The old couple had told the children that they were heading to a small house further up the river and that someday they should come back and visit them. They all seemed to buy it, even Candice and Aiden. But as Robyn coaxed Sandra and Arthur to one side there was a sad expression on her face. “God’s watching over you, Robyn. You might not see him, but he’s there.”
Robyn stared into Sandra’s eyes. They were tired. They were the eyes of someone who’d had enough pain and just wanted to go to sleep. She looked towards Arthur and saw he had suffered just as much if not more. As doubtful as Robyn found it that anyone was watching over her, she did not want to upset the sweet old couple. “I’m sure he is,” Robyn said. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” Sandra replied, and with that, the couple turned and headed down the trail to the falls. Robyn watched them go before turning back towards the group. They were all entrenched in their own conversations, completely unaware that anyone was looking at them. I really miss Mila. She took a deep breath and clapped her hands. “Okay, Aiden, you’re getting in the car with Poppy and Ellie and driving up the road about seven miles. There’s a small cafe on the left. Stay there and keep your eyes peeled. We’ll get there as soon as we can.”
“Well, why don’t I just ferry two people at a time? It will be quicker than us all walking.”
“Oh yeah, and how long is our fuel going to last that way, genius? Fitting two little kids into the passenger seat isn’t a problem, but everyone else would have to go one at a time.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” He rounded the two youngest children up and got them into the car. He had driven a few times and knew the basics, but the car stalled twice before it made it out of the car park. The rest of them began their journey on foot.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea letting Aiden drive and leaving him to look after Poppy and Ellie?” Candice asked.
“Yes,” Robyn replied abruptly.
“Oh.” Candice was clearly a little hurt.
“Look. I can’t do this by myself. You and Aiden need to step up. Now, is it ideal? No. But when I make a decision, I don’t need somebody second-guessing me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, just help me.”
✽ ✽ ✽
It took them over two hours to reach the cafe. After an hour, Aiden had driven back to find out what was taking them so long and got a vicious reprimand from Robyn for leaving the younger children alone. Subsequently, he disappeared just as quickly, taking the next two smallest children, Olivia and Jack, with him.
When they arrived, Robyn handed out a small amount of the remaining food and left just enough water for a sip each the following morning. The younger children’s protestations that they were still hungry and still thirsty were ignored. They were all hungry. They were all thirsty but there wasn’t a lot they could do about it.
Candice suddenly appeared in the doorway. “You’re meant to be our lookout,” Robyn said.
“I just want to ask you something.”
“Go on then, ask.”
“It’s private.”
Robyn let out an exhausted sigh. I’m really too tired for any more BS today. She climbed to her feet and headed to the door. “What is it, Candice?” she asked, stepping outside.
“I saw movement in the bushes,” she blurted.
“Where?”
“Straight across the road.”
Robyn walked to the car and climbed in. She pretended to look for something in the glove compartment, but really her eyes kept peering towards the bushes opposite. She stayed there for a good thirty seconds and was about to give up and tell Candice she had imagined the whole thing when one of the branches moved. “Shit,” she muttered to herself, climbing out of the car and heading back into the cafe.
Robyn walked across to where Aiden was sitting and picked up the bow and a quiver of arrows. “What is it? What’s happening?” he asked, jumping to his feet as frightened murmurs rippled around the greasy walled kitchen.
“Everybody stay quiet and stay away from the windows.” Robyn slipped out of the door and into the trees; she went further into the woods then turned left and sprinted for fifty metres or so before turning left again. She paused as she reached the road to make sure she was out of the line of sight of the cafe and the opposite bushes then ran across into the trees, continuing for another thirty metres before turning left again. When she guessed she was more or less level with where the cafe was on the opposite side, she started walking forward, slowly. She nocked an arrow ready. It could have been one person, it could have been a gang, but she was the adult now, she was the one who had to chase all the boogeymen away.
A twig snapped loudly under her foot. Crap! She charged forward, a frightened scream filled the forest around her as she leapt out to see a boy and girl who only looked about ten years old glaring towards her with teary, fear-filled eyes.
“Please don’t hurt us,” the boy said, pushing himself in front of the girl. Robyn lowered her bow.
“Who the hell are you?” Robyn demanded, at which point the girl’s crying became much more audible.
The boy just stood looking at Robyn for a moment until he eventually said, “My name’s Max. This is my sister, Sally.”
“Who are you with?” Robyn asked, looking around, expecting to see someone else emerging from the bushes.
“We’re by ourselves.”
“Out here? Where are you from?”
“Mallaig.”
“Mallaig? That’s like … over a hundred miles or something. What are you doing here?”
“We escaped. My mum and dad and me and Sally. We got out when the pirates came.”
“Whoa, back up. Pirates? What the hell are you talking about, kid?”
Sally was still crying, but the more Max spoke, the more his tears became just a memory. “They came at night. They released the monsters, and before anyone knew what was happening there were monsters everywhere. My dad got us into the car, and we got out, but he parked up on the side of a hill and watched. The monsters took over the entire village; then a fire started about a mile away, and this loud siren went off. All the monsters headed towards it, and that’s when the pirates went in and took everything. I heard my dad tell Mum that we’d never be able to go back, that it was too dangerous.”
