Marcus relinquished his grip on Hyde’s shoulder and all she could do was look at her food, wondering if he was telling the truth. Her hunger overrode any remaining suspicions and she took another bite. Her mouth was working so fast that some pieces of meat skipped the chewing process. Thankfully, they were small chunks.
With dinner out of the way, exhaustion struck without warning. Hyde was struggling to stay awake, which hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Go and sleep,” Marcus ordered. “I’ll wake you in a couple of hours.”
Nodding, she hauled herself to her feet and wobbled back towards the wall she’d been propped up against earlier.
~
As soon as she’d rested, Hyde considered the possibility of heading back to London with this small group of survivors. The only problem she had was trying to convince them it was a good idea. She had yet to build any trust with them, but Marcus seemed to be warming to her. As leader of this group, his word would be final so she decided to concentrate her efforts on him.
Slipping into the next chamber she looked upon the sorry pair hanging from the rafter, trussed up like the pigs they were. No mercy touched her heart, no pity. Their shirts had been ripped from their bodies, and their torsos had been cut several times. Judd was still trying to escape, wriggling and twisting his body as she approached him. He began to grunt indignantly from behind the dirty rag stuffed in his mouth. He looked angry, and Stevens looked as if he had been unconscious for hours, hanging limp and barely breathing. Circling around, her movements slow and hypnotic, she enjoyed the view. And that seemed to irritate the hell out of Judd.
He twisted his body around to try to keep her in sight, but it was impossible in his situation. Once Hyde was behind him, she could do anything she wanted to him, and he wouldn’t see it coming... but did she really want to hurt him? All she wanted was answers.
“Why did you do it, Judd?” Hyde asked, biting back the anger that was trying to escape her. “I could’ve died.”
With adrenalin pumping, and power coursing through her, she shoved his body, causing him to sway from side to side, knocking into Stevens as he went. She took a slow walk back around the front to face him, stopped him from swaying and looked him in the eyes, seeing his anger and frustration at his position.
“Fucking crap not being able to protect yourself, isn’t it? You bastard!” She clenched her hand and punched the side of his rib cage as hard as she could. Snarling, he quickly turned to face her again, his eyes full of spite, not fear. It made her even more determined to make him respect her as a serious threat, as a person.
Angry tears followed each strike as she bombarded Judd’s stomach with her fists, causing him to gag and choke. He tensed his abdominal muscles against the continued onslaught. After the first few blows, his pain at her brutal attack was loud, clear, and very satisfactory. Hyde heard voices getting louder, but her focus remained on what she was doing.
The next thing she knew, she was being grabbed from behind, placed in a hammer lock and pushed stomach first against the craggy wall. She cried out in anger and struggled as the person holding her pressed all his weight against her body.
“You’d best calm yourself, young lady, or you will be joining them up there,” Marcus whispered in her ear. “Heed what I say. I don’t make idle threats.”
Strong hands spun her around and pushed her back against the wall. Placing his arm across her chest, he stared into her eyes, his jaw tight. She glared at him with tears still brimming in her eyes, but she could see he was determined not to let her win. The two men who had dragged her around yesterday looked equally determined as they stood at Marcus’ shoulders.
Outnumbered, she finally gave up and let go of her rage, and Marcus released her. She pushed herself away from the wall and glanced over at Judd and Stevens to throw them a promising gaze.
“Get over it, soldier. I don’t want to make good on my threat,” Marcus scolded, pointing towards the exit. Hyde grumbled in frustration as she left the chamber. The desire to continue beating Judd burned hot in her chest. Stevens no longer interested her, he didn’t look as if he was going to last the day.
~
Hyde felt restless, unsatisfied. Waiting was hard for her. Pacing around the chamber, she felt the urge to vent her frustration on someone other than Marcus. There was no doubt in her mind that if she did, she’d end up swinging beside Judd and Stevens. She needed to calm herself before the three men re-entered her living space.
No more than ten minutes had passed before Marcus exited the prison chamber. She nodded at him, and he returned the gesture. Neither smiled. The tension between the pair hadn’t subsided in the short space of time.
