Darkness Ahead of Us | Book 3 | Darkness Lifting

by Spencer, Leif

  Anna bit her lip and looked at the ground, mumbling something.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Chris asked Sue.

  “His shoulder is dislocated. I’ve tried popping it back in, but he’s in too much pain. He won’t even let me touch his arm.”

  “I can help,” Chris said, feeling more confident now.

  Sue turned around. “Follow me.”

  The Border Collie barked, and Anna handed something to Tom. “Some apple chips for Oreo. He loves them.”

  “Thank you.” Tom grinned, petting the dog. “I’ve missed you, boy!”

  There was a makeshift gate in the hedge between the cottage and the bungalow. The oak tree was tall, the lookout platform at least eight feet high. A rope ladder dangled from the back.

  A cobbled path led to the house and Sue guided Chris inside, pointing up the stairs. “He’s up there. First door on the right.”

  Chris paused to take off her shoes before heading upstairs.

  “Don’t worry about that. Bob! Help’s coming!” Sue yelled, heading upstairs.

  Chris frowned, noticing that everyone was following them. “Could we have some space?”

  Anna looked like she was about to protest, but Sarah shook her head. “Stop worrying. Sue can handle herself.”

  Chris entered the room, sniffed. A sour stench hung in the air: sweat and fear. No sign of infection.

  Sue closed the door behind them and rushed to the window to open it wider. “I’m sorry about the smell. He’s been like this for days. He won’t let me touch him.”

  “I love you, too,” the man in the bed muttered.

  Chris stood at the foot of the bed and smiled. “Hello, Bob. I’m Chris, and I’m a nurse.” She tried to keep her tone light-hearted, but her stomach was churning. He won’t let me touch him. “I have years of experience in the emergency department, and you’re not my first shoulder.”

  Bob’s skin was covered in a cold sweat. His cheeks were bright red with pain, his eyes glassy but alert. “Hello Chris.”

  He was dehydrated and in need of sleep. “I’m not going to touch you without your consent. I’m not going to force your shoulder back in, and I promise not to saw your arm off.”

  He grinned through the pain. “No chainsaw?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  Sue reached out to touch Bob’s arm, then decided against it, dropping her hand to her side. “The doctors showed me what to do the last time it happened but…”

  “Your husband is a big man,” Chris said. “It can be difficult to reduce a joint. Especially if there’s a lot of surrounding muscle.”

  Sue sank onto the chair next to the bed. “Oh…I thought I was failing him. They’d made it look so easy.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. And without painkillers…” Chris sighed. “I’m not saying this’ll be easy, Bob, but I can help. That’s if you’ll let me.”

  Bob nodded slowly.

  “Can you get up and sit on this chair?”

  Sue offered Bob her arm. He hesitated, grimaced.

  “You can’t live like this, Bob,” Chris said.

  “I know, but…”

  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “They’ve tried pulling on it. I almost passed out.”

  “I can imagine.” Chris approached the window to look outside. “My son found a handwritten flyer a few weeks ago. It was an invitation to join Bob’s settlement.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of Bob’s mouth.

  “Bob’s settlement—”Chris turned around with a smile—“can’t run without Bob, right?”

  He gritted his teeth, scooting to the edge of the bed.

  “Actually, we’ve been doing all right without him,” Sue observed dryly, giving her husband a look.

  He muttered something and stood, then gingerly sat down on the chair.

  Chris could hear him grinding his teeth as he clenched his jaw. “Sit with your back straight.” She waited until she’d heard him exhale. “I’m going to use a method called the Cunningham technique, named after a doctor, of course.” Chris knew distracting her patient was important. He needed to trust her in order to relax. As much as a man with muscles this strained and swollen was able to relax. “This method doesn’t require any sedation or force. Ideal for an apocalypse.” She waited for him to smile before continuing, “This is usually painless, but your shoulder’s been dislocated for days, so…”

  “As you said yourself, I’m a big guy. I can take it.”

  Sue gave him a look but said nothing.

  Chris watched as Bob’s eyes darted from Sue to the bed and back again. “I’m going to demonstrate what I’m about to do on your good arm so that you’ll know what to expect, if that’s okay?”

