The Hurst Chronicles (Book 1): Hurst

by Robin Crumby

  Zed glanced at Riley, puzzled. “That’s up to Stella, don’t you think?” interjected Zed.

  The Sister continued to address Riley, ignoring Zed. “The rest of you ladies are most welcome to stay with us. We can offer you comfortable accommodation, good company and security.” She smiled her best, most welcoming smile. “You will find that we are mostly self-sufficient. We have unlimited drinking water supplied from the local stream, a small generator for electricity, sustainable crops, livestock in the fields nearby. We even have a swimming pool we fill in the summer. We have beautiful grounds to grow vegetables, to live and breathe, free from the worst excesses of man and the evil he had brought upon us.”

  Riley blinked, her eyes narrowing, not entirely sure she had heard the Sister correctly. “Wait, you said the women only were welcome to stay. What about these two? Are they not welcome?”

  The Sister cleared her throat, her eyes remained fixed on Riley, piercing and cold.

  “Oh dear. Perhaps Stella did not explain. This is a sanctuary for women. We do not usually allow men here at all.”

  “I must have missed something,” said Zed accusingly. “Since when did men become the root of all evil?”

  The Sister laughed, covering her mouth, her eyes wide and seemingly amused by the naivety of the question. “Since the dawn of time. Since Adam corrupted Eve. Since men began subjugating women to their will.” Zed stared open mouthed, shaking his head, but allowed her to continue. “Men have no place in our lives here. We reject all that is male and have chosen to live a life free from violence, brutality, rape and murder.”

  The two nuns on each side nodded their approval, but remained silent.

  “So while men, women and children are dying in their millions outside these walls, you sit here, having passed judgment on half the population?” continued Zed, rising angrily from the table, his chair scraping loudly on the stone flagstone floor.

  “We must all make sacrifices if we are to survive and rebuild, mustn’t we?”

  “But how do you expect to rebuild? It’s hardly a balanced community is it?”

  “I assure you, we’re more than self-sufficient. Our residents have learned the skills they need from books and we have no need for the brute strength of men.”

  “What about the next generation? It’s not very sustainable is it? How do you expect to have children and reproduce for goodness sake?” offered Riley.

  “Oh men still have some small role to play in our future. And for that we keep two for breeding.”

  “Breeding?” snorted Zed. “We’re not animals you know? You can’t just lock people up like that, like you would a bull or a stallion and let them out when you’re ready for them to breed.”

  She ignored his attempts to provoke her. “I assure you that is precisely what we will do.” Her smile struck Riley as wholly incongruous. Her mouth opened baring even white teeth, unblemished by the vices of nicotine, sugar or alcohol. She looked vaguely sinister, like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

  “You’re off your rocker, you are. Stark raving bonkers.” Zed wagged his finger at the Sister, but his eyes had started to wander and glaze over. He seemed to sway a little on his feet and slumped back on to his chair, clutching his wrist. He winced with pain, blood pumping, throbbing in his ears, a spent force.

  The Sister’s thin lips relaxed a little in triumph seeing Zed's weakened state. “In the circumstances, we shall forgive you your ingratitude and lack of manners. You are clearly not a well man. You should get that arm looked at immediately. Tell Stella to take you straight to the infirmary. Of course, this is God’s work. He works in mysterious ways. No doubt you brought this all on yourself, through your own choices. But we are not monsters, we will not deny you medical attention. ”

  “You really are a piece of work,” Riley was shaking with rage, incensed by the Sister’s condescension and intolerance. “Since when did the principles of kindness, charity, forgiveness, generosity and all those other things they teach you in Sunday school cease to apply?”

  “My child, the world has changed. We are in unchartered waters. Rather like Noah and the Ark, the sickness is God’s way of purging the world of men of all its vices: wealth, power, and violence. God created this virus to punish men for centuries of wickedness. The world will be washed clean, so we can start again. Here at Chewton Glen we are doing God’s work, building a new Ark, if you will.”

  Adele coughed into her sleeve, her childlike voice defiant. “My mum told me there’s no such thing as God.”

  The Sister stiffened. “Silence, child.”

  She raised her hand to strike the girl but thought better of acting on impulse. She softened her tone and started to lecture Adele about how children should be seen but not heard, but was interrupted by Riley, who was shaking her head. A sarcastic laugh escaped Riley’s lips.

  “But don’t you see? The virus is ruthless. It does not discriminate between good and evil, between black and white, between men and women. The virus doesn't judge. It kills everyone. The few that survive run and hide, like you, here.”

  “I can assure you we’re not hiding from anything or anyone. God watches over us and protects us here. We are simply waiting until the purge is complete and we can start again. Stella is very much a part of that rebirth and regeneration.”

  “I don’t know why you think Stella is. But I can assure you she’s not the person you’re making her out to be. She’s has had a tough time in captivity. She’s seen things no girl her age should see. They had her locked up there, at the mercy of her captors. She was abused, mistreated, God knows what.”

