said. ‘If it is, then we then need a way to get through.’
‘I’ll go,’ Switch said. He handed a gun to Paul. ‘Paul can come as lookout.’
‘I wanna come too!’ Owen said.
‘Stay here, kid,’ Paul said, patting his brother on the shoulder. ‘They’ll be plenty of fights for you yet.’
Owen scowled, but didn’t try to follow as Paul and Switch headed through the copse towards the building. As it appeared through the trees they could see it was bigger than they had first realised. At least the size of a small bungalow, the featureless concrete building hung low to the ground. There was an entrance in the front wall, and what looked like a window. There was no way from their angle to tell if there was a garage around the back or not.
At least fifty feet of open, grassy hillside separated the trees from the building. With the exception of some patches of longer grass there was almost no cover.
‘This would be a whole lot easier at night,’ Paul said.
‘We don’t have time. They’ll have caught us by then.’
Paul looked at his watch. It was 6.40am. It was only going to get lighter, and Paul felt like he’d been awake forever, despite catching a couple of hours sleep while they traveled. Their only hope was that the checkpoint hadn’t been alerted to their approach.
Switch pointed left. That way the hillside dipped more, giving them more cover. ‘We can get closer to the fence, come in from the side.’
Paul fingered the gun Switch had given him. He didn’t want to use it; he hoped the checkpoint was deserted. Switch, though, in front of him, carried a knife in each hand, his whole body tensed, ready for immediate action. Paul couldn’t help but think that this was all still a game to Switch.
Switch went ahead, dropped in a crouch, inching up the slope towards the blank side wall of the building. Paul could see no sign of any security cameras or lookout points. The whole place had an air of neglect and abandon.
‘Cover me,’ Switch hissed without looking back. Paul held the gun out in front of him as Switch rose up and ran low towards the side of the building. Paul, hands shaking, pointed the gun at the roof, at the corners, everywhere except at Switch.
Switch ducked down by the wall. He waved Paul forward. Paul steeled himself, then jumped up and dashed across the open space to join Switch at the wall. Breathing hard, heart pounding, he looked back at the trees. The others were out of sight, but he knew they were there, somewhere, watching.
‘Round the back,’ Switch whispered. Paul was sure there was the hint of a smile on the little man’s lips.
Without waiting for Paul, Switch dropped to a crouch again and moved quickly along the featureless side wall of the building. They had seen the door on the other side, but here there was nothing, no doors, windows, or vents. Paul just prayed it wasn’t the entrance to an underground bunker, one housing a whole garrison of men.
‘There’s a way in,’ Switch said, disappearing around the corner.
When Paul followed, he saw Switch standing at the entrance to a parking garag
e. Inside was an army-camouflaged jeep parked at the back. The window was down. Switch leaned inside and pulled a set of keys out of the ignition. He held them up to Paul and grinned.
‘Just got ourselves another ride.’
‘Let’s just get on with this.’
Switch nodded and slipped into the shadows at the back. Paul heard a door click open.
‘Through here,’ Switch said. ‘Hardly big on their security, eh?’
‘They probably don’t get guests all that often.’
Paul followed Switch into a thin, grey corridor. Several doors branched off, all of them shut. At the end, a double door loomed. Above it, a sign announced: Control Centre.
Switch ducked down by the door. Paul stayed further back down the corridor, the gun covering Switch as the little man reached up and pulled down the handle. The door inched inwards.
Switch glanced back at Paul and waved him forward, one finger to his lips. Paul hesitated just a moment then crept up to the door. Switch pointed at the gun, then at his own back. Paul tried to glance inside, but the room was dark, and all he could see from this angle was the black metal edge of a table.
Switch gave the knives a little shake then slipped through the door.
#
With Paul covering his back, Switch crept forward towards the low sofa at the front of the room. Ahead of it, he could see the top of a television set, switched off. On the sofa, judging from the neatness of their haircuts, were two men; the tops of their heads all he could see. He moved towards the centre of the room, arms out wide, knife blades glistening. He would take them both at once, before they even knew he was there.
One of them shifted, and for a second Switch saw the top of a book. From the posters on the walls and the small kitchen units to his left he knew this was a recreation room. Did that mean there was a guard on duty somewhere else? He knew silence was his best weapon. If one of them saw him, he and Paul would have a real fight on their hands.
He crept closer, just a couple of feet from the sofa’s back now. He lifted his arms wider, the knives ready to arc in and slice the guards’ throats. He prayed his feet didn’t slip.
‘Hey!’
Switch jerked forward at the sound of a voice behind him, knives slashing. The man on the left was too slow. Switch raked the knife across his throat and felt warm blood wash over his hand.
The other man, though, was quicker, the blade catching just strands of hair as he rolled forward on to the floor. Behind him, Switch heard a dull thud followed by a grunt from Paul.
He turned to see a man by the door, wearing loose grey clothes that could have been pajamas. His eyes looked sleepy but his hand was strong as he slammed a fist into Paul’s face, sending Paul sprawling forward, his glasses spinning away across the floor. The man reached for a rifle standing near the door. Switch glanced back at the third man, saw him now at the back of the room, reaching for a gun holster hung on the wall. He tried to get around the sofa but the man was too fast. The handgun trained on him.
‘Who the fuck are you?’ the man by the door said, his rifle moving back and forth between Switch and Paul, who was crawling across the floor, blood dripping from his nose. ‘Drop your knives, kid.’
‘Jesus, Matt, he killed Ray,’ the other man said, in a voice that revealed that he was a she, her hair cut short in a crewcut.
‘Oh fuck, oh fuck . . .’ the man said, rubbing his free hand through his hair, messy from sleep. ‘I get up to this . . .’
