Underwood
Page 8
‘I don’t know sweetheart’ she answered ‘but your dad’s here now and he will sort it’
Lily screwed her face up, she sat up in the bed, ‘they were going to fucking whip him mum’ Eileen hugged her, ignoring the bad language on this occasion, she guessed she was entitled to swear,
‘No they weren’t, it was just one man, the others didn’t want that’
‘I bet if the vicar was there he would have wanted it’ she instantly shot back, ‘and that sheriff’ she spat out the words, ‘I don’t want to be here mum’ she cried, Eileen held her until she fell asleep, and when she knew she was definitely asleep, she left her room and let the tears flow, cry was all that she seemed able to do at that moment.
She looked into Nathans room, he was fast asleep, but she could see his sleep was restless as she watched him turning in his bed, he was sweating and she pulled the duvet from him, it was a hot evening, she went to open the window, but paused with her hand on the handle, she left it closed, she didn’t want the windows opened to a world she did not understand, she wondered how they came to be in a place where you were too scared to open the windows, she also wondered what it was they were scared of.
Peter had sat with him and held him until he had fallen asleep, stroking his head and trying to help him find assurance as he did so, he knew Nathan was having difficulty dealing with this, his young mind failing to take it all in, he wondered how any child could, because he couldn’t take it all in himself.
Peter and Eileen come downstairs and sat in the living room, watching the television that showed no TV programmes, it just showed videos of Underwood, over and over again, even if there was something on, neither of them would have been able to watch it, they had so many questions to ask each other, but neither did, as they knew no answers would be forthcoming, and as they both looked at their mobile phones, without any signal and the battery life draining out of them, and no suitable electric socket to take their adaptors, they knew it was useless, the outside world did not exist to those that lived in this town, all there was, was a place called Underwood.
And they were there.
‘What do we do’ asked Eileen as they both sat on the sofa, buried in their thoughts, a question her own daughter had asked so many times.
Peter didn’t have to give it much thought ‘tomorrow we have a medical and I go to work’ he told her, he turned around to stare at her and their eyes met, but neither set of eyes told anything other than fear.
And at that time it all sounded so normal.
The medical centre was situated just behind the Underwood Social, it looked newer then the concrete buildings in the town, it was built of brick and looked modern in its construction compared to the other buildings he had seen, Peter guessed at one time Underwood must have had a brick layer, then he wondered where they would have got the bricks, and then the cement, and then he was wondering why he was wondering at all, he just wanted to find a way home, he didn’t care what buildings they had.
They were pleased to note that as they walked the 10 minute walk to the medical centre, they were acknowledged by the everyday people going about their normal business, and still it appeared so surreal, they all thought about the previous night and how many of them had turned up to watch the flogging, Lily caught the eye of a lady in her thirties, she appeared to be crying as their eyes met, it was one of the saddest things Lily had seen at that moment, she knew the tears were meant for them, but she didn’t know why, she wanted to run over and asked the lady but she was to scared, instead she raised her arm and gave a little wave, the lady smiled, wiped her eyes and waved back, then she turned and walked away, Lily wondered where it was she was walking to as her shoulders were slumped and even her walk looked sad.
It was as if they had decided to up and move to a new town and were getting to know the neighbourhood and the people in it, registering with the doctor seemed such a normal thing to do, yet it wasn’t normal, because they were not here by choice, for choices were few and far between in Underwood, you only had to look at the people’s faces to realise that.
They approached the reception at the medical Centre, Joanne James a pretty girl in her forties manned the desk, she smiled at them as they approached, but it appeared that she was making an effort to be polite deduced Eileen, Joanne pushed her long hair behind her ears which immediately fell back over her face,
‘Good morning’ she said, greeting them, ‘please take a seat the doctor will be with you in a moment’
‘She didn’t even ask our names’ said Eileen as they took a seat, she looked at the surroundings around her, it seemed pleasant enough, just like a normal doctors waiting room, with posters on the wall explaining symptoms, but they looked dated, what was clearly noticeable is that they were the only one in the doctors,
‘Don’t expect they get many gate crashers around here’ Peter replied, the bitterness in his voice showing, most of the night he had lay awake thinking about trying to get out of the place, he knew soon he would have to face the woods, he could see no other way, then he was going to blow this place wide open, tell the world how it is.
Lily and Nathan just sat still, still unaware what was really going on, Nathan thought that his father would sort it, and soon they would be home, he even thought about school and how nice it would be to be there, something he never thought he would hear himself say, ‘why had dad taken us here ’he would constantly ask himself, he could never find the answers, inside he was scared, he didn’t want to show it, but there were to many things going on inside his head, and he was scared of the woods, he kept telling himself ‘there’s monsters in those woods’ , that’s all he dreamed about the night before and probably all he would dream about in the nights to come.
Lily, her feelings in side were mixed between terror and anger, terror in what the future held, and the anger in the way these people had treated her and her family, she felt like she wanted to shout and scream and hit out at everyone she saw, she was also concerned for her little brother who had become withdrawn, her mother seemed on the edge of hysteria, and she couldn’t cope with that, she needed her mother to be strong, at least as strong as she was, she knew her dad was trying to find the answers, so she had to be strong for him, she had to help him find a way out of this shitty place, who else was going to help him?.
