Beyond These Walls (Book 6): Three Days

by Robertson, Michael

  Milliseconds between each blink, the strobe grew faster and faster, each burst of light stabbing into Olga’s brain. Every scream cut to her core.

  All the while, Matilda remained resolute.

  The salty taste of her own tears, Olga opened and closed her mouth, but for the first time in as long as she could remember, she had no words.

  Chapter 26

  An order masquerading as a question: can you hunt? It very quickly turned into first we hunt. Outnumbered by the nomads, they were their prisoners for now. But at least they still had over a day until the full moon.

  William chewed on a piece of cooked meat, the fire in front of him hissing, popping, and spitting as the wood burned and animal fat dropped into the flames. They were eating one of the three deer caught by Artan. Twenty-seven of them had gone out hunting, and Artan had been the only one to make multiple kills. Two hours had passed since they’d met the nomads at the bottom of the large wall. At least their stomachs were full, but anxiety gnawed away at William. They needed to move on. Had he been given the choice, he would have rather remained hungry and gone after the girls.

  The knife they’d found on the ground in his right hand, a stick in his left, Artan chewed on deer meat while whittling another spear.

  “You’re quite the hunter,” Collette said. Although she delivered a compliment, her words were spiked, her face taut. Almost an accusation. It turned into a demand. “We could use someone like you.”

  If Artan could have ignored her, he probably would have. Instead, he did the bare minimum, lifting his head ever so slightly in acknowledgement that she’d spoken to him before he continued to work on his spear, making eye contact with William for the briefest moment.

  William knew Matilda’s brother well enough. They were on the same page. They needed to get away from these people as soon as they could. It helped that they agreed, but if they hadn’t, he’d learned to trust Artan’s intuition over his own.

  “We’d like to give you this.” Serj held a fur waistcoat in Artan’s direction.

  Again, Artan slightly tilted his head but nothing more. William took the coat and laid it by his friend.

  “It’s a tough world south of the funnel,” Collette said. They were sat in the open plains, the fire shielded from the wind by a large steel rock. At least half the nomads had remained on their feet, their spears raised as they stood guard. Were they trying to keep William and his friends from leaving, or trying to protect them?

  “Although,” Collette added, “I reckon with Artan on your side, you might do all right.”

  “Why’s it so much harder in the south?” William said.

  Collette shook her head. “This ain’t the south, just south of the funnel. Although, I suppose, when you’re from the other side, everything’s south, right?”

  William shrugged.

  “It’s just harder,” Serj said, his beard glistening with deer grease. “You lot from the north don’t know what it is to struggle.”

  “Our city fell,” Max said. The frown he’d worn since Umbriel remained. “Thousands of people were turned overnight. A city with years of history, devastated by the diseased. Have you ever seen that many diseased in one place?”

  A woman sat on Collette’s left. The only one of the group with a bald head, she had rolls of fat around her neck. She snorted a laugh. “Have you ever heard of a swarm?”

  “What’s a swarm?” Cyrus said.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” the bald woman said, her green eyes widening as she stared into the middle distance. “They start at around ten thousand strong. Some of them contain hundreds of thousands of the things.” She chewed with her mouth open. “They’re a plague that destroys everything in their path.”

  “If it’s so tough down here, why don’t you go north of the funnel?” William said.

  “Some people do.” Serj bit a large chunk of meat from a bone. “But we plan to head south one of these days. Farther south. South of the wall.”

  Even Artan paused his whittling to look at Serj.

  “What’s south of the wall?” Cyrus said.

  Collette took over. “No one knows for sure. But they say life’s easier there. Like much easier. There’s more luxury than we’ve ever known. There are no diseased. Food’s readily available. As is water … shelter …”

  “So why haven’t you gone?”

  “If only it were that easy,” Serj said. “They say the journey to even get to the wall is one fraught with so many dangers that to take it is to invite madness. We’ve seen some who have tried to go, but have fallen short. They may return physically, but they’ve left their minds at the wall. Duncan’s one of them.”

  A man with long ginger hair and a swinging jaw, he had pale skin and glazed eyes. Despite the meat on offer from a successful hunt, he chewed on a bone like a dog, gnawing the marrow inside.

  “So what makes you think you can do any better than he did?” Artan said.

  “Honestly?” Serj said.

  Artan shrugged. “For what it’s worth?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” the bald woman said.

  “We’d be foolish to trust people we don’t know.”

  The bald woman bristled where she sat, Collette resting a placating hand on her leg.

  “We don’t know yet,” Serj said. “But we haven’t given up. We’ll find a way south, and when we get to the wall, we’ll find our way over it.”

  “And you really think it’s worth it?” William said.

  The bald woman grinned. “Only one way to find out.”

  Jezebel on the grass beside him, William picked her up and got to his feet. The bald woman’s right hand went to the knife at her hip. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he said, “but we need to get going.”

  “Oh?” Collette said, her back straightening.

  “We have to find Grandfather Jacks’ community.”

  The nomads who had been standing guard all turned to face William. The wind howled across the open space. The fire fizzed and spat.

