Severed

by Peter Laws

  He laughed. ‘And have you been walking on that hill?’ He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

  ‘Ooof, no. It’s private property is that, and they don’t like company neither. Anyway, where are you trying to get to?’ She gestured to his car by the gate. ‘You’re lost, I take it? People never stop here for the view.’

  ‘Actually, I’m looking for a friend. My name’s Matt Hunter.’

  She doffed an invisible cap. ‘Bessie Major. Who’s your friend, Mr Matt Hunter?’

  ‘Zara East.’ He looked for some recognition in her face and saw none. ‘She’s a woman, in her fifties, short black hair. I’m told she’s staying up on Old Moat Farm. Have you spotted anyone like that at all?’

  ‘Sorry, no.’ She shook her head. ‘And I reckon if she’s gone up there, she’ll never come back anyways.’

  ‘That sounds rather ominous.’

  She laughed. ‘Sorry, I don’t quite mean it like that. I mean the folks up there never come out.’

  ‘You mean the man? The one who owns the farm?’

  ‘They all own the farm. There’s a bunch of them up there but you never see them. Not since they turned up a good few years back. Took that old place on when it was falling apart. They knew the old owner. I see their van now and again, but not very often. And I hardly ever see them. I thought they was being rude, but my husband said to leave them be. Told me that people like their peace and quiet. He certainly did.’

  Matt nodded to the cottage. ‘Is your husband inside?’

  ‘I hope not. He’s dead.’

  He sniffed. ‘Sorry to hear that.’

  ‘Don’t apologise. He’s getting all the peace and quiet he ever wanted up there.’ She laughed at herself, then threw a wink up to the clouds. ‘Anyway, they’ve got no telly or anything, is what I heard. Got a couple of nippers too. Keep themselves to themselves. Shame, really.’

  ‘But don’t you see them when they go to work? When they take the kids to school?’

  ‘You don’t get it. They don’t go anywhere. They’re religious folk. Got one of those “communities” up there,’ she said it with finger quotes. ‘Like them Amish types, off the telly.’

  Matt leant on her gate. ‘Is that so?’

  ‘I suppose you’d call it a commune.’ She gave her boot another whack.

  ‘Allow me.’ He took the boot and hammered the last chunks of dried mud out.

  She folded her arms as he got to work. ‘They do this home-schooling thing. Every now and then I spot someone from the government turn up. They check the kids are fed and watered … the usuals.’

  ‘How do you know this?’

  ‘Cos one of the inspectors backed her car into ours, years back. I got her chatting, while we sorted the insurance. But other than these little inspections, they’re as private as they come up there. Some sort of Christian thing. Bit daft when there’s a perfectly good church in the village. There’s churches dotted all over these hills.’

  ‘And have you ever popped over to say hi? No cups of sugar?’

  ‘Ha ha!’ She threw her head back. ‘Don’t be daft. I used to see the van leave every couple of weeks, but I stopped waving a hello years ago. There’s only so many times you can stand on your front step beaming and waving at folks who won’t even look you in the face …’ She broke off when her cat came strolling past. She leant over and gave its chin a stroke. ‘It’s Matt, you said?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘And is your friend in some sort of trouble, Matt? I only ask because I saw a police car headed up that track, first thing this morning. Tell you the truth, that place has been busier than ever these last few days. Seen the van come back and forth a couple of times. So is this Zara lady … is she on the run? Them lot shielding an international art thief, up there?’

  He laughed. ‘Nothing like that. We have some bad news to share with her. A family tragedy.’

  ‘Oh …’ Bessie’s mischievous grin faded. ‘Well, why don’t you just head on up? And if you don’t come back, I’ll assume you got converted.’

  Matt looked over at the gate. ‘Did the police car come back?’

  ‘Now who’s sounding ominous?’ She patted the cat on the head and stood up straight. It started slinking against her legs. ‘Coppers were there for twenty minutes and that was it. Look. I’ve got some overpriced gloop to shovel into this underpriced cat. So, if you don’t mind.’

  He handed her the boot. ‘Good to meet you, Bessie.’