  Bob nodded.

  Chris sat down on the edge of the bed, facing him. “I want you to take slow deep breaths while you tell me about your favourite memory that involves Sue. Remember, good arm first. Try and relax.”

  Bob began to talk. A smile spread across his face as he glanced at his wife.

  “Keep your back nice and straight.”

  He lifted his head, straightening his back as he continued talking. Chris brought his healthy arm in close to his torso, then gently bent it at the elbow, placing his hand on her shoulder. She lay her hand on his elbow, applying gentle pressure. With her other hand, she first began massaging his shoulder before slowly moving down his arm to knead his tense muscles there.

  “—and that’s when I knocked over the glass and spilled red wine over Sue’s new blouse.”

  Sue rolled her eyes. “That’s your favourite memory of us?”

  Bob nodded. “Well, the expression on your face right after.”

  Sue pretended to smack his arm and he gave her a playful glare in return before turning his attention back to Chris. “Was that it?”

  “Yes. If you let me do this to your injured arm, the shoulder will pop back in with minimal pain.” She winked at him. “Or would you prefer for me to bring a chainsaw?”

  He grimaced. “No, thank you. Okay.” He inhaled deeply. “Let’s do it.”

  Thankfully, he was already hugging his injured arm to his side, and she didn’t have to reposition his elbow. She gingerly lifted his hand, bending the arm at the elbow, and placed it on her shoulder.

  “How does that feel?”

  “So far so good.”

  “I’m going to put my hand on your elbow now. You’ll feel a bit of pressure.”

  “Wait.” Bob closed his eyes, held his breath.

  “Don’t tense your shoulders. Relax. Tell me about Sue’s face after you spilt red wine on her favourite blouse.”

  Chris waited for him to start talking before massaging his muscles. They were rock hard, and her stomach sank.

  Had the shoulder been dislocated for too long for this to work? Any other technique required sedation or Bob would be in a lot of pain. She thought of Adam and the way the young man had bitten down on the leather belt as she’d cut him open.

  Chris set her jaw, her fingers digging into Bob’s arm, kneading his muscle as if it was dough. “Does this hurt?”

  Bob shook his head.

  Chris moved her hand from his bicep back up to his shoulder, relieved to feel the hardness easing. Her fingers ached as her strength dwindled, but she couldn’t stop.

  She was a nurse. She helped people. And if she managed to help Bob, perhaps Anna would—

  “—and Sue stood there in just her bra, and—” Bob giggled, frowned, then suddenly gasped. “Holy…you’re a genius!” He moved his arm across his chest, his jaw dropping. “My shoulder…it’s…how did you do that?”

  Chris let go of his arm and exhaled slowly. She rubbed her face with both hands. “Years of experience in the emergency department.”

  “It’s in?” Sue asked. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes!” Bob opened his arms and hugged his wife. “Look! I can do this!”

  “Easy there,” Chris said. “You should wear a sling f
or at least two weeks and avoid any heavy lifting for at least the next twelve.”

  “I’ll make sure he wears his sling,” Sue said.

  “I’m sorry,” Bob said to his wife.

  “Don’t be silly.” Sue kissed his forehead, then turned to Chris, “We’re so lucky you’ve found your way here.”

  “Are you looking for a place to stay?” Bob asked.

  Flustered, Chris raised her hand in protest. In that moment, the door burst open, and throngs of people spilled inside. Excited chatter filled the air.

  Bob showed everyone his arm. The two men shook his hand, but Anna hugged him. Chris watched as Anna’s eyes welled up. It was obvious that Bob meant a lot to her.

  A family.

  And Chris was a monster.

  “Chris and her son are looking for a place to stay,” Bob said.

  One of the men scowled. “We said that we wouldn’t—”

  “Graham, I’ve told you from the start that I wanted to grow this settlement and offer a safe haven to others. I know you disagree, but—”

  “Yes, I disagree,” Graham muttered. “I thought that we all had equal say in how this settlement is run? How can we know that this woman won’t take off with our supplies in the middle of the night?”