Dr. David Harris was in his treatment room, 4 forms in front of him, all to be filled in with the details of the people who were sat in the waiting room, Underwood’s only doctor, and luckily for him, because of that he was given lots of privileges and vouchers, other than those at the maternity he was the only one with medical experience, a good doctor, one with empathy, he had been the only doctor in Underwood for as long as he could remember, the years when his surgery used to be full were a distant memory, and for a normal doctor having a near empty surgery should be a good thing, but it wasn’t, the deal in Underwood seemed to be you were either fit or dead, nobody seemed to get ill but plenty seemed to die, he wondered why they needed a doctor at all, as empty as his surgery was he certainly didn’t want to register new patients.
He recalled the last new residents to underwood a few years back, and the sad ending that had occurred, and he chastised himself when he couldn’t remember their names, he remembered the faces, he could still see their faces, a husband, a wife and a son, but they were dead now, not even a grave to honour them, there were no grave yards in Underwood, you were either burnt or sent into the wood, their bodies were never found as they were sent into the trees of death, there was nowhere to mourn the dead kinfolk of Underwood, unless it was a memory.
David was fifty four, greying hair, a sturdy fit man with a kind face that people took an instant liking to, all his teenager years he trained for the job he loved, now he hated it, there were no real medicines in Underwood, pain killers, first aid equipment and penicillin was about the stock of it, if people got something more than a headache, a rash or a cut, then there was really nothing he had to treat them with, he could fil
l them up with dope as there was plenty of that grown in underwood, the fields behind the centre were full of it, that was the only pain relief he did have other than the paracetamol, they would have to die in pain or face the wrath of the woods, he had thought one time of ending it all, his life seemingly one long nightmare as people came into his surgery with ailment after ailment, and he had no treatment to give them, he wondered how many people had got hooked on cannabis as he prescribed it for pain relief, but in recent years things had got easier, it was as if the people of Underwood were becoming immune, the surgery was quiet now, sometimes not a single patient in one day, the population had decreased, but it was still an unlikely statistic, he looked again at the list of people he was about to see today, he scrolled his eyes down to Lily and his body shuddered as he thought about the worse part of his job, he had not done it for a while now, but telling an innocent 16 year old girl she was pregnant, when she probably can’t even remember having sex, cut him up inside, a time that should be filled with joy was replaced with tears and fear, every time he felt like taking the baby from the young girls body, but the consequences were too high, even if it was probably the better thing to do, one day he would do it, do what was right and dam the consequences, dam Underwood.
Nathan was first in, he didn’t want to go in on his own and clung to his mother, but when he saw the kind face of the doctor it reassured him a bit, it was the first friendly face he had seen since arriving in Underwood, then the doctor invited his father in with him and Nathan felt a lot better for it, the doctor took the height and weight of Nathan on scales that looked 40 years old, he asked Peter some personal details about the boy, just mundane questions, Peter answered him, thinking it was best to play along with the system until he can fathom how to get out, the Doctor never spoke to Nathan direct, but the doctor could notice and sense his vulnerability which concerned the doctor, he tried to give him a reassuring look and smile and sent him out into the waiting room to be with his mother and sister.
‘Make sure he eats well and build those muscles up’ the doctor told Peter as he filed the first of his papers,
The statement seemed an odd one to Peter as if suggesting he didn’t feed his children, then a terrible thought came over him ‘what if I can’t feed my children’ his stomach was in knots and he began to sweat,
‘Why on earth would you say that’ he asked,
The doctor thought about it for a while, it seemed the best advice he could give, under the circumstances men with skills and strength were an asset to the community, those who were weak and showed no promise, David Harris shivered when he thought of it, he wished he had said nothing at all.
‘It’s the best advice I can give you’ he told Peter,
‘Can you tell me how I can take him out of here?’ asked Peter ‘that would be better than any medical advice’ he added with sarcasm in his voice.
The doctor looked sheepish as he took his stare from Peters,
‘I’m a doctor’ he told him ‘I can’t help you with anything else, he measured and weighed him, asked him the same routine personal questions and thanked him, gesturing him to leave, Peter stood but did not immediately leave, he thought the doctor didn’t seem enthused with his job, like everyone else in Underwood it appeared that he wished he was someplace else,
‘How long have you been the doctor here’ Peter asked, the doctor met his eyes,
‘I’ve always been the doctor here’ he told him’ Peter locked eyes with him, the doctor did not look away, ‘thank you doctor’, said Peter as he left thinking ‘that’s another person who wished he wasn’t here, then why the fuck is he’
‘How old are you’ the doctor asked Lily as she sat down, Lily had refused the offer of her mother attending, much to Eileen’s protests.
‘I’m 14’ she told him assertively as she sat down with her arms crossed in an act of defiance. Lily felt like she wasn’t going to be pushed around by any doctor, she had her own doctor at home in Sheffield.