  ‘And you. Oh, and tell your friend’ − she looked across the road − ‘if she ever wants an ear, and a hot cup of tea, there’s a daft old lady here with a bucketful of biscuits and lots of time to listen.’

  He shook her hand. ‘I certainly will.’

  He turned to cross the empty road and stood beside his car. The ‘No Entry’ sign shook a little in the breeze.

  Some sort of Christian group … he thought. A religious community …

  His heart upped its pace as he started to undo the rope on the gate.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Ever felt a kiss on his forehead and his eyes fluttered open.

  He yawned and peeled a puffy cheek from the cold, church carpet. Uncle Dust had called this the choir vestry, saying this was where the Hollows prayed their most hollow prayers. Light streamed through the dirty window, and in the corner he saw something super weird. A rail of white robes, hanging like a rack of ghosts. This was for when they’d wear dresses to mock the power of Jesus. It was so shocking.

  Even though he hated this room, it was way less disturbing than being out in the huge church that lay on the other side of that old wooden door. That was the biggest room he’d seen in his entire life, with ceilings that could break clouds. They’d crept around in there last night, praying and weeping and letting out their final laments – only they did them as quietly as possible. And mostly in the dark too, so as not to draw attention. Thankfully he hadn’t seen that shadow again, which made him think it was just how the light fell. At least, that was the theory he was clinging to with most enthusiasm.

  After praying for a few hours last night, they’d all slept in here, with one person on watch every few hours. Apart from him, of course. He was told to sleep and keep his energy, and he must never, ever leave the side of the grown-ups.

  He blinked and rubbed his eyes, then froze.

  Something was making a noise behind him. A breath, slowly drawing in, and slowly pushing out. He turned and jerked in fright.

  Hope sat on her knees, a foot away from him. ‘Did my kiss wake you?’

  He stared at her.

  ‘Ever? Aren’t you going to say hello?’

  He pushed back a little.

  ‘Come now …’ Her smile twitched. ‘Why aren’t you looking in my eyes?’

  He waited. Said nothing.

  She put a hand on the carpet and started to crawl slowly towards him.

  ‘It’s just—’

  She stopped. ‘Yes?’

  ‘You’ve been living with them so long.’

  She tilted her head. ‘And you think I might have changed, is that it? Become like them?’

  ‘You’ve been gone for ever.’

  ‘A few months is not for ever, Ever.’ She smirked and crawled forward for one more knee drag.

  ‘But … but are you okay?’

  ‘Don’t I look okay?’

  A table leg pressed into his back. ‘I … I …’

  ‘I missed you, Ever. I missed all of you. But what I really want to know is, how’s my little Pax? I missed her most of all.’

  ‘You avoided their eyes for months?’

  She started laughing. ‘Oh, I’m way stronger than you think and so are you. I mean look at you … coming down here with the big men. Ready to fight.’ She wrapped her hand around his toes. ‘And to think we were messing with Micah East, when Jesus had you in mind all along. It’s all so perfect.’

  ‘Uncle Dust says I have to kill another Hollow.’

  Her eyes flash
ed. ‘I’m very much looking forward to it.’

  ‘And after that it’ll all be—’

  ‘Look me in the fucking eye, Ever!’ She yanked his foot.

  He twisted, fell back, and his shoulders smashed against the floor. He heard her hands and fingers gallop along the carpet and stop near his shoulders. She pushed her face into his. ‘Look at me. Look.’ He felt one of her thumbs, clumsily try to prise his eyelids back open. Then she let out a breath. ‘Where’s your faith?’

  Her thumbs were gone. She pulled herself off him.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.

  ‘Faith makes a family, remember? So you need to trust me.’

  ‘I know.’ He waited, then he sucked his lips in. ‘Pax talks about you every day.’

  She closed her eyes. ‘She does?’

  The door creaked open.

  ‘Hey, Ever, you need—’ Prosper broke off instantly and ran across the room, throwing his arms around her. They tumbled onto the floor together. ‘Hope!’ he laughed. ‘I never saw you come in.’

  For a moment they were lost in brief, open-eyed kisses. Ever looked away and saw Uncle Dust standing in the doorway, feigning sickness and jabbing a finger down his throat. They both laughed, silently.

