by Ryan Mark
Suddenly, a hand reached around the tree and grabbed his mouth before he could step away. In desperation William clawed at the hand, unable to breathe and thinking the worst. The grip loosened. He managed to pull away and swung around, but his wrists became caught in an even tighter grip. He pulled away again, ready to launch himself, but stopped when the person spoke.
‘Shhh, it’s me, dear, Igraine.’ He almost fainted with relief, arms falling to his sides, her low voice drifting into his ears like an angelic symphony. He let his shoulders relax and hugged her tightly.
‘Where’s Althea and Ori?’ he asked, face pressed into her shoulder.
‘They’re close, don’t worry. Come on, I think it’s safe now,’ said Igraine, grabbing his hand.
Althea and Ori were crouched in the trunk of an ancient oak, its massive branches bowing down to the Earth, surrounded by its dead brethren. Althea stood and ran to William.
‘I thought I’d… I mean, we’d lost you,’ she said, hugging him hard.
‘Don’t give up on me that easily,’ William replied, holding on for dear life.
‘I… we can’t lose you,’ whispered Althea, not letting him go.
William laughed softly. ‘You’d better let me go then, before I suffocate.’
‘Oh, sorry,’ she said, finally letting go and straightening his jacket for him.
Ori punched William’s shoulder. ‘I think that’s what mates do when they see each other again, isn’t it?’
‘Ouch! Yeah,’ said William, rubbing his shoulder, ‘but not as hard next time, mate.’
They all hugged again. Althea wiped away a wayward tear. ‘We made it. I really thought we weren’t going to.’
‘We’re not out of the woods yet, dear,’ cut in Igraine, head pivoting from side to side, like a meerkat alert for predators. ‘We must keep moving.’
‘Which direction then?’ asked William.
‘Towards the rendezvous point, of course,’ replied Igraine. ‘Do you have the map?’
William pulled out the map Branimir had given him earlier in the Hollow. She pulled the map right up to her eyes but quickly passed it back to William. ‘Fiddlesticks, I can’t read this without my glasses and I lost them during our little run. You’ll have to follow it, William.’
William sighed. He preferred reading maps with arrows on them that led you straight to the goal, like the one Ichabod had given him of the power plant, but following one in the dark when they were being chased by bandits and Terrafall was another thing entirely. Still, he wasn’t about to reveal his concerns to the others.
‘Sure, s–so what am I looking for?’
‘Stone Cross,’ said Igraine. ‘The hotel there is an old building built close to the Graven Burials. The HD has been using it as a covert outpost, a means to keep an eye on Terrafall. It was from there that we deduced they were mining for coal at Gravenshard. Obviously, we were wrong.’
‘You definitely were,’ said William, shivering at the thought of the sacrifices. ‘It’s quite faded, and there isn’t much light?’
‘Hang on.’ Althea pulled out a lighter. ‘Try this. I found it at the fort. A tourist probably lost it years ago.’
‘Wow, nice one. This’ll come in handy,’ said William, taking the lighter and flicking it alight.
He smoothed out the map on his knee and used the flame to light the small area where he guessed they’d started from, close to the area marked Haven. He ran his finger down the squiggly line of Hardknott Pass and through the valley.
From the bus journey he knew bits had changed, that some settlements and rivers didn’t exist anymore, but as he looked around, the basic layout seemed to be the same. The largest natural features were still there, unmovable objects that stood the test of time.
‘There, we’re near a village called Shoe – well, that’s if it’s still there.’ He tapped the small grey splodge, smiling. ‘This map malarkey is a piece of cake.’
‘A village, that’s good isn’t it? There might be food and stuff,’ said Ori, rubbing his stomach. ‘We should take a look.’
‘Could be dangerous,’ said William, still looking at the map. ‘And it might not even be there anymore…’
‘What other choice do we have?’ Althea crouched next to him, took hold of the lighter and looked at the map. ‘Stone Cross is quite a trek. We’re going to need to find some water, at least. We left everything on the bus.’
William looked at Igraine. ‘She’s right, isn’t she?’