Robyn was hanging on the child’s every word. The story was way too outlandish to be made up. “Pirates. Of course, why wouldn’t we have bloody pirates to contend with on top of everything else? So where are your parents?”
Max suddenly looked sad again. “The car ran out of petrol near somewhere called Fort Augustus. We started out on foot, but we were attacked. Mum and Dad led the monsters away. He gave me his watch.” Max reached into his pocket and pulled out an expensive looking timepiece. “He said if they weren’t back in half an hour I was to take Sally and head north and try to find somewhere safe.” He pulled a small backpack off his shoulders. We haven’t eaten in over a day. I saw the cafe, and I thought maybe there’d be food. We’re really hungry.”
Robyn’s shoulders dropped. Two more mouths to feed. Could things really get any worse?
chapter 32
Robyn set off early the next morning. She wanted to map their route, but, more importantly, she wanted some more alone time. Her stomach growled as she drove along; this was a nightmare, twelve mouths to feed including her own. She had measured out an eighteen-mile journey that would lead them to a house. Once again, the house had been gutted of anything useful, but the one silver lining was that it had a well. They might be hungry, but at least they could drink, that was something.
She brought the car to a sudden stop as a majestic stag stepped out onto the road in front of her.
The stag just stood there. Its head turned towards her. It was a cold morning, and clouds of frosty breath flared from its nostrils as it watched Robyn. It was huge, a truly magnificent creature. She climbed out of the car with her bow and quiver then nocked an arrow. She brou
ght the sight window up to her eye and suddenly noticed movement to her left. She looked towards the bushes and saw a doe and two fawns chewing away on leaves and berries.
She turned back to the stag, and it had shuffled around to face her, sensing that its family may be in danger. So that’s why you’re not moving, you’re protecting your kids. “I’m so sorry, but I’ve got mouths to feed too.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Aiden and Candice both rushed out as the car pulled back into the small parking area. “Well?” Aiden said as Robyn stepped out.
“I’ve found our next place. It’s got a well. I’ve filled the water bottles and…”
“And what?” Candice asked.
“And I’ve got us some food too, but I couldn’t carry it all back.”
“Food?” Candice said. “Where?”
“In the back of the car.”
Aiden rushed to open the hatchback and reached in, pulling out a handful of berries. He put one in his mouth. “These taste great, what are they?”
“Bilberries, I think.”
“You’ve picked loads.”
“I used my jacket as a sling to transport them. That was all I could manage. There are tons more. We should pick as many as we can.”
“Yeah, totally,” Aiden replied and rushed inside to tell the others.
The next few days continued in the same manner. Robyn would head out in the car first thing and designate the day’s route; Aiden would drive Poppy and Ellie and set up camp there patiently waiting for the arrival of the others. Each day, the fuel gauge dipped a little further. When they reached a place called Torridon, Aiden found an abandoned Vauxhall Corsa with the keys still in the ignition. Using a washing machine hose that he scavenged from the laundry room of the luxurious looking hotel they were staying in, he siphoned petrol from the Smart car and put it in the Corsa. At first, Robyn had not understood why, but then he explained that he would be able to ferry more of the younger children. The prospect of her not having to listen to the smaller kids whine constantly suddenly perked Robyn’s mood a little.
The supply of bilberries had run out as had their fresh water. The hotel, although grand and beautiful, had been stripped of virtually everything useful. There was a stream close by, but they had no means to boil the water, so Robyn followed it halfway up a mountain. The stream looked as pure as anything she had seen, but it was still a risk drinking the water without boiling it first. Then again, everything was a risk these days.
She pulled one of the empty plastic bottles from her rucksack and placed it under the rippling surface until it was half full then walked across to a rock and sat down. Holding the plastic container up in the late afternoon sun, she swirled the liquid around; it was crystal clear. Here goes nothing. She took a small sip then glugged a few mouthfuls. It tasted amazing, and the scratchy thirst that had coated her palate and gums vanished in an instant.
Robyn remained on the rock for a while, looking down towards the hotel. She could see small figures playing in the car park. Even with everything that was going on, even though they were tired and hungry, the children still behaved like children.
When Robyn had found all the bilberries, the sombre mood had lifted for a while. Jack and Ellie thought it would be fun to give everyone new superhero names. They weren’t very imaginative, Aiden became Arrow, Candice became Spear and Robyn had become Samurai, only briefly though as Poppy struggled to say samurai, and the other children preferred shortening it to just Sam. It was silly and in all likelihood would be short-lived, but as Robyn sat on the rock, sipping stream water and looking down towards the hotel, it put a smile on her face.
She climbed to her feet and started to make her way back down. They would reach the coast tomorrow and then, hopefully, they would stumble across this Safe Haven at some point. It was all Robyn had been thinking about. If it was what Arthur and Sandra said it was then she could leave the children in safety and head back to… She struggled to believe her own thoughts, but she did not have a choice. She would head back to Andrew’s Bay.