  Riley pulled up Adele’s sleeve, who was sat next to her, swinging her legs on her chair and staring at the funny lady opposite her with a large pimple on her chin. Riley pointed to the collection of red marks that covered Adele’s arm. “They experimented on them at the hospital. Took their blood, injected them. They had hundreds of prisoners there. These two are the lucky ones.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” replied the Sister looking down, adjusting the folds of her dress. “But there’s nothing I can do about that. Now she’s back with us, Stella’s safety and wellbeing is up to me, not any of you. Perhaps you don’t realise but Stella means a lot to us here. She is special, one of the chosen few, and we are pleased to have her back. I’m afraid it’s out of the question that she should leave with you. ”

  Riley shook her head and glowered back. She pushed back her chair and leaned over the table towards the Sister, who sat unmoved and not the least bit intimidated. “No, it’s you who doesn’t get it. Stella is free to do whatever she wants to do. If she wants to come to Hurst with us, no-one is going to stop her,” insisted Riley. She pushed herself back off the table upright again and turned to help Zed to his feet.

  “Are you threatening me? That would be most unwise.” The Sister paused and composed herself before continuing. “I’m simply saying that it would be inadvisable for a girl in her condition to over-exert herself.”

  “Wait. Hold on. I’m not following you. Are you saying…?” she paused, turning the idea over in her mind. “You mean to say, Stella is pregnant.”

  “Precisely. Young Stella is part of our regeneration programme. She was impregnated before she left and we are most pleased to get her back.”

  Chapter twenty-eight

  Riley and Stella sat outside the infirmary while a nurse tended to Zed who had collapsed on a trolley bed. She bathed his feverish forehead and had put him on a drip. The nurse stepped outside and closed the door and spoke just above a whisper. She asked about the circumstances of the injury and whether there was any chance of blood poisoning, perhaps from a rusty blade or metal. Riley wasn’t sure how it had happened, but agreed that was possible.

  “He’s too weak to move today. I’m afraid he’ll need bed rest for several days, maybe a week to get his full strength back,” explained the nurse.

  The strain of the last twenty-four hours had crept up on Riley. She suddenly felt
overwhelmed and exhausted. Stella reached out and took Riley’s hand in hers and put her head on her shoulder. “I’m sure he’ll be alright Riley. He’s a fighter.”

  “Oh yeah, Zed’s a survivor all right,” she put a brave face on, but inside she was shaken up. “But I’ve never seen him like this before.”

  “He really should be in a hospital, where they can care for him properly,” continued the nurse.

  Riley and Stella looked at each other and laughed. “We’re not taking him to any hospital, don’t worry about that. He’ll just have to stay here and get better. We appreciate everything you’re doing for him. Is there anything we can do?”

  “I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got here, which isn’t much. He’s lost a lot of blood,” shaking her head, her eyebrows raised, as if she disapproved of the violence that had caused these injuries. “He is dehydrated, but the drip should replace some of those lost fluids and deal with any infection. He just needs to rest up and get better, simple as that. We should see an improvement in the morning.”

  Riley grimaced and put her hand on the nurse’s shoulder. “Thank you. I really mean that. You’ve been very good to us.”

  The nurse smiled. “I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t you worry. You’ll be the first to hear when he comes round. I’ll try and let him sleep as long as possible. It’s nice and quiet up here, so he shouldn’t be disturbed.”

  The main staircase and ornately carved wooden bannister curved round as it descended into the lobby area. Standing on the bottom step was one of the sisters, her arms crossed, as if she’d been waiting for some time. Riley was still angry from their earlier encounter and was in no mood for another confrontation. This Sister looked different, she had a warmer disposition than the authoritarian Sister Theodora. She looked a few years younger than Riley. It was hard to tell, she could only see her face, but Riley guessed mid-twenties. She had well-proportioned features, a dark complexion and round gentle eyes. Stella introduced her as Sister Imelda.

  “Please call me Sister Mel, everyone else does. I understand that the man you came here with is not well enough to travel.”

  “You could say that. He’s far from well. He is on a drip with a nasty fever. Needs to rest up before we move on.”

  “That’s understood and most regrettable. The Sisters have discussed this at length. Taking into consideration the return of our ward, Stella, we have agreed that your entire party can stay an extra couple of days until he recovers his strength.”

  Riley was genuinely grateful but knew there were conditions coming. What about Joe, could he stay too? He is a man after all. Altogether, she was struck by the Sister’s formality and totally unconvinced by the generosity of the offer. She squinted back at the Sister suspiciously, considering what was hidden behind all this. “That’s good of you. Thank you. But may I ask about Joe? He was part of the team that got Stella out too.”

  She cleared her throat, putting her left hand flat against her chest. “Sister Theodora has insisted that…” her voiced trailed off as she didn’t know quite how to say what had to be said. “Believe me when I tell you that we are grateful for everything you’ve done, but… She is adamant that men are simply not to be trusted. Joe will be confined to quarters. He’ll be held with the other men in the out building at the far end of the complex. Those are the conditions. Sister Theodora has spoken. Our terms are non-negotiable, I’m afraid.” Sister Mel’s bottom lip quivered ever so slightly, revealing her discomfort and the awkward position she found herself in.