‘Yes.’ Igraine paused. ‘But we have to be so careful now. It could be home to you-know-what…’
‘Bandits?’ said Ori. ‘You might as well use the real word. I know they’re out there now.’
Igraine blushed and took his hand. ‘And so we head to Shoe.’
It took them a good twenty minutes to get through the cluster of trees. They headed in a south-westerly direction, keeping low. There was a time when William would’ve hated crawling on his hands and knees through dense wood, but now he was grateful for the protection the trees offered, and figured he could cope if all he had to worry about was the odd sharp object threatening to rip a hole in his trousers.
Soon enough, the first dilapidated building could be seen, its roof lost years ago. From what William could see, there were no signs of life in the old farmhouse. ‘Do we take the chance?’ he whispered.
‘It doesn’t look like there’ll be much left in there,’ said Ori, scratching his matted hair.
‘There could be something hidden in a cupboard, you never know,’ Althea said, sneaking towards it. ‘Let’s check it out.’
They slunk down a stone path full of weeds, quickly arriving at a decaying veranda. Stepping over the rotten floorboards, William pushed the remains of the door and it fell with a dull thud into the hallway. The sound seemed deafening.
He spun around, eyes searching for bandits, but no one appeared in the distance.
‘Quick, in you go!’ said Igraine, pushing them through the debris-filled entrance.
They entered the farmhouse, eyes adjusting to the dark interior. William looked around. Ori had been right, there was nothing left – well, nothing they could use. Smashed-up furniture and a grubby mattress littered the floor. Most of the walls had been stripped back, with large planks of wood missing in places. He knew it had been raided a long time ago, left to fester in the grey landscape.
‘So, now what?’ asked Althea.
‘Collect some of that wood on the floor and fill up the fireplace,’ said Igraine, picking up the planks of the door.
Ori rubbed his hands. ‘Good idea, it’s freezing.’
‘We should keep moving. I don’t feel safe,’ William said. ‘What if there are others living here? And anyway, a fire might attract attention.’
Althea threw a broken table leg into the blackened hearth. ‘It’s getting dark, and cold. If we carry on now we’ll probably freeze to death, or get caught by bandits.’
‘We can use some old carpet to block up the window, so the fire can’t be seen from outside,’ added Igraine, piling on some crumbling newspaper.
Outvoted, William sat down against a wall at the back of the room, deciding the girls and Ori had the fire in hand. He leant against the wall and ran his hand across the faded floral wallpaper, feeling the bubbles that had formed from years of rising damp. The wall beneath still seemed firm, but as he ran his hand up and down, he felt something.
‘What’s this?’ He knocked on the surface. It sounded hollow, but just in one small area of the wall. ‘I think I’ve found something.’ Rising to his knees, William could see a faint square outline, and ran his fingers around the almost invisible shape.
Althea came over, followed by Ori. ‘What? All I see is manky old wallpaper.’
‘Feel it.’ William grabbed her hand and ran it along the wall. ‘This part’s not made of brick.’
‘You’re right, there’s something behind there…’ Althea braced herself and rammed the suspect section with her shoulder. The wall swung inwa
rds, sending her stumbling towards a metallic hatch hidden behind it.
‘What is it?’ Ori asked excitedly. ‘Treasure?’
‘Some sort of bunker, I think,’ said William.
‘And it seems the wall hiding this was a door,’ said Igraine, joining them in the small, gloomy space. ‘Look, there’s a handle and deadbolt on this side.’ She grabbed hold of the handle attached to the inside of the wall. ‘It looks as though the deadbolt was locked too.’
‘It might’ve been locked, but the wood’s completely rotten so it didn’t stand a chance.’ Althea rubbed her shoulder and went to grab the top of the hatch. ‘Should we?’
‘Hang on for a second. Someone’s probably down there if the door was locked from the inside.’ He pulled her back. ‘We’ve got to be careful.’
Althea shrugged off his hand. ‘Well, let’s just take a look.’ She grabbed the hatch and pulled. On the third try it opened, dislodging a ton of dust.