The doctor looked her up and down in a manner that Lily felt uncomfortable with, she pressed her arms against her body as if trying to protect herself, her defiance weakened, her vulnerability returning to her, she didn’t like it, she didn’t like feeling this way, the doctor stared at her developing body and shook his head with grief, she gave her birthdate which would make her 15 in two months’ time, he wished she had lied to him, made herself younger, but she looked 16 now, and he dare not lie, ‘just prolong the inevitable’ he thought, he asked Lily the same questions he asked her family, measured her height and weight and all the time she held her arms tight against her chest, this disturbed David , People who were born in the town, their parents knew the consequences, most of the boys were immediately taken away, the daughters raised until they were 16 and then turned into a breeding machine, and the same thing would happen to them, over and over again, if they were to live that long, Lily was different in this case, she wasn’t born in Underwood, she was an outsider, that would give the hierarchy particular interest, what kind of child could she produce.
‘That will be all’ the doctor told her, Lily just sat there, arms crossed ‘is there anything’ the doctor added’
‘I’m not having any babies’ she told him, and that sent a shiver down his spine, it was obvious the vicar had briefed them.
‘Let’s talk about that nearer the time’ said the doctor, gesturing her to leave, Lily got up to leave,
‘talk about it when you want’ she said ‘I aint having any’ and she slammed the door behind her, the doctor put his head in his hands, he liked her, she showed bottle he had thought, he just wished she wasn’t going to be a sacrificial lamb, because martyrs didn’t exist in Underwood, Lily went and sat next to her Father, he noticed the determination and anger on her face, he held her hand trying to offer some comfort, but Lily never felt any comfort from her father, all she felt was the fear burning inside her, as Eileen went into see the doctor, Nathan sat there quiet, he had become very withdrawn as all of it failed to register in his young mind,
‘We’ve got 14 months to get out of here’ Lily told her father, he held her hand tightly now,
‘I know’ he told her.
Chapter 6
Carol White was his first call of the day, she lived in Hawthorne, the same road as Peter, she lived at no.6, and no one lived in the houses between 6 and 12.
Peter was given no transport, he had to walk to any venue, however the town was not large, and everywhere seemed to be within walking distance, if the equipment he took with him was to heavy to carry, he was to take the bus, driven by Steve Duce, the man who had forgotten how to smile. This job was a blocked washing machine, something he hadn’t done in ages, fitting boilers and heating systems was his forte, and he was very good at it, working for an international heating systems company in Yorkshire, he had recently become a manager running his own team of plumbers, he guessed he may need no more than a spanner, the sports centre housed his workshop, it was clearly used as a squash court in the past, now it was full of tools, nuts and bolts, washers, probably anything he needed to maintain the domestic appliances of Underwood, as it looked like that’s all he would be doing, at least until he found a way out.
Carol White opened the door with a beaming smile on her face, she was 48, curly hair, plump with a pretty face, ‘I tried to do it myself’ she told Peter ‘there was water all over the place’ she led him to the kitchen, she acted very cheerfully and Peter thought how different that was to everyone else he had met, the kitchen floor was soaked.
‘I’ll be running out of clean knickers soon’ she laughed, Peter gave her a smile, he really didn’t want to hear about her underwear problems, she was dressed in a short skirt and a revealing top and stood in a “come and get me pose”, ‘any shorter and I’ll be able to see them on you ‘ Peter thought,
He wanted to ask her how she could live in a place like this, how she got here, why hadn’t she tried to leave, where are her family, what had her past been like, w
hat she thought was in the woods, and lots more, but he asked her nothing, he didn’t want to be to suspicious, he would get the information he needed somehow ‘there has to be a way out’
He set down to work and within ten minutes had fixed the washer, it was a mundane task, almost anybody could have done it, that is all except Carol White, he handed her a pair of white lacy knickers that was blocking the pipe, she giggled as she took them off Peter,
‘They look better’ on she told him as she lifted her skirt to reveal that she wasn’t wearing any, showing Peter her love nest.
Peter felt himself going red as she stood there with her skirt lifted, he looked the other way, he wasn’t sure who was feeling the most vulnerable, her or him, he just wanted to get out of the house, but it didn’t seem to faze Carol as she raised her skirt as high as she could.
‘It’s how I pay’ she told Peter, she still stood but now her skirt was around the ankles, she wore the same smile,
‘There’s no charge’ he told her and quickly picked up his tool bag to leave, Carol grew panicky and chased after him,
‘I have to pay, I have had 3 repairs and 3 equals a payment’ it should be on your worksheet’
Peter checked his work sheet, on it, it said ‘payment required, 3rd visit’ Peter marked it paid in full,
‘Please pull your dress up’ he told her as he left, Carol watched him leave, her skirt still around her ankles, disappointment etched on her face.
He stood at the top of the path of the house in Hawthorne still wondering what the hell just happened, he felt guilty for what he saw yet had no reason to be, he turned back around, walked down the path and knocked the door, Carol answered, he was pleased to see her dressed, and she seemed surprised to see him,