The Fight for Life

by S G Read

  ‘You and me both Barry but we are in a long line of people who want a piece of him and I hope to sway a few inside with the leaflets and posters.’

  Will came in.

  ‘Food is on the table, shall I tell them that you want to talk to them before they go out again?’ He asked.

  ‘Yes please Will.’ He put his hand into his inside pocket and found Gareth’s letter: He had not yet read it. He took a last look at the map then walked out and up to his room. When he was sitting on his bed he read the printed note.

  It started

  To the king of the Kent settlement.

  As a personal favour I would like you to engage Bradley on things other than fighting so that he will survive the attack on the clan. I will give him a letter to deliver to you on Friday morning and when he brings it please will you give him duties suitable to his condition. I have no idea what they might be but I sure you will find something to do with him to keep him occupied.

  From the king of the Sevenoaks group.

  It was signed Gareth.

  Ray folded the paper and slid it into his inside pocket again, it was something else to think about! He went down to eat, as he ate he thought of a way to adhere to Gareth’s request. People were talking all round him but he was deep in thought, if he was going to address the others, he needed to have thought it all through. As he thought an idea came to him. What if the clan were to stage an attack on the house while they were away, better to have the women who were staying and all the children out of the way? And to make Clem happy, he could send James with them to show them where Matilda and Otis lived. They could spend some time there in Hastings with a radio and we could tell them when it was safe to come back. It had holes and he would have arguments but it was feasible.

  ‘Are you going to talk to me at all?’ Will asked for the third time and Ray actually heard him.

  ‘Sorry, deep in thought; you were saying?’

  ‘Are we all ready to go on Friday then?’

  ‘I think we are; everything is falling into place. I have decided on all I needed to decide on and I will explain it as far as I can to everyone, after we have eaten.’ He looked round to find Jethro. ‘How is the second gate going?’ He asked when he spotted him.

  ‘Nearly made; I reckon to hang it this afternoon but it will not open automatically until after the fight with the clan. There will be two heavy bars which will pivot up to allow both gates to open if I get it right, I will need a few bodies later.’

  ‘You will have who you want Jethro and as soon as the gates are working you can have a rest.’ Ray added.

  ‘I have a few bits to do on the long wall and then we need to take the fence in front of it down as anyone with half a brain can climb it and get straight into the compound, Barry showed me!’ Jethro replied.

  ‘Best get it down as soon as I have said my piece then.’ Ray replied and carried on eating. After he emptied his mouth he added. ‘But we won’t throw it away; the fence or the poles might come in useful!’

  When he had eaten he walked into the library to find a small crowd in there, others followed him in and he waited until everyone was settled before he started.

  ‘As you know we are going to try to end the clans rule for good this weekend. We are going at the weekend because their leader Jamal Malick is into football and other things, so on Saturdays they have a football match. While they are playing football we are going to try to get the women and children out of the stadium without them finding out, we are also going to drop these posters and leaflets into the stadium during the game to try to cause disharmony in the ranks. I hope when they find out that he brought the plague in with him and deliberately infected people to make sure maximum exposure and therefore deaths, some will turn on him. I do not expect all of them to turn because although some have lost loved ones they are probably enjoying their new role in society and their freedom to do as they want too much to upset the apple cart. I do expect some to react and some people will die, that is inevitable. My plan is to make sure as few of us as possible die, which will include the Welsh contingent and the 303 fighters. If you will all make sure you can see the map where it is there will be no need to lift it as it is a bit fragile.’

  He waited until people had shuffled about until everyone was happy with their position before he spoke again.

  ‘The team including the Welsh and the fit 303 fighters will rendezvous in the same place we met them last time and go down onto the airport on the west side of the M25. Two men with the night goggles on will ride across on bicycles to the bridge where the clan sentries were, making sure there are no others about as they go. They will not hurry; their job is to take out the sentries to allow the others to drive across using their lights. When we have secured the bridge and left two men there to keep that exit open, the same two, plus one or two others who by then will have night vision goggles, will ride on as far as the lookout tower. We have been told that there is a generator inside which gives it power and that is their target. They will put it out of action in such a way that the people who try to repair it do not smell a rat and only report it as some sort of breakdown. They will then move up to the lookout point and take out the lookouts, making sure that no one has time to raise the alarm. The rest will come along on bicycles when they get the signal from them to do so. First we have to find out if there is a roving patrol about by driving a car with lights on, along the road the tower is in. If a patrol stops them we will take it out, if not we will move forward on the bikes as far as the tower. We will need three coaches to take the women and children away to safety, which will be parked here.’ He pointed to a spot on the map with a wooden spoon which lay next to the map. ‘Once we get the women and children out, they have to walk, following the red line I have marked, so that no one in the stadium will see them as they escape. They have to walk as far as the coaches, which will then transport them to safety. At the same time as we are doing all that Barry, Will, Jericho and the four walking wounded from the 303 unit will go round the headland using the boat moored near Jericho’s house and travel up the Thames until they can park under the QE2 Bridge. From what I hear, if they judge it right Jericho reckons that they can let the tide take them up the river when they have to turn the engine off, or they will rig up some sort of sail to help them. They will moor under the bridge and take out the sentries there, making sure they do not raise the alarm. I have not gone into details as to how to do that; they will have to play it by ear when they get there but Will will be there, in case his sharp shooting capabilities are required. As soon as the sentries are dead they will proceed toward the stadium but they will have no way of knowing how successful we have been and should be ready for trouble as they drive. If all goes well and we do get the women and children out, we will send the balloons over with the leaflets and posters on them. Another sharp shooter will pop the balloons and send them falling over the players on the pitch. I am hoping to divide and conquer! If it goes well it might work but there are so many variables, mainly the roving patrols, if any are out on a Saturday and if we get any help from the inside. Once inside the main gate there are a lot of entrances and therefore a lot of ways for someone to get out; we need to stop them all, then find out who they are and what they did while they were inside. Obviously the ones who were made to fight will be free to go if they want to, the rest, those who survive, will face punishment after a trial.’