  ‘I came in the back, just now,’ she said, then eventually clambered to her feet. ‘God, it’s good to hear my name again. If I hear Miriam one more time, I’ll scream.’

  ‘Did Milton find you all right this morning?’

  ‘Yes. He’s watching over Matthew right now.’

  Dust bit his lip. ‘And you’re absolutely sure the police won’t come back here?’

  ‘Relax. The police have all they need. And besides, I’m the only one here on a Tuesday.’ She held up a little swinging set of keys. ‘Cos today’s my volunteer cleaning day. They think I’m dusting off the altar, but I thought I might slide my bare arse off it, instead.’

  The men burst into laughter. Ever did the same.

  ‘So, have a little faith, Dust,’ she giggled. ‘We’re safe. And tonight, it all comes together.’

  ‘So, you’ve kept this Hollow safe?’

  ‘Haven’t I just?’ She hitched her jumper up to show the white bandage, taped across the curve of her hip.

  Prosper’s jaw dropped. ‘What the hell is that?’

  ‘I got shot.’

  ‘What?’ Ever gawped.

  ‘A fat, floppy Hollow tried to kill Matthew, so I had to stop it, didn’t I? Had to save him for us. So, I um … I stood in the way of the bullet.’

  They stared at her.

  Prosper whispered, ‘Your faith is … well … it’s just magnificent.’

  ‘I can’t lie. I was scared; in fact, I was petrified. But I had no choice. And listen, Jesus was there the whole time. He said it’d be okay, and it was. When he swatted that bullet away it showed me something …’ She moved her gaze to each of them. ‘That he’s obviously in this, I can feel it. We’re doing the right thing. As crazy as it sounds, we’re doing the right thing.’

  ‘Wait.’ Dust’s eyebrows drew together. ‘Why did a Hollow want to kill Hunter?’

  She ran both palms down her jeans. ‘Because I had to kill its son, and Matt kind of got the blame. It saw me—’

  ‘You killed someone?’ Dust’s mouth dropped.

  ‘Something,’ she corrected him. ‘It saw me watching over Matt’s house and said it was going to tell. What choice did I have?’ Her face grew cold when Dust didn’t respond. ‘I said what fucking choice did I have? They would have found the farmhouse through me. And you’d all be back in your dark places. Especially you, Dust. You’d be getting buggered by a Hollow in the common room, just like the old days—’

  ‘Shhhh,’ he said quickly. ‘Fine. You did the right thing.’

  ‘Yes, I did. Which means tonight, those Hollows are going to fall up into the sky. For now though, me and Prosper need to get a few things ready, but Dust, you stay with Ever. And if he doesn’t know everything, then tell him now.’ The two of them vanished into the wide gaping cavern of the church, kissing as they went. Then the door creaked shut. For a moment Dust didn’t say a word.

  Ever broke the silence. ‘Will the Hollows really fall tonight?’

  ‘Well, that’s what we believe, isn’t it?’

  ‘Do you believe it?’

  He didn’t answer. He looked away.

  ‘Well, do you?’

  ‘Yes, it’s just … don’t mind me …’

  ‘Why … what’s the problem?’

  Dust walked quietly to the door and made sure it was shut. ‘No big problem. It’s just last night, when we got petrol, something happened …’

  Ever’s skin prickled.

  ‘When I paid the woman at the counter. She looked at me.’

  He groaned. ‘For how long?’

  ‘A while. She looked really … normal. Like any of us.’

  ‘But she’s not normal.’

  ‘But she really seemed normal.’

  ‘Not deep down.’

  He waited. ‘You’re right. Deep down she … it is a monster …’ He shook his head. ‘It’s amazing, though, isn’t it? How a little glance can make you wonder. It’s a very clever trick they do. But I looked away and I’m getting back on track now.’

  He thought of the little girl, smiling at him. ‘Why didn’t you watch me kill the Hollow on the farm? You didn’t celebrate—’

  ‘Ever …’

  ‘You even looked sorry for that thing.’

  He grabbed his hand. ‘I said, I’m fine, okay? I’m fine.’

  ‘And is Hope fine?’

  He frowned.