She had lost one sister and travelled the country to find her with no luck. Right now, she didn’t know if Mila was alive or dead, but she had to find out. It was the scariest thing she had ever contemplated. If she was alive, the chances were she was suffering the same fate as the women in Loch Uig, and Robyn being able to stage a rescue by herself was about as likely as the stream she had just drunk from giving her superpowers. If she was dead, then no doubt, if Robyn returned to Andrew’s Bay, the same fate would await her.
It took her half an hour to follow the stream back down the mountainside. The water had not made her stomach churn or given her cramps, so she filled the remainder of the bottles and trekked to the hotel.
“Sam!” It was Poppy who ran across to her, breaking away from the others. She threw her arms around Robyn and hugged her. “Missed you.” She giggled and ran off to carry on playing tag.
“How come everybody’s so happy?” she asked with a bemused smile on her face.
“They’re obviously just glad to see you,” Candice replied.
“What, the grouchy bitch who’s constantly telling them what to do and snapping at them all the time?”
“Yeah,” Candice said with a straight face. “Ever since they saw you take care of the infected back in the car park, yeah, they might have been scared to death, but they were in awe of you too.”
“Didn’t really have a choice, did I? It was them or us.”
“But you made it them.”
“Whatever, it’s nice to see them smiling anyway. Where’s Arrow?” Robyn asked, giggling.
“Oh God, don’t you start calling him that as well. It will go straight to his head. He was eyeing up the curtains in the bar earlier on, I’m sure he’s thinking about making himself a cape.” They both laughed.
“Where is he?”
“He’s going room to room seeing if there is anything at all that might be worth taking.”
“When I checked this place out, I told him there wasn’t. Somebody has gutted everything in this area. They’ve been more than thorough too.”
“You know what he’s like. He wants to be the hero, to find a food stash or something.”
Just then, Aiden appeared on the front steps in a blazer that was about two sizes too big for him. He strolled across to where Robyn and Candice were standing. “I didn’t find any food or anything, but I found this,” he said proudly.
Robyn and Candice looked at one another doing their best not to laugh. “Nice,” Robyn said.
“Yeah, I think it was like the manager’s or something.”
“Yeah, you can totally tell. It looks really sophisticated.”
“Do you think so?”
“Totally,” Robyn replied.
“Cool. Well, I’m going to head down the road a little, set up first watch.”
“Okay, Arrow, I’ll take over from you later.”
“I really like those names. It’s like the three of us are the Justice League or something.”
“Yeah, the Justice League, that’s totally what I was thinking too. Before I forget”—Robyn reached into her rucksack and handed him one of the smaller bottles—“keep this in the car.”
“Cool. The stream’s okay then?”
“Well, I drank the water a while back, and it’s not given me the shits yet, so, so far so good.”
“Err … okay,” Aiden replied, taking the bottle and heading to the car. Robyn and Candice watched him go, looked at one another and then just shook their heads.
“Y’know, Robyn, I don’t mind taking a watch shift too.”
“I know you don’t, but nobody can get the kids to fall in line like you. If we have an emergency, I’d much prefer you here.”
“Wherever I’m needed.”
Robyn reached out and placed a gentle hand on Candice’s arm. “If I’ve been short with you over the past few days, I’m really sorry. I wouldn’t have been able to manage without you.”
�
�I’m pretty certain you would.”
“No, you’re really great with the kids. You do all that caring shit I can’t be arsed with.”
“We all have our strengths, Samurai.”
Robyn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Do me a favour. Get everybody rounded up, do a count and we’ll head indoors. I know it all seems peaceful, but I never feel comfortable when it starts getting dark.”
“I know what you mean.”
Robyn made sure everyone had plenty to drink. She refilled the bottles in the stream twice, and even though their bellies still rumbled with hunger, at least their thirst had been satiated for the time being. They all bedded down in one of the big function rooms. They ripped down curtains to act as makeshift bedding, and the thick carpet provided more comfort for them than they had experienced since leaving the hospital.
✽ ✽ ✽
When Robyn felt a hand on her arm, even though she was half asleep she grasped it in a vice-like hold. “It’s me, it’s me,” whispered Aiden.
“What the f—. What are you doing?” Robyn hissed.
“We’ve got trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s an army coming this way.”
“What?”
“There are loads of them. I looked through the binoculars.”
“Are you sure? This is important, Aiden.”
“I looked through the binoculars, and I saw lots of movement. I know it’s dark, I know you think I imagine a lot of things, but I’m not making this up.”
“Everybody up,” Robyn said, climbing to her feet and clapping her hands. Frightened mutterings immediately circulated around the room. “Candice, get everybody sorted.”
A torchlight flicked on, and suddenly there was a flurry of activity in the shadows.
“What are we going to do?” Aiden asked.
Robyn picked up her swords and rucksack and guided Aiden outside into the cold night. “You’ve still got the bow in the back of the car.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Be quiet and listen. Take Poppy, Ellie, Jack and Olivia. Go and park the car in the entrance to that farmer’s field just around the corner. You keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. If we’re not back in an hour or you get a hint of any kind of trouble, get out of here.”
The End of Everything (Book 7): The End of Everything Page 23