  ‘I noticed you didn’t say fair trial!’ Jericho stressed.

  ‘I don’t really feel fair to them at the moment,’ Ray answered, ‘but it will be as fair as we can get it, although there will be no namby pamby -have we breached their human rights-. An eye for and eye and a death for a wife and baby!’

  ‘Here here.’ Will said whole heartedly.

  The rest nodded or said something similar, when it was quiet again Ray continued.

  ‘The way we will have to do it is to have a panel of judges, which of course will be us, who will sit and listen to what each persons story
is, from them and any witnesses which I hope will include Gareth from the Sevenoaks group. I am thinking ten people in the judging section taken from every group who was helping, that way we can jointly agree on what to do with them. A drawn vote will mean the leaders of each group get together and decide personally.

  ‘Why not make it eleven judges?’ Will asked.

  ‘Because I intend to give two votes to the East Anglian contingent, whether it be the ones who are fighting or those who survive being in the stadium, that will be up to them to decide. If we give two votes to the Welsh, the 303 group, the Sevenoaks group, the East Anglian group and we have two votes I cannot see how to make it eleven without putting someone’s nose out of joint!’

  ‘I see what you mean Ray.’ Will replied.

  ‘Do you think any of the others have survived?’ Jacob asked hopefully.

  ‘It is possible; they can’t all be dead, surely. Although the survivors will have killed to survive and we have to judge whether they are guilty of murder for doing it.’

  ‘Why? They will be forced to fight!’ Jason asked.

  ‘Because some may think that in the circumstances if they all refused to fight until Jamal agreed to let the loser live. They might be judged guilty of not helping those they killed.’

  ‘That is ridiculous!’ Jericho exclaimed.

  ‘Is it?’ Ray asked. ‘If they put you and Will in the arena to fight to the death, what would be the outcome?’

  Will looked Jericho up and down. ‘I’d be dead meat unless I had my gun’ He declared.

  ‘Before you knew each other you may not have had qualms about trying to kill each other but after you have both fought someone else and survived what then?’

  ‘I would have stayed away from everyone so as not to become attached to anyone I might have to kill!’ Jericho answered.

  ‘Exactly and would you be guilty of not trying to save the person you bested next? I happen to know that two gladiators, as they are called, fought to the death but one was thin and weedy and the other was a huge black man. It was over in seconds but this huge black man named Carlton stood with his trident aimed for the kill and refused to kill him. Instead he said that they should build him up until he is able to give him a good fight. No one died! The other man named Barnabas was told to build himself up for the next fight and did so. When they fought and by all accounts it was a tremendous fight with them both giving their all, Barnabas won. He promptly stood over Carlton with his short sword and asked politely if they could build Carlton up so that maybe they could have a good fight next time. Jamal laughed according to Gareth and ordered Carlton to build himself up for the next fight. The two got together and worked out a routine, and from then on they choreographed their fights but it was done to make sure it looked realistic. Quite often blood flowed, whether as part of the routine or as a mistake but the fans loved their fights, so much that they did not want either one to die and when it was over the winning fighter made the same speech about his weedy opposition and they both walked away to fight another day.’

  ‘Let us hope we can persuade them to help us.’ Jericho replied.

  ‘That is what Gareth has gone into the stadium to do, that and to warn those of the others who he is sure of, about the attack, so that the women and children can at least be prepared if things go wrong.’

  ‘I think it has a chance if we can get the two gladiators on our side, even if no one turns against Jamal on the inside apart from them.’ Will declared.

  ‘I agree.’ Jacob added. ‘Failing that we blow the doors off the place with the missile launchers and go in for the kill even if some of the women and children are hurt in the process, better dead than growing up in there from what I hear about Jamal’s likes and dislikes!’

  ‘What about our women and children?’ Will asked.

  ‘I am glad you asked that Will. We will need another coach to take them away from here in case the clan decide to make a surprise attack and find them all alone and at their mercy. I have Bradley coming down to drive the coach and James will be the navigator.’

  ‘Why me?’ James asked furiously.

  ‘Because you know where Otis and Matilda live and will direct Bradley to their house with the coach’s precious cargo.’