  ‘What if she’s changed? We’ve been away from the farm for ages. What if you’ve changed, or me, even …’ He took a breath, frightened of his own doubts. ‘And who is this Hollow, anyway? This … Matt Hunter?’

  That question plunged the room into an even deeper silence, and Uncle Dust just walked to the window and stared out. Rain trickled down the pane.

  ‘Well?’

  Uncle Dust took a long breath in, and finally turned. ‘He’s your dad, Ever.’

  Ever laughed at that. He actually tilted his head back in a chuckle, but Dust wasn’t smiling, so the laughter died away. In fact, Uncle Dust looked like he had a great pain in his head because he kept pressing it with his fingers.

  ‘Well … that’s silly.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because he can’t be …’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because he’s Hollow.’

  Dust sighed. ‘Hope’s dad was Hollow. Prosper’s too. Pax’s father certainly was …’

  ‘And yours? Was he Hollow?’

  ‘Extremely so,’ Dust said. ‘But that doesn’t change who I am. Or who you are.’

  ‘He’s my dad?’ Ever put a hand across his mouth. ‘Does Mum know?’

  For the first time, Dust laughed. ‘Course she does, that’s how it works. But listen … he’s nothing but a rotten-hearted, Jesus-hating beast and he even used to run one of these churches. Probably turned a thousand people away from Jesus.’

  ‘So, he’s powerful …’

  ‘Yes, he is, but listen to me … none of that matters because we’re your family now. Do you understand? And Jesus is with us.’

  Just as he said that, the window started to rattle. Something was hitting it hard and loud. And as they both watched it, the tension in Dust seemed to slip away. ‘Wow.’

  ‘What is it?’ Ever said.

  ‘It’s … it’s hail …’ His smile slowly – and brilliantly – started to form again. ‘You know, I think I might be just a silly old fool who needs to read the signs. Because the earth declares the glory of Christ, and the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Look …’

  They had to open the door in the end, just to see it. A billion balls of ice hammered the church. Each chunk bounced in springing arcs from the grass and gravestones. He’d never seen anything like it. None of them had. At one point, the hailstones were so rapid and
heavy that the rattle grew into a thunderous roar and Ever covered his ears. But the louder it got, the bigger he smiled. And Dust too. Even Prosper and Hope rushed to see it and they did something next that made Ever cry, because it showed him who his true family was, and whatever this Hollow may be was totally irrelevant. Hope rushed out into the hail and started to dance in whirling circles around the graves. Then Prosper joined her, and so did Dust and Ever. The hail hurt, but they carried on dancing.

  ‘See,’ Prosper shouted. ‘The heavens know.’

  Ever sniffed, and Dust wiped his cheeks, as they both stared at what sat in Prosper’s hands. A marvellous, beautiful sign of a universe in panic. An ice ball was already melting in the cup of his palm, fresh from a dying heaven.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  It took a while for Matt to make it all the way to Old Moat Farm. Longer than he expected. The dirt track ran between a couple of hills, and it was so uneven the entire chassis of the car rocked horribly. It didn’t help that there were tiny shards of glass scattered at the base of a low wall, either. He had to slip up on the ridge to fully avoid them.

  He pondered as he drove, realising that he had no idea if Zara East would still be up here. The police had already visited, so she might be back in Chervil by now, hopefully at David East’s hospital bed. It’d be good if they patched things up. If at least something positive came from all this despair.

  He headed up the slight incline, wondering if it’d be best to park and walk the rest of the way, but then he pictured an Amish family on a farmhouse porch, all black hats and white bonnets, hiding pitchforks under floor-length beards. They might see his car and wail ‘Satan has cometh!’ Or more likely, it’d be an everyday farmer rising from a bush and shooting him with a rifle. Nah. He’d had enough of bullets this week. He wouldn’t walk, he’d stay in the car till the very last minute.

  He saw the bonnet rise up as he hit the top of a ridge, and then the car tipped down to a wide, swaying field. It looked like it was tilled and prepped for spring planting. Though to be honest, he knew sod all about farming. He wondered if the recent bizarre weather might help or hinder growth. At least that epic hailstorm had stopped. That was so balls-out intense he’d thought he might lose a headlight. He even parked for a minute just to film it on his iPhone.