Switch backed away against the wall, hands in the air.
‘Drop the fucking knives you jippy-eyed little prick!’ the woman shouted.
Switch did.
‘What do we do now?’ the one called Matt said, his rifle trained on Switch. Paul was crawling across the floor looking for his glasses. Switch had never seen him left blinded before. He had no idea how well Paul could see.
‘Ray’s dead! I say we return the favor!’
‘My glasses . . .’
‘Shut up!’ Matt stepped forward and stamped on Paul’s glasses, crunching them underfoot. ‘Kelly, you do it.’
‘A pleasure. You’re first, you squinty little bastard.’
As Kelly cocked her gun, Switch was sure he’d run out of luck this time. She was too close to miss.
But it was Paul who moved first. Crawling on the floor just a couple of feet from Matt, he lunged forward and grabbed the barrel of the gun, jerking the butt backwards into Matt’s groin. The big man grunted and doubled over. Paul twisted the gun in the direction of Kelly and pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit Kelly in the chest and she staggered backwards into the wall, dropping to her knees. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open in an expression of shock and dismay. Then she tumbled forward, head striking the floor with a sickening crunch.
Paul, buzzing on adrenalin, looked back at Matt and rammed the butt of the gun into the man’s dumbstruck face.
‘That’s for my glasses,’ he said through gritted teeth, as Matt grunted and fell to the floor.
Switch jumped across the sofa and took the gun out of Paul’s hands just before Paul dropped it, his arms going limp, the wall holding him up as he stumbled a few steps backwards.
The smell of blood filled the air, thick and pungent. One of the two dead guards, Kelly or Ray, had vacated their bowels on death, the stench of feces mixing with the smell of blood.
‘You all right, Paul?’ Switch said, touching his friend’s shoulder. Your glasses, man.’
Paul, recovering his composure, shook his head. He gave a wry smile. ‘I knew that ruse would come in handy someday. They’re fakes. I’ve never needed them. Signs of vulnerability came in handy in my line of work.’
Switch grinned. ‘Sly bastard. I’m impressed.’
‘Yeah.’ Paul was struggling with Kelly’s death. His eyes were fixed on her corpse.
‘Get up,’ Switch said, nudging Matt with his foot. ‘Get back against the wall, hands in the air.’
The man did as he was told. ‘Look,’ he pleaded. ‘Don’t kill me, okay? I’ve got kids. Take whatever money you can find, take the guns, the jeep, whatever. Just don’t hurt me!’
‘We need you to open the gate,’ Switch said. ‘We need to get inside.’
Matt looked shocked. ‘What the hell do you want to do that for? You do know what kind of people live in there?’
Switch lifted the gun. ‘That’s our business.’ He cocked the rifle with an efficient flick of his finger, like a veteran assassin lining up another kill. ‘My friend here has a conscience; just look how he reacted to killing your friend. But I don’t. I’ll kill you like a pig without a second thought.’ He took a step forward. ‘Your choice,’ he said.
‘In the control room,’ Matt said, one shaking arm lifting towards the door.
‘Take us there. And remember, move too quick and you’re fucking dead. We’ll find it ourselves.’
Matt moved off down the corridor, hands still in the air. ‘Get the others,’ Switch told Paul. ‘Bring them up here.’ He turned back towards Matt, who had reached a door further down the corridor. The guard looked back. ‘In here, all right?’
‘Go inside. Slowly.’
#
Paul glanced back at the bodies on the floor behind him as Switch followed after Matt. Ray’s body did little to him, but at the sight of Kelly his legs turned to jelly and he had to grip the edge of a table for support.
He had killed her.
He’d never killed anyone before. A bluffer not a fighter, he’d kept himself and Owen alive using whatever means he could to keep them fed and safe. Never before had he aimed a gun at someone with the intent to kill. Even if he’d missed, his heart would have hung heavy, but with Kelly dead, it was far worse. He felt like someone had driven a bore down through his spine and ripped out his soul. All he wanted to do was lie down and close his eyes, but he didn’t have time. Switch needed help, and the demons in his head were nothing compared to those on their trail.
Outside, the
cool air felt sticky against his face. Paul found himself gasping for breath, his hands on his knees. Looking up through eyes blurring with tears, he saw a group of people running towards him.
‘Paul?’ Marta said. ‘Paul, are you all right?’
‘Where are you specs, bro?’
Paul squeezed his eyes shut and wiped a hand across his face. He thought of all those who had died because of them, and all those who might die yet. Their lives won’t be wasted. They can’t be.
‘We killed two guards,’ he said. ‘We took a third prisoner. Switch is getting him to open the gates.’
‘Where?’ Ishael asked.’
‘Go around the back and in through the garage.’
Ishael hurried off, followed by Reeder. Paul forced a smile. ‘I lost my glasses,’ he said to the others. ‘Never really needed them, so doesn’t matter anyway.’
Marta gave him a strange look. I’ve actually impressed her, he thought.
He glanced at the building, just as a muffled gunshot came from inside. Reeder hadn’t yet reached the building, but they stopped and looked at each other.
Marta started after them. ‘Oh God, Switch –’
They heard a door slam. Paul felt at his waist for his gun, but somewhere he must have lost it. ‘Get cover –’
‘Hey.’
‘Switch!’
The little man stood behind them all, around the front of the building. ‘The main entrance is around this way. Quickly, we need to load up their food and weapons.’
‘The gate?’ Reeder said.
‘I know the controls. It’ll be open shortly.’
‘Where’s the guard?’ Paul asked.
Switch’s eyes were hard as he said, ‘No loose ends.’
Paul gulped.