by Matt Hilton
‘Don’t get all twisted outta shape, pretty Tess,’ said Pinky, ‘it’s only a couple of pistols; I don’t have a heavy machine gun tucked in my trunk, me. Plus, they’ll have to be pretty determined to find them.’
‘They’re keeping their distance,’ Po announced.
The cops had made no attempt at closing in on them. Seconds later, Po hit the flashers and pulled into the hotel’s adjoining parking lot. By the time he parked the GMC, the cruiser was on its way past the entrance. It traveled slow and steady, and again both cops’ faces turned towards them, but that was the extent of interest they showed.
‘Let’s get inside,’ Tess suggested. ‘They were probably checking out our story about staying here, and might come back to satisfy themselves we didn’t pull in here as a ruse.’
They all disembarked, and were strolling for the entrance door when the cruiser crawled past again, this time heading back towards the fabrication shop. Once they were another ten yards on the driver hit the gas and the cruiser sped away.
‘Hopefully that’s the last time we’re troubled by them,’ said Tess, and immediately wished she had bitten her tongue: her words, she feared, probably tempted fate.
NINETEEN
Fear fought with anger, despondency warred with frustration. She was at first a weeping mess and next Elspeth was hammering at the steel door until the heels of her hands became bruised. Several times she’d alternated between victim and protector, but neither had helped. The steel door remained resolutely locked. Their brief experience of freedom made their recapture all the more bitter to Elspeth. It would have been better for them if she had not taken Jacob away from his father, because now she had condemned them both to lives worse than even they’d endured before. Had she run away alone, and somehow found a way to free her son from Caleb’s clutches in the future, neither of them would now be suffering at her husband’s hands.
During the trip back to the commune in the back of the van – except for when Caleb had tried humiliating her at the lakeside, by trying to force her to urinate under the scrutiny of his goons – they had been mostly treated with indifference. Billy Grayson, whose eye Jacob blackened, had even cooled down, and before their arrival at the commune, he had shown a hint at reconciliation when he’d offered Jacob a chocolate bar from the men’s stash of travel snacks. As soon as they were back and under the baleful eyes of the Moorcock elders, Elspeth and the boy had known only surly attitudes, and shoves and thumps to enforce compliance. They had been prodded into one of the surviving military huts at the edge of the parade ground, and forced downstairs into a subterranean network of tunnels invisible from above ground. Back during its military usage the room had stored equipment beyond Elspeth’s ken, if not weapons then something else controlled, which required keeping under lock and key. She couldn’t think of the room in any other fashion than how Jacob had dubbed it. It was the cellar. The room was perhaps ten feet deep and only six wide, with walls of chipped concrete. Reaching overhead Elspeth could place her palms flat on the concrete ceiling. A single vent at the base of the steel door was the only source of oxygen – the room was never designed for human confinement – and of the meagre glow that sent dim fingers across the floor. The cell was underground, with no windows, so had no natural source of light. A pallet had been raised at the back end of the room, on which were piled some blankets, and a plastic bucket with a lid was their only toilet. Most of the time mother and son huddled together on the pallet, or Elspeth beat at the door. Part of her was fearful of when her knocking would be answered, because then who knew what fresh torment would follow?
She was full of regret. Not least at ever succumbing to Caleb’s charms, but also at more recent events. Yesterday evening she had panicked when challenged over Jacob’s parentage, and as she had from the challenge presented by her husband, she had sought to flee. If she’d stayed with Nicolas and Tess, they would both be safe now, instead of being again locked up and waiting for the inevitable punishment Caleb dreamed up. If only she had leant on the support that Nicolas and Tess had promised, her son would be safe now. She had always planned on leaving Portland in the morning, but they would have been delivered safely to the bus or train station for their onward journey, and Caleb would have been left far behind. All that Nicolas wanted in return was an answer, and she could see how it must be important to him, but she had panicked. By turning down their help, dragging Jacob out into the night, she had delivered them into Caleb’s hands; it was entirely her fault that they were back in the cellar.