They all peered in, but could see only black.
‘Try the lighter?’ Igraine suggested.
Pulling it from her pocket, Althea shone it over the open gap. William looked down. ‘Still can’t see anything, except a steel ladder.’
‘I’ll go down,’ said Althea, still holding the lighter.
‘No, let me,’ said William, but Althea shook him off and began to descend into the gloom. He followed as soon as he could see she’d reached the bottom.
‘There’s a candle down here. I’ll light it,’ she called, just as William reached the midsection of the ladder.
A flickering light filtered upwards, making William’s descent slightly easier. ‘Cheers, Alfie.’
Her response was unexpected. ‘William, don’t let Ori come down here. I don’t want him to see this.’
‘Are you OK?’ William asked, eyes wide. What did that mean? What had she found?
‘Just tell him to stay put.’
He looked back up at Igraine. ‘She says to keep Ori up there.’
Igraine nodded.
William jumped the last couple of feet and landed safely at the bottom. The smell hit him first, and he cupped his nose. They were standing in a small room, with a basin and toilet on one side and empty shelves on the other. The floor was littered with wrappers and tins, and a single, dust-ridden mattress filled one corner.
And on it were two skeletons in an embrace.
‘They must’ve run out of food. But I wonder why they didn’t leave?’ Althea’s voice was muffled through her fingers. She handed him a photo of two elderly people, smiling outside the house.
William shrugged. ‘They were old, maybe they chose it?’ He looked at the photo. Two smiling faces stared up at him, embracing each other as they were now. The elderly woman wore a heart-shaped necklace, and as he looked back to the mattress, he saw she still wore it now. He placed the picture back in its position, dusting off the layers of grime on its surface.
‘I don’t think there’ll be much left then,’ he said, fingering a pile of crisp packets. He walked over to the shelves and picked up a half-empty jar of pickles, some of them furry with mould. ‘Can’t risk these.’ Behind the pickles were empty soup cans. William pushed them to one side.
‘Hang on, what’s this?’ One of the tins was full.
‘Noodle soup,’ he exclaimed, running his finger around the sealed lid. He threw it to his friend.
Althea broke into a broad grin. ‘No way, I can’t believe you found this! Aren’t you glad we stopped here now? Ori will be so happy.’
They quickly climbed back up the ladder and joined Igraine and Ori by the now-roaring fire. Igraine had used some carpet and the remains of the table to block the windows, so the place looked relatively secure. William let his shoulders relax a little as he took a place by the fire with Althea.
He shuffled next to Ori and presented him with the soup. Ori’s face lit up as he took hold of it, and he quickly passed it to Igraine, licking his lips.
Igraine pulled out a small penknife and opened the tin lid. ‘This must be a sign that our luck is changing,’ she said, going over to the fire and balancing the tin amongst the larger pieces of smouldering debris. ‘A decent hot meal, even a small one, is a definite blessing.’
William nodded, wondering if the people down in the bunker knew their fate and had left one tin in case someone else could be saved. He hoped that was the case. He wanted to believe such kindness still existed in this world.
‘I can’t wait, I’m so hungry,’ said Ori, patting his tummy.
Igraine poked the sizzling flames, keeping the tin in the middle of the heat. And soon enough, it was ready.
‘Who wants first taste?’ asked Igraine, carefully taking the hot can off the fire and placing it on the floor.
‘Youngest first, of course,’ said William. They’d found some spoons in what used to be the kitchen and cleaned them as best they could with old newspapers. He passed a spoon to Ori, and he took a small amount, offering it back to William.
‘Have a bit more,’ William said, nodding. Ori was the frailest, and William knew he needed this more than any of them.
William held up his hand when the tin came his way after Ori, insisting that Althea and Igraine went next. He waited, twiddling his thumbs, and when he finally took a spoonful, he savoured the warm noodle soup as it brought his taste buds back to life. He closed his eyes briefly. Delicious.
The tin was soon empty and though they’d had to share it between four, William’s stomach was gurgling contentedly. He lay down in between Althea and Ori, the heat of the fire soothing the aches that travelled through his body, and settling the pain in his forehead. Minutes later, he was asleep.