  Sue placed a hand on her hip. “This woman has just helped Bob. She didn’t need to do that. I think she deserves more than a thank you and being forced to leave.”

  “It’s okay,” Chris said. “I understand.”

  “I’m sorry. I found a flyer,” Tom said quietly. He was fussing over Oreo in the doorway, watching the back and forth in the room with wide eyes. “I was hoping—”

  Chris placed her hand on his arm. “It’s okay. We’ll leave.”

  “But Mum…”

  “We’re not welcome here.”

  Tom sighed. “Where else can we go?”

  “No, don’t leave.” Bob yawned. “Give us a bit of time to discuss this.” Half an hour ago, he’d been delirious with pain, but now that the pain had gone, he looked seconds away from falling asleep.

  Chris gave him a curt nod. “All right. We’ll wait outside.” She gestured for Tom to walk ahead and closed the door behind them.

  Once downstairs, Tom put on his shoes and stepped into the garden at the back, Oreo trotting alongside him, tail wagging.

  Chris followed, then turned back to look at the living room with the fireplace. It looked cosy. “Let’s hope that they’ll give us a chance.”

  He smiled. “You were great in there.”

  I’m not a monster.

  She lifted her chin and grinned. “I was, wasn’t I?” It had been months since she’d worked her last shift as a nurse. Chris lifted her chin. Doing her job, helping Bob, seeing the gratitude in his eyes had filled her with joy and given her hope.

  Closing her eyes, she curled her hands into fists. She wouldn’t mess this up.

  If only they gave her a chance.

  9

  After Chris and Tom had left the bedroom, Anna tried putting her thoughts in order. Panicking had never helped anyone, but she couldn’t help the nausea washing over her.

  Chris was here. Had fixed Bob’s shoulder.

  And Bob had asked her if she needed a place to stay.

  Anna had tried to speak up at the gate, had tried to keep the woman from entering Anna’s home, but Sarah had stopped her and instead told Sue that Chris was a nurse.

  A sour taste filled Anna’s mouth, and she swallowed.

  Did you really think you could turn my own son against me? The position you’ve put me in, Anna…why would you do that? Now I have to kill you. You’ve left me no choice.

  When Chris had shown up at Anna’s flat and asked for a place to stay, she’d brought food and water. She’d protected the flat. Risked her life to get more supplies. And she’d talked about finding a community. Growing food. Working together.

  But she’d also murdered at least two people and been scarily unconcerned about killing more.

  And she’d pushed Sarah down the stairs.

  At best, she was ruthless. At worst, a dangerous killer.

  When Anna had seen her outside Bob and Sue’s gate, she’d wondered if Chris had come for revenge. You tried to poison me. But Chris couldn’t have known that Anna and Sarah were near Braintree, could she?

  Tom had found one of Bob’s flyers. A mere coincidence.

  Had they been watching the settlement before approaching? She’d seen movement during her watch the other night. She’d thought it was Neil.

  Had it been Chris?

  The dead cockerel. Could that have been Chris?

  No. Chris was ruthless, not malevolent.

  Anna pinched the bridge of her nose. Besides, Graham would have noticed if someone had climbed over one of the gates or scaled the fence. Anna blinked, looking up at the two men patting Bob’s back. Everyone was inside the bedroom.

  “Shouldn’t Graham go back—” Her voice failed to cut through the excited chatter. She fell silent and rapped her knuckles against the bedroom door until everyone had quietened down and looked at her. “Someone needs to go back on watch. Now’s not the time to be careless. Neil is back, and the cockerel is dead.”

  Bob paled. “The cockerel is dead? How?”

  “I found rats in the coop,” Sarah said, visibly shuddering. “I don’t know if they killed it or if they were just taking advantage of the situation.”

  “It was Neil,” Graham spat. “I told you—”

  Anna scowled. “You were keeping watch this morning. How did he sneak past you?”

  Graham bristled, then sniffed. “Who else—”

  “Why would Neil do that?” Bob asked.

  “To send us a warning. To tell us that we aren’t safe.”