The cellar wasn’t soundproofed. From a distance there came a squeak of door hinges. The ringing of boot heels on the concrete floor followed. Elspeth reached for Jacob, and she eased him down behind her as she stood and faced the door. As the footsteps neared the glow through the vent became brighter. Behind her Jacob muttered angrily under his breath: he had transcended fear now and having gotten a taste for defending her he was about to try again.
‘Please Jacob, don’t do or say anything to anger him.’
‘It’s not fair, Mom. It shouldn’t be allowed …’
Nothing that Caleb did to punish them was allowed in a civilized world, but that was a different world to the one that existed within the confines of the Moorcock commune.
‘Just please don’t make him angry with you … whatever happens.’
The footsteps halted outside the door. The bars of light through the vent danced as the person outside shifted to unlock the bolts.
‘Step away from the door,’ Caleb ordered. It was his first instruction whenever he entered the cellar, and before Elspeth had always believed it was so that they couldn’t rush out past him as soon as the door was open. Now she understood that it was because he was conscious of his vulnerability should his wife and son decide to fight back. Elspeth was tempted to go for his eyes the instant he showed his face. She didn’t. She did as commanded, moving back further so that her heels came up against the pallet, on which Jacob crouched out of sight. Her obedience was testament to how far Caleb had programmed the desired response from her. She silently cursed her cowardice.
The door opened outwards.
Caleb stood limned by the dim glow from a bulkhead lamp on the wall to his right. Alone it would’ve been enough to make her blink at the intrusion of light into the darkness, but Caleb had also fetched a flashlight. He aimed its beam directly at her face, and she screwed her eyelids, and cringed away as if burned.
Caleb ignored her.
‘Where are you, son?’
It was obvious that Jacob was concealed behind Elspeth, but he wanted – he demanded – an answer.
‘Jacob,’ he went on, ‘come out and let me see you.’
‘Leave him be,’ Elspeth said. ‘If you’re going to punish anyone, punish me.’
Caleb aimed the flashlight at her face a second time. ‘You’d better believe you’re going to be punished. But I’ve been thinking and don’t think Jacob deserves the same. I don’t think Jacob would ever have run away, not of his own accord, and must have been pressed into it by you. Come on out, son, there’s nothing to be afraid of.’
Jacob shivered behind his mother.
‘Please, Caleb, just leave him alone,’ Elspeth said.
‘Stand aside.’
‘Caleb, just—’
‘I won’t repeat myself. Let me see my son.’
Elspeth stood defiant.
Caleb hit her without warning, driving the butt of the flashlight into her abdomen. Being struck was a regular occurrence, but this time the blow had come at an unexpected angle and she had no defense against it. Her wind gusted from her lungs and she folded to her knees, cupping her stomach with one arm while still ineffectively trying to protect Jacob with the other. Caleb swiped her aside and she fell against the cellar wall.
‘Aah, there you are, son,’ Caleb crowed.
Jacob still crouched, but he had tensed, ready to leap to his mother’s aid.
‘Don’t, Jacob,’ Elspeth croaked. ‘Remember w
hat I said—’
‘You don’t need to listen to her,’ Caleb cut in quickly. ‘I’m the only one you should obey. Stand up and let me see you. I’ve missed you, son.’
‘I hate you,’ Jacob snarled.
‘That’s your mother speaking,’ Caleb said. ‘She has put those words in your mouth. She has poisoned you against me, son. But don’t worry; from here on in, you don’t have to listen to her lies anymore. Come on out of there, come and join me.’
Jacob looked at the hand his father held out to him as if it was the venomous head of a serpent.
‘You can trust me, son. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Come on, take my hand and you won’t ever have to be locked in this room again.’
‘Go with him, Jacob.’
Elspeth’s instruction came as a surprise even to her. The last she wanted was for Jacob to be taken from her, but less so she wanted him to suffer on her behalf. They had been locked there in the darkness for many hours already and she could expect many more of confinement: she knew how much claustrophobia affected her son. Above ground, Jacob would still be a prisoner, but at least he’d see daylight and he’d be able to breathe. When weighed against the opposite, then it would be cruel of her to want him locked in the cellar beside her.
‘I’m not leaving you, Mom,’ said Jacob.