  ‘What then?’ James asked.

  ‘Then you steal a car, there are one or two lying about and come up to help us, go via Dartford and make sure the sentries on the bridge are no longer there.’ Ray started but Barry interrupted him.

  ‘They might still be there propped up but they won’t give you any trouble if we have been there, look for the boat moored under the bridge.’

  ‘If you see the boat then you can cross the bridge and follow Barry and the others in to London but don’t drive madly in case they shoot you or you meet a roving patrol. There will be supplies on the coach enough to last a few days, and water but I will need at least two women to go with the children. Who goes on the coach is between you and your families; I will not stop anyone going on the coach at all! Now; James will drive to Hastings to make sure all is well with Otis and Matilda and also warn them what is coming their way, Clem you go with him as his bodyguard. The rest have things you have to do and things to talk out before we leave on Friday so get to it.’

  The meeting broke up and they all went their separate ways while Ray stood looking at the map.

  ‘Do you want me to go with the children?’ Laura asked from where she stood, after the room had cleared.

  Ray looked round at her.

  ‘I have you here, ushering the other women and the children along and across here without showing their selves to anyone who is watching in the stadium.’ As he explained he used the wooden spoon to show where he meant and where they were going. ‘I thought you might impress on them the need to keep out of sight!’

  ‘Oh I can impress that alright.’ Laura replied with a smile.

  ‘Thanks for the offer anyway.’

  ‘Oh I don’t think I was offering.’ Laura answered.

  ‘Just keep that mini canon of your well oiled and ready to fire!’ Ray replied.

  ‘Always, although I am thinking of moving up to an AK47 they seem to cause panic even before it is fired at you.’

  ‘You can say that again.’ Ray agreed.

  ‘Do you think we have a chance, they seem to have a lot of fighters?’

  ‘They might have another tank up there to bring out when we start fighting but we have missiles, hand grenades and a few other things which Barry says will be useful.’

  ‘I’m glad we have Barry with us.’ Laura admitted.

  ‘It is certainly having for us rather than against us.’ Ray agreed. ‘I just wonder how many Barrys they have inside there, ones who have lost their family and might just turn on Jamal when they find out the truth.’

  ‘If they are willing to believe it!’

  ‘There is that.’ Ray agreed.

  ‘Well I am sure we will find out one way or the other.’ Laura declared and walked out.

  James drove out of the compound with Clem by his side, clutching a Kalashnikov and ready for action. He had to drive in a circle round the settlement to get onto the road he wanted and headed for Hastings. They slowed when they saw both elephants together by the side of the road.

  ‘I think love is in the air.’ Clem declared.

  ‘Now that is what I call big.’ James retorted and he was not talking about the size of the elephant.

  ‘Definitely too much for a little girl like me.’ Clem replied as he drove on.

  ‘We haven’t done that lately have we?’ James said earnestly.

  ‘No we haven’t!’ Clem answered.

  ‘Why not?’ James asked when she did not offer an explanation.

  ‘Ray said that if I got pregnant I could not go and fight and that is how you get pregnant so I decided we would not do that again until after the battle. After the battle little William can come out and play all he likes, as long as you marry me first.’

  ‘Aren
’t I the one who is supposed to ask you to marry me?’

  ‘Well just remember to or you won’t be exercising on top of me again!’ Clem answered.

  ‘I didn’t mind it when I was on the bottom.’ James replied.

  ‘That comes after we are married as well.’ Clem answered. ‘Even though I enjoyed it as well.’

  They drove on talking, discussing what their married name should be and what to call their babies. They were still choosing names when the reached the ring road round Hastings. James turned left and drove on, then turned into the town centre, later on he turned again and again.

  ‘Are we being followed?’ Clem asked.

  ‘Just making sure.’ James answered and pulled into a garage out of sight. ‘We walk from here just as a precaution.’

  They locked the car and walked on. They saw no one until James saw a familiar sight, a shotgun poking out of a window. Not Otis’s window but a window a few doors away.

  ‘Is that you behind that shotgun Otis?’ James asked without raising his weapon.

  A head appeared. ‘Is that you James Hancock?’ Otis asked.

  ‘It is and this is Clem you met her before.’

  Otis pulled the shotgun back inside and after a few seconds he walked out of the door. ‘Just being careful James, as I was out and about. Brought any coffee?’

  ‘Of course but it is in the car: I’ll go back for it when I know it is safe.’

  ‘We haven’t seen any clan for a week but they keep coming by.’ Otis declared.

  They walked to the house and Clem stayed talking to Matilda while James brought the car down and parked it in a side street nearby.

  Chapter 11

  The workers went out and worked. Ray went to the main gate and stood guard as the temporary gate was moved out of the way and second new gate lifted into position. It glided open easily when Jethro tried it, so much so that others had to have a go; then they started putting the two long shutters in place. They were actually cut down tree trunks shaped like a joist designed to be elephant proof. One an elephant might break by pushing but it would not break two. Everyone was impressed including Ray who walked inside so that they could shut the gate.