Chapter 14
A Figure of Peace
There were no stars in the sky. A bad omen, Ichabod decided. They’d been hiding in the bushes for hours. After outrunning the group of bandits, it was agreed they’d lay low for a while.
Thoughts of William and the others came to mind. He prayed they had managed to make it to safety. As far as he knew, all the bandits had followed the bus, so there was hope.
‘Are we sure we lost them?’ whispered Blake, huddled under the foliage with Ichabod and Branimir either side of him, the latter’s great muscular form taking up much of the space.
Ichabod looked back at the bus, which they had hastily covered in branches and leaves. It wasn’t a good job; a partially sighted man could easily spot it. He sighed, heavily.
‘We’ll have to make a move soon,’ said Blake, his blue eyes focused on the gloom in front. ‘My joints are starting to freeze in this position.’
Ichabod placed a hand on the ground and listened. ‘Listen. They’re coming back!’ he said.
The sound of motors could just be heard in the distance.
‘Bandits won’t give up so easily, not when they’re hungry,’ said Branimir. ‘Back on the bus, we might have enough of a head start.’
Ichabod quickly rose. Branimir pushed himself up with the help of an axe. The lethal weapon might have been old, but it still had the power to strike fear into the hearts of any enemies that approached, especially when they saw the figure that held it.
Whoosh! They weren’t quick enough and an arrow connected with the foliage beside them.
‘Come on, quick!’
Blake withdrew his silver crossbow and followed Ichabod. The bus’s engine kicked into action. How much more could the old girl take? Ichabod willed the battered vehicle to hang on a little longer, as it once again lurched through the trees.
Ichabod looked to the sky, flecks of light beginning to show amongst the dark: stars. Was it a sign? ‘Please, guide me through this,’ he whispered. ‘Please get me to her.’
‘We might have to stop and fight,’ Branimir observed, as the bus’s engine objected to Ichabod’s rough gear changes.
‘No, not while there is a chance to escape,’ Ichabod said.
‘I agree with him.’ Blake was as white as sheet.
Branimir gripped his axe
with ferocity. ‘Come lads, feel that burning, that yearning in your hearts to fight evil. We still have the fight left in us.’
‘I only yearn to help my wife,’ said Ichabod, tone monotonous. ‘I’ll fight for her, and her only.’
‘I know you love her, but make sure your path doesn’t lead you towards your poor children instead.’
Ichabod flinched. ‘When the bough breaks,’ he said softly, before shifting gear and smashing the bus through an unusually solid fence.
‘Ha ha! One of their motorcycles just flipped,’ exclaimed Blake, slapping his hand against his thigh.
‘His prayers must be working,’ Branimir said to the younger man. ‘Let’s hear another, Vicar.’
Ichabod felt the bitter resentment clinging to his tongue, but it quickly faded. Branimir meant well. The verse flowed from his tongue like silk, ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ He took a breath. ‘Revelation 21:4.’
‘Amen to that,’ whispered Blake, turning to Branimir. ‘He’s still got the power of the voice, you can’t deny that.’
Ichabod suddenly slammed on the brakes. ‘I just had a thought, about fighting. It might actually be a good idea. We don’t want to lead these swine to the others, do we?’
‘That’s the spirit, Ichabod old fellow!’ said Branimir, kicking open the bus’s doors and jumping off. ‘Try to disable them so they can’t follow us.’
Ichabod rose from his seat and pulled out his cane. He ran a finger over the cross carved into its circular handle. A man of peace is guided by peace, but when that peace is threatened, he has a choice to either kneel down and die silently as it falls into chaos, or fight for it and not look back. He’d fought all his life and he’d probably fight on in death. Fight for what’s right. That’s what everyone should do.
‘And so I go forth, to fight,’ he whispered, slowly getting off the bus, shouts of fear from Blake already breaking the night air. He wasn’t going to die on this night, not if desire had anything to do with it. He’d fight an army to save his wife.