‘It’s OK. You must go with your dad.’
Caleb hadn’t lowered his hand. His mouth twitched in triumph each time Elspeth coaxed their son to obey.
‘I’m staying here with you,’ Jacob reiterated.
‘Listen to your mother, Jacob,’ Caleb said.
‘You told me I should only listen to you! You said my mother tells lies. You’re the liar!’
Caleb grinned at him. As Darrell pointed out earlier, he’d raised a firecracker. He said, ‘I have never lied to you, son. Has there ever been a time when you didn’t know exactly what I expected from you? If I was ever unclear I soon cleared things up by spanking you, right? Since when did a spanking ever harm anyone, huh? You should’ve been me when I was a kid. I’ve still got the stripes on my back from Grandma’s stick, but d’you ever hear me complaining? See, Jacob. I never got a beating that I didn’t deserve, and the same goes for you and your mom. Maybe you think I’ve been too hard on you both, but I only ever hit either of you to teach you a lesson, to make you better people. To help you fit in here.’
‘I don’t want to fit in here. I hate it here. I hate you!’
‘When I was your age, I felt the same. But I learned to embrace my life here, and understood that it was my duty to protect our way of life. Your grandpa won’t live forever son, and when it comes time, I’ll take over as the leader. Guess who gets that honor when my time is done?’ Caleb pointed at the boy. ‘Yeah, one of these days all of this is going to be yours, Jacob, and it’s high time you started enjoying some of the benefits befitting its future leader.’
‘I don’t want to be the leader. I hate it here. I want to leave and never come back.’
‘Again, those are poisonous words your mother has put in your head. You only hate this.’ Caleb indicated the cellar by shining the torch beam on the walls and ceiling. ‘Like I said though, come with me and you won’t ever have to be locked in here again.’
‘Let Mom come out too,’ said Jacob.
‘Not yet.’
‘I’m not coming yet then.’
Elspeth feared what would happen next if Jacob didn’t obey. She had righted herself while Caleb tried cajoling the boy, and had got her back braced against the wall. She looked up at where Jacob still stood on the pallet like an animal poised to leap for Caleb’s throat. ‘Son, if you want to help me, just do as your father asks.’
Jacob sneered, and it hurt that he was equally nasty towards her. ‘That’s the thing, Mom. After what I overheard, I’m not sure Caleb is my daddy anymore.’
Jacob was trying to sting his father with a hateful barb; he couldn’t understand how hurtful his words were, or how much peril he’d just placed them both in. Her guts tied in a knot, as Elspeth blinked up at Caleb.
‘What did you just say?’ Caleb scowled.
‘You aren’t my dad.’
‘What the hell’s that supposed to mean? I’m not your dad?’ Caleb dropped pretense at being amiable; he lunged and grabbed Jacob by the front of his shirt. ‘If I’m not your father, who is then?’
Jacob squirmed, tried to pull free, but Caleb’s grip was relentless. He picked the boy off his feet and held him one-handed while demanding an answer. He snapped a glare on Elspeth, then again fixed on Jacob. ‘You heard your mom say I wasn’t your father?’
Elspeth tried answering for him. ‘Caleb, he overheard nothing of the sort, he’s gotten things mixed up.’
Caleb threw Jacob down as if he was a bundle of rags. Jacob hit the pallet – the blankets saved him from serious injury, but the impact still hurt and knocked the wind out of him. Elspeth reached for her son with a cry. Caleb grabbed her by her hair and wrenched her head back. He snarled directly into her face. ‘Not my son, huh? Not my goddamn son? Well, he can stay the hell here while I find out who you betrayed me with.’
‘No, Caleb, please. Listen to me. Jacob has gotten things all wrong.’
‘Lying bitch! I know exactly who he thinks his daddy is. And I damn well know who put that idea in his head too!’
‘No, I didn’t … Caleb, I didn’t.’