  “Rats can kill chickens,” Rachel said. “But Anna is right. Someone needs to be on that lookout platform at all times.”

  “It’s your watch,” Sarah said to Graham.

  Anna approached the window. Oreo had trotted after Tom, and she could see the boy kneeling on the grass, hugging the dog. Oreo had both his paws on Tom’s shoulders and was licking Tom’s face.

  “This isn’t fair,” Graham said. “You can’t just send me away while you make important decisions.”

  “You’ll get your say,” Bob said sharply. He turned to Sue. “Has anyone checked the fence for holes?”

  “Not yet.”

  He scratched his dark stubble, moving his arm carefully. “It’s impossible for anyone to get in from the front while someone is on watch.”

  “Unless Graham fell asleep.” Rachel smirked and gently elbowed Graham in the ribs. “Don’t worry. I know that you wouldn’t.”

  Graham grunted.

  “Perhaps we need to start patrolling the perimeter. At least at night." Bob hid a yawn behind his hand, his eyelids drooping. “We can’t keep an eye on everything as it is. We need more eyes. Which brings us back to Chris and Tom.”

  Anna swallowed. Only a week ago, she wouldn’t have considered letting Chris stay, but seeing Bob so helpless…

  “You know her, don’t you?” Rachel asked, her voice gentle, as if she’d noticed Anna’s apprehension. “Chris?”

  One could say that. Anna turned around and nodded. “I know her, but before I say anything about her, I’d like to speak to Sarah. It’s…personal.”

  Luke patted Graham’s shoulder. “I’ll take your watch. I don’t mind sitting this one out. I know you weren’t a fan of Bob’s flyers. Have your say.”

  “Bob needs a few hours of sleep before we make any decisions,” Sue said.

  “I’d like to be there for the discussion beforehand as well,” Graham muttered.

  “Let’s go downstairs so Bob can get some rest. If nothing else, Chris deserves a hot meal for fixing his shoulder.” Sue gestured for everyone to leave the bedroom. She cupped Bob’s cheek in her hand. “Don’t worry…”

  Anna didn’t hear what else Sue was saying and headed downstairs, a cacophony of different tho
ughts whirling through her mind. She slid into her shoes and stepped onto the patio. Black smoke rose above the smouldering firepit.

  Sarah approached the pit and warmed her hands over the embers. “Are you thinking about letting her stay?”

  Anna shrugged, already on the defence. “She’s fixed Bob’s shoulder. She’s a nurse. Why not give her a chance?”

  “That woman had you tied to a chair. Threatened you with a carving knife.”

  “After I tried to poison her.”

  “She threw me down the stairs. She told me you had left and weren’t going to come back. If I’d believed her, I wouldn’t have found you.”

  “I know, but she—” Anna buried her head in her hands and sighed. Why was she arguing for Chris? The woman who had fixed Bob’s shoulder looked nothing like the woman who had tied her to a chair. Chris appeared…frail. Tired.

  Broken.

  Sarah scoffed. “I knew you’d do this.”

  Anna placed a hand on her hip. “Excuse me? I tried to say something earlier, but you kept me from speaking up. Told everyone that she was a nurse. Watched as Sue led her inside the house. Inside Bob’s bedroom.”

  “Yes. Because I wanted her to fix his shoulder. Not because I wanted her to move in with us.”

  “Everything Chris did was to protect her son. She knew that the food in my flat wouldn’t last, and she was worried about Tom. That’s the only reason she—"

  “Pushed me down the stairs?” Sarah bristled, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

  “She’s a nurse, Sarah. None of us could fix Bob’s shoulder. He was just sitting in that bed, delirious from lack of sleep, and Chris fixed it in less than half an hour. He let her touch him. Not even Sue…”

  Sarah pursed her lips, her eyes filled with disappointment that reminded Anna of their father. You never had much sense, Anna.

  She threw her hands in the air. “Imagine if we tell Chris that she has to leave and then something happens and one of us dies because we didn’t know what to do.”

  “Imagine if we let her stay, and she hurts one of us. That would be on you.”

  Anna shrugged. “Don’t you think I know that?”