  A tighter grip on Jezebel’s handle, William’s voice wavered. “He has two of our friends. Two girls about the same age as us. One of them is short and feisty. The other one a bit taller.” He pointed at Artan. “She looks a lot like him. I don’t suppose you’ve seen them, have you?”

  “No.” Collette shook her head. Although she answered too quickly for William’s liking.

  The bald woman snorted a laugh that made the fat around her neck ripple. “I’d give up on those girls if I were you.”

  “Thanks for the advice, woman—”

  “Beatrice.”

  “Beatrice?”

  “And if you shorten it to Bea, I’ll cut your throat.”

  “You’re a friendly one, aren’t ya?” William said. “Well, Beatrice, Collette, Serj …” William looked at the others, twenty more of them; they all stared back. “Thank you for your hospitality, especially you, Bea.”

  Collette tugged on the woman’s shoulder, pulling her back down when she tried to stand.

  “We hope Artan’s hunting skills have helped feed you all, but we need to get moving.”

  “Maybe you should stay for a while?” Collette said, her blue eyes narrowing.

  William shook his head. “That’s not a question, is it?”

  Collette scratched her dirty face and pulled her matted hair behind her right ear. “There’s certainly a path of least resistance before you.”

  Surrounded by nomads, Jezebel would do little for him right now. William lowered the double-headed battle-axe and sat back down cross-legged on the grass.

  When Serj offered William another slice of meat, he pushed it away and spoke through gritted teeth. “No, thanks. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”

  Chapter 27

  “Huh?” Olga said. “What? Has it stopped?”

  A man stood before her. Broad shoulders, a scar up one side of his face, he held her muffs with both hands. When the babies were screaming and the lights blink
ing, she’d closed her eyes so tight the muscles along the sides of her head now spasmed.

  Barp!

  The light a constant, the man turned the muffs over in his shaking hands. “This is all part of your conditioning to make sure you’re worthy of Grandfather Jacks’ affection.” His entire body trembled. He closed his eyes, pulled in a deep breath, and faced the ceiling. His words came out fast and loud, bouncing off the hard stone walls. “Praise be to Grandfather Jacks, the High Father, and his followers. Praise be to the great lord. To the provider.”

  When he opened his eyes, he spread them wide. They glowed as if invoking the name of a fictional god had invigorated him. He no longer shook. “We give thanks to the High Father for all he does. For our guidance, support, and nurturing. We love him like he loves us; we give ourselves over to him. We serve him how he needs us to serve him, and we thank him for his guidance.”

  Matilda watched on from her restraints, her lips tight, deep bags beneath her eyes.

  It took for Olga to taste the salt of her own tears again to even realise she’d started crying. “When will you let us out of here?”

  Barp!

  The man’s nostrils flared and he raised his eyebrows. He shook his head ten to twenty times before he dropped down onto the cold and damp floor. He removed his right boot and then his right sock. Back on his feet, his voice had grown louder and echoed in the small room. “How dare you interrupt my prayer.” His voice whipped Olga rigid. “How dare you!”

  He gagged her with his sweaty and pungent sock. Olga nearly choked on her excess saliva, damn near drowning in her nausea.

  “You!” the man said, snapping forwards so his face stopped just inches from Olga. He then quietened and stepped back a pace. “Will listen.” He nodded while splaying his fingers and stretching them back, bashing the heels of his palms together as if he had no control over the demented action. “Oh yes, you will listen. You will.”

  The rushing sound of water entered the room, but Olga couldn’t place its source.

  The man broke into prayer again. “Thank you, Grandfather Jacks, for showing me the way. For illuminating my path through this dark, dark world and providing me with all I need to survive. Thank you.”

  Water spread across the floor, the light catching the rippling surface. The man made a splash when he stamped his bare foot, his boot still in his hand. “Without you, I would have ended my life a long time ago. You’ve given me strength and purpose. You’ve given me a reason to go on.”

  As the water rose, Olga’s pulse quickened. She’d never learned to swim. No one learned to swim in Edin.

  Water kicked up around the man’s feet when he crossed the room and stood in front of Matilda. “Do you give praise to the High Father?”

  Barp!

  Matilda stared straight at him.

  The man moved so quickly, the sound registered with Olga before the slap. A red welt stood out on Matilda’s cheek.

  “You need more time,” the man said. “Yes.” He nodded. “You need more time.”

  Olga didn’t need any more time, but she couldn’t tell him. His filthy sock in her mouth reduced her words to muffles and stifled cries. Even the sloshing of the rising water against the walls spoke louder than her.

  The man exited the room and left the door open. His words echoed in the corridor outside. “You need more time.”

  Chapter 28

  Although William kept his map in his back pocket, he didn’t need to check it to know they were heading in the wrong direction. But what could he say? He had no control here. His lungs tight, his breathing heavy, his legs tired, he pushed on through the long grass with his friends around him. The nomads encircled them and set the pace. He clung to Jezebel, but his weapon wouldn’t help him. So outnumbered, they stood no chance in a fight.

  Of the four of them, Artan kept the pace with the most ease. Fitter, faster, and probably stronger than all of them despite giving away nearly four years to William and Max, and two to Cyrus.