  “Doesn’t look like we have a choice, right? It’s the Sisters’ way, or the highway?” Riley’s frustration was obvious from her body language, chest puffed out, arms splayed wide.

  “Please don’t shoot the messenger Riley. I don't make the rules. Sister Theodora does. I just get the unpopular job of enforcing them.” She shrugged.

  “I still don’t understand why you all put up with her. You could leave, go some place else. Why do you stay here? You don’t have to live like this.”

  “Because followers need someone to follow. Sister Theodora does what she believes is right. She is doing God’s work. And the women here respect her.”

  “But the whole ‘no men’ thing is medieval. A breeding programme for goodness sake? It’s inhuman to keep men, fellow humans, locked up like that. How do you square that with your values as a Catholic and a Christian?”

  “None of us like it Riley, but we’re doing this for the greater good. And Stella here is part of that. She’s been chosen to become a mother, to give birth to the next generation. To be part of our future.”

  Stella looked awkward as they talked about her, avoiding eye contact.

  “And did anyone stop to ask Stella and the other girls whether they wanted to be part of this? She’s just so young for goodness sake. Being forced to have babies at her age. They’re still children.”

  Stella looked up, her eyes heavy with tears. “I was chosen Riley. But it was also my choice. You don’t understand. I want to help, I want to be part of this. I want to make a difference. Don’t you see?”

  “I guess not. I think you’re all certifiable.”

  Just then, there was a small commotion behind them and Joe emerged from a corridor with his hands tied in front of him. One of the guards was a squat buxom woman in a blue polo shirt and khaki shorts with a ruddy complexion. She pushed him forcefully from behind. Joe paused for a second beside them. “This is ridiculous. Apparently, I’m a danger to the community and can’t be trusted to keep my hands to myself. I need to be locked up Riley, in the stable, like an animal. These people are doing my head in.”

  “I’m so sorry Joe. Listen, it’s just for a day or two until Zed’s better. Do it for Zed, yeah? We don’t have a choice. I’ll come see you later on. Go rest up. Take it easy, ok. Try and stay out of trouble.”

  Joe was led away still grumbling, shuffling his feet and prompting another poke in the back from the stocky woman guarding him. He glanced over his shoulder and raised an ironic eyebrow. He broke into a low whistle mimicking the theme tune from The Great Escape, which drew a snigger from Stella and Riley. The guard was unamused and hurried after him, tutting.

  Riley and Stella followed Sister Mel outside to a large vegetable patch where three women, with large wide brimmed straw hats and white smocks, were planting potatoes and carrots in neat rows that stretched ahead of them in newly turned earth. A rusting metal wheelbarrow stood next to them, spilling over with cabbages and potatoes, still covered in earth.

  It was still early morning, but a Spring sun was already beating down. Riley rolled up her sleeves and started rubbing her hands together. She tapped the nearest worker on the shoulder, who finished her planting before removing gloves and giving Riley her full attention. She had a kind, gentle face and sat back on her haunches, her eyes glinting with the exertion of her activities.

  “Sorry to disturb you. I’m Riley, we were wondering if we can maybe help you.” She turned to Stella to explain. “Listen, if we’re going to stay here for a couple of days, you may as well give us something to do. Let’s go and grab Mila and Adele too.”

  The pair of them hurried off to the orchard to find the others, where they were walking with two other residents. They were all enjoying the shade of a large apple tree as Mila was asking them a flurry of questions about life at Chewton Glen. One of the pair was a sixteen year-old girl who called herself Gina and had introduced her friend as Lexie. Lexie appeared to be a couple of years younger. They were both local, had lived just up the road in Christchurch, and had known the Sisters from the church group they were both part of.

  “Not like we’re particularly religious or anything, it was just something our mums made us do. ‘Course they’re not around to tell us anything these days.” Gina nudged Lexie in the ribs and they both giggled girlishly.

  “So, come on,” said Mila. “Dish the dirt on the whole ‘no boys’ thing. Two young girls like you? Pull the other one.”

  Gina and L
exie exchanged furtive looks. Lexie shook her head at Gina, imploring her to keep quiet, but Gina couldn’t help herself. There was something about Mila, a sense of mischief, that made it all right to tell these strangers everything, even if it meant getting into trouble. Gina had been dying to tell someone and why not these two outsiders?

  “Right, we’ll tell you OK, but this goes no further.” She leaned in close. “These boys we know right,” she gave a little laugh, “they live just round the back over there, in that big house. Sister would go mental if she found it. One day, we saw them through the fence and had a little chat with them, we did, didn’t we Lexie?” Lexie nodded coyly, her fingers fiddling nervously with the acne on her chin.

  “And, we’ve met them for a drink a couple of times. They bring the booze and we let them have certain favours in return. Ain’t that right, Lex?” Lexie shook her head again, but Gina was emboldened and wasn’t stopping now. Her eyes blazed with brazenness.