Caleb hauled her out of the cellar. She clamped her hands over his so that her hair wasn’t torn out of the scalp, while trying desperately to get her feet under her. Her legs windmilled, her heels skidded on the concrete floor: she couldn’t take her eyes off Jacob. The boy squirmed in pain as he tried to get up off the pallet. He finally made it to his hands and knees, and he knelt there, his mouth wide in a shout of terror as he anticipated what was coming. Elspeth cried out for him, even as Caleb kicked the steel door shut, muffling Jacob’s answering wail of terror. Caleb dumped her a moment on the floor; he required both hands to juggle the flashlight and also to throw the bolts. Elspeth tried to scramble away, but he was fired up. He kicked her savagely in the rump, and sent her to her belly on the floor as white-hot agony writhed through her. Finished locking the door, he knelt over her, feeding his fingers through her thick hair again. He yanked her head up, arching her spine, to place his lips alongside her ear. ‘The sooner you tell me the truth, the sooner you’ll be back here and be reunited with your little bastard.’
Caleb dragged her along the corridor.
TWENTY
‘Be careful,’ Tess whispered needlessly before backing away.
Po was aware of the rush of water below but ignored its proximity. He concentrated on the view across the river. An iron bridge spanned the river at a choke point between massive boulders, closed off at the nearside by sawhorses, while at its far end a counterweighted barrier completely blocked the road beyond to traffic. There were ‘No Entry’ signs on both ends of the bridge, bolstered by other signs shouting in lurid fonts ‘Private Property’ and ‘No Trespassing’. The lettering was visible due to the wash of headlights from a pickup truck parked cater-corner to the bridge. It had arrived after Tess, Po and Pinky had set up across the river, joining a car already in attendance. Several figures stood between the two vehicles, talking and smoking. They were unaware they were being observed. After a few minutes one figure returned to the car and drove away, disappearing in seconds into the darkness. One of those from the car had stayed behind, pairing up with the man from the pickup to guard the bridge. Po assumed they were armed, but for now their weapons were out of sight. The two men were lax about their duties, standing with their backs to the river, their cigarettes protected from the breeze. Po thought he could cross the bridge and take them both out before they were aware he was there. But this was not about assaulting the guards. Their mission was to infiltrate the commune and leave again without alerting anyone to their presence, and knocking out the guards was not the way to go.
Po made his way over the bo
ulders, then hopped up onto the riverbank alongside the road. Tess and Pinky were hidden from the bridge guards by way of a kink in the road. It followed the contours of the twisting river, and huge rocks and boulders similar to those at the riverside dotted the terrain. The GMC was tucked into a ravine between two towering boulders crowned by shrubs.
‘There’s no crossing the bridge,’ Po reported. ‘But I might’ve spotted another way in.’
‘How?’ Tess asked.
‘Upriver towards the falls there’s a spot where the banks of the river almost meet. With a run, I think I can jump the gap.’
‘What about us?’
‘I’d rather neither of you risk it,’ said Po.
‘But I’ve to let you risk it?’ Tess countered.
‘No disrespect intended, but I think the jump’s outta your reach, guys,’ said Po. ‘Besides, this incursion’s only about recon, we don’t all need to get inside, not yet. Things will be different once we come back, but for now I only need to sneak in, take a look around and find out where they’re keepin’ Elspeth and Jacob.’
‘Letting you go alone was never part of the plan,’ Tess argued.
‘We’ve got to face reality, us,’ Pinky said, siding with Po’s logic, ‘if we can’t make the jump, we aren’t getting in. Not without getting wet, and I thought you were only joking when you said we’d need gumboots.’
‘I’m unhappy about you going in alone, Po,’ Tess said.
‘I’ll be fine. You needn’t worry about me. I’ll be in and out in no time, and those guys in there will be none the wiser.’ It wasn’t an idle boast; Po had proven his ability at moving with stealth on previous occasions. If the others within the commune were as inattentive as the bridge guards were, then he’d have no trouble whatsoever.
‘I still think you should have a gun with you,’ Pinky said. Earlier, after their close call with the local PD, they had removed his weapons from the trunk of the GMC and hidden them in their hotel room. As Po had pointed out already, this mission was about gaining intelligence, not about launching a rescue attempt. Carrying a gun was unnecessary, and risked arrest or worse if they ran into the cops again.