  Cyrus struggled the most, his strides clumsy as if he might fall. He leaned closer to Max as they ran. “Are you okay?”

  Max stared straight ahead, his face locked in his usual scowl.

  It had been at least two hours since they’d eaten, and William had well and truly run off his stitch. Maybe the nomads had taken on less meat, because none of them appeared to struggle. Collette, Serj, and Beatrice closest to them, they ran as if they could go forever. And with their lifestyle it made sense. No good getting a stitch when you had to move at a moment’s notice.

  The dark grey sky grew darker as they ran into the evening. The long grass similar to that north of the funnel. They said life was easier in the north, but what did they know?

  “What’s that?” Cyrus said.

  “What?” Serj said.

  “That glow on the horizon.”

  It took for Cyrus to point it out for William to see it too.

  “It’s a community.”

  “Why’s it glowing?”

  “Electricity.”

  “What?”

  “You don’t have electricity in the north?”

  Cyrus took a few seconds to catch his breath. “We saw a glass sun in Umbriel. That’s the place where Grandfather Jacks’ hunters live.”

  Serj laughed. “You lot from the north are a simple breed, eh?” He shook his head and laughed again. “Glass sun! It’s called electricity. We can take power from the sun and turn it into things like light, heat, and sound.”

  “How?”

  Serj shrugged.

  “Why’s there so much steel scattered around?” Cyrus said.

  Beatrice sneered. “You’re a nosey one, aren’t you?”

  “Inquisitive.”

  “I don’t like inquisitive.”

  “You don’t like much,” William said. “I’m not sure anyone should live their lives based on what you do and don’t like.”

  Collette spoke before Beatrice could. “They brought all the steel up here to build the wall and ended up with more than they needed. It was too heavy to take back, so they left it. Sometimes people take it and melt it down, but most of the communities have used all they want already.”

  “It seems like quite a valuable resource to leave lying around,” Cyrus said, his breaths becoming more ragged from trying to talk and run at the same time.

  “To you maybe,” Collette said.

  “So when are you going to let us go?” William said.

  Serj pulled his long hair away from his face, tucking one side and then the other behind his ears. The swish of the long grass against their legs, they maintained their pace. “This is for your own good, trust me.”

  Max’s voice broke and grew louder. “And what about the girls we need to help? Is it for their good?”

  “There can only be one winner between you and Grandfather Jacks,” Serj said. “You need to accept we’re saving your lives.”

  Beatrice sniggered. “And protecting our bounty.”

  Serj shot Beatrice a glare.

  “What?” William said.

  If Serj’s wrath scared Beatrice, she hid it well. “We’ve seen your two girls. We took them to Grandfather Jacks.”

  Serj threw his arms up. “What are you getting from this, Beatrice?”

  But the bald woman continued. “He paid us in deer meat and clothes. How will it look if we’ve taken his payment and then we let you lot get yourselves killed by going to his community? He’ll ask us for a refund.”

  William lost his step, stumbling into a dip in the ground before regaining his balance. “You took the girls to him?”

  Collette cut Beatrice off. “We do what we need to do to get paid.”

  “Even if it endangers your life?” Artan said.

  While shaking her head, Collette, who maintained steady breathing despite running for as long as they had, said, “Grandfather Jacks isn’t a threat to us.”

  “Maybe not directly,” Artan said, “but your actions have put you all in danger.”<
br />
  “You think we should fear you?” Beatrice said. “An impotent rescue party. A band of boys playing at being men.”

  William’s pulse quickened, his torso tense. He bit back his response. They were outnumbered. No matter what he thought of them and what he wanted to do, they were vastly outnumbered.

  “At least tell us what he’s like,” Cyrus said. Although out of breath, the boy remained calm.

  Serj shook his head. “We can’t say anything.”

  For the second time, Beatrice showed her disregard for Serj’s leadership. “He’s as mad as a box of frogs.” She smiled and winked at William. “He takes young women and girls, and because he’s a Jaffa—”

  “A what?” Max said.

  “A Jaffa. He’s seedless. He can’t get women pregnant. He’s convinced his community of nutters that it’s a gift from the High Father; whoever the hell the High Father is. He says it’s his job to break in the girls and young women for the sake of the tribe.”

  William caught Max’s arm when he lunged for the bald woman. Although Max pulled against him at first, he finally accepted the restraint. William said, “So you think it’s okay to give our friends over to that?”

  Beatrice stopped running. Collette, Serj, and the surrounding nomads copied her.

  William tightened his grip on Jezebel as he and the boys also halted. He wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  But they’d stopped for a different reason. The nomads at the front turned their backs on William and his friends and raised their spears.

  Four or five diseased stumbled from around the side of a large lump of steel.

  Artan moved so quick, William only saw his spear once he’d thrown it. It sailed through a small gap between two of the nomads at the front of the group and slammed into the face of one of the diseased.

  The nomads took Artan’s lead and dropped the others with well-aimed spear throws.

  “You’re quite adept with that thing, aren’t ya?” Collette said. “You always need to be careful this side of the funnel. When you see one diseased, they might well be a part of a—”