“One more day, soldier—then you can do whatever you like with them.”
Not quite believing her ears, she stared at him, wondering why another day mattered. But at least he was going to let her back in with Judd at some point. She threw a wry smile his way as a mark of satisfaction and respect. He acknowledged it with a small smile of his own.
“In the meantime, you should get some rest,” Marcus prompted.
“But I’m not tired, sir.”
“It was not a request. You need to sleep.”
She furrowed her brow, mentally cursing him before succumbing to his orders.
CHAPTER 8
Hyde awoke from her restless slumber and focused on the person standing over her, jostling her shoulder. It was Marcus. Taking hold of her hands, he pulled her to her feet. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked deeper into the cave system.
“We need to talk,” Marcus said. “What happened earlier isn’t to happen again, do you get me, soldier? You could’ve killed him.”
“Sorry, sir. I just needed to get it out of my system,” Hyde said, a sense of remorse filtered through in her voice. “It won’t happen again. But, can I ask, would you be willing to take Judd back to London? Have the authorities deal with him?”
A look of puzzlement spread itself about Marcus’s face.
“London? We’re not leaving, why should we?”
“But, sir...he’s ex-military, and should answer to the government for his crimes.”
He snorted. “Government? What government? But I’ll tell you what, if you can come up with a convincing argument as to why we should leave a place that has kept us safe for so long, then I might consider your request, but in the meantime, what I say stands, is that clear?”
“Understood, sir.” She spat out before stalking back to her sleeping spot, her back stiff.
~
To prepare for the coming negotiations, Hyde made a mental note of all the pros and cons of moving south. She hoped Marcus would at least consider her suggestion. She paced the living area, mumbling to herself as some of the cave dwellers glanced over their shoulders and looked at her as if she were crazy. When she stared back, not one met her gaze. Intent on forming her argument for going to London, she continued to pace, but decided to cease the mumbling, as it appeared to make her hosts nervous.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marcus bearing down on her. She turned to face him.
Marcus came to a halt and held his hands out in front of him, as if Hyde were an untamed animal he was trying to pacify.
What’s he doing? She frowned as he approached, sensing his bemusement.
“What’s going on, young lady?” he interrogated.
He barely knows me, so how can he trust anything that comes out of my mouth? Taking a deep breath, Hyde cleared her throat, ready to state her case. Marcus stood motionless, placing his hands behind his back, waiting for her to say something, anything, as the seconds stretched, his brow creased. Other people in the cave, apparently hungry for the free amusement, dropped what they were doing and gathered around. Jas sidled up beside him, linked her arm through his, and waited in silence.
Hyde took in the looks of anticipation on the twenty or so faces staring at her, and nervously began to outline her plan to get all of the group back to London.
/>
“I know I’ll be asking a lot of you all tonight, but I want you to consider moving back into the city. It’ll be a lot safer than the Dales, that I can almost guarantee. We—” Jas cut Hyde’s sentence short.
“How can you almost guarantee our safety?” she asked with a hint of pessimism, and equal measures of sarcasm. “You know what’s out there. You’ve encountered more than any of us. How it is going to be better for us to leave this place of relative safety, and head to a place we know nothing about?”
Jas was a lot more astute than Hyde had given her credit for. She was a thinker; only speaking when necessary. Marcus turned his head to face his outspoken daughter, a soft smile playing on his face. Jas had even surprised him with her mature tone.
Hyde squinted at Jas for a moment before she continued, but her look didn’t seem to faze the young woman. Jas remained rigid and awaited the corporal’s reply.
“We have nothing to protect us here, one rifle and a handful of mines, that’s it. The cavers will catch up with us sooner or later, so the best thing we can do is get back to London. At least there we stand a chance of surviving. There’ll be other people and weapons to protect us, and food, plenty of it... and we have medical supplies, even a hospital. To survive long term, we need to gather together and start thinking about the future, not just one day at a time. What future, what prospects do your children have in a place like this? Please think about it?”
Hyde turned to look at Marcus, searching for his approval. “I still think it would be a good idea to take Judd back to London with us. Stevens is no longer of consequence...he’s more than likely dead already.”
Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “He and his friend killed three of my people. I say we leave them to rot and let the scavengers claim their bodies.”
A roar of approval came from the others. Catherine hung her head, disheartened by her failure.
~
Hyde slid back inside the prisoner’s chamber. Judd was barely able to keep his eyes open; the smell of him and Stevens almost overwhelmed her. Their clothing was covered in piss and shit, and it had started seeping through the material. She didn’t try to stop her upper lip curling in disgust as she looked at the sorry messes hanging in front of her. Stevens had succumbed, his body was pale, and the rigors of death clung to him. The surviving prisoner in front of her didn’t matter, but the rest of them were humans, not animals, not cavers. They must treat people, even filth like this, accordingly. She wouldn’t let either herself or Marcus and his people descend to that level because it would signal the end of everything that set humanity apart.
Coming up to the main chamber, where the rest of Marcus’s people had gathered earlier, she noticed that no one was eating. That was strange, considering the food had already been served. The smell was horrible, and the greenish faces, twisted with nausea, told her how much they appreciate Judd being there with them. Hyde saw Marcus standing in the furthest corner, talking with his daughter, his face like thunder and his arms flying in all directions. It looked like he was chastising her. She approached the pair tentatively, not wishing to get drawn into a family argument. Jas’s head hung low, nodding in response when required. Marcus caught sight of Hyde and turned his head.
“What do you want, can’t you see I’m busy?” he snapped.
Hyde’s spine became rigid, and her breathing heavy—the adrenalin began to pump up through her body as she readied herself to answer his question with as much tact as she could muster, hoping to avoid pissing him off even further.
“Sir, I’d like your permission to wash the prisoner. He stinks to high heaven...I would also recommend that we remove Stevens’ body from the chamber, as that is adding to the stench.”
“No, you may not. Let him fester in his own shit. As for Stevens, he stays where he is.”
Marcus was clearly in no mood for clemency. The group was going to have to put up with the rancid stench invading their nostrils.
Marcus stormed out of the chamber in one direction, and Jas in the other, both abandoning the heated conversation they had been having for the last twenty minutes. What the fuck happened between those two? One minute they’re fine, the next minute, they’re at each other’s throats. Maybe it was over Jas’s changing attitude? She reminded Hyde of herself at that age. She’d also been a tempestuous teen, hating everyone and everything. It looked as if Jas was acting out, and based on Marcus’s expression, he’d had enough.
Standing in the middle of the chamber, Hyde wondered if she should follow Jas to try and persuade her to talk to Marcus about washing Judd, or should she just appeal to him again? What if I piss him off to the point he won’t listen to anything I say? Maybe one stinky bastard’s life isn’t worth risking the lives of the others in here.
Letting a little time pass, she decided to find Marcus instead of using Jas as an intermediary. Marcus hadn’t moved very far from his people, the scowl on his face spoke volumes as she approached. Staying in the shadows and propping up the wall near the prison chamber, he covered his face with a hand.
“Now, do you see what I mean?” Hyde asked as she approached Marcus from behind. “We need to get him down and clean him up. He’s ripe.”
Marcus turned to her, showing no emotion. He nodded and handed her his old Stanley knife. Brushing past Hyde, he clipped her arm. She reeled on her heels and looked over her shoulder. He carried on walking, his head hanging, guarding his nose from the stench. He never looked back.
Hyde entered the prison chamber, pulled open the Stanley knife and headed toward the prisoner after a quick glance at the pale, lifeless corpse next to him. The smell hit her full in the face, and spasms cramped up her body. She rushed over to Judd, found something to stand on, and begun to cut through the rope that was holding him. It took longer than she’d hoped, and she nearly gave up as the smell became more overwhelming than she had been prepared to withstand.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the knife started showing signs of getting through the rope. A small smile moulded her face as she got closer to releasing Judd from the rafter.
“Brace yourself—you’re about to land very hard on the ground,” Hyde warned as she cut through the last strands around his wrists.
Judd landed on his back with his feet splayed out, drawing a muffled scream. He lay still, breathing hard, clearly in pain.
“Stay where you are,” Hyde said as she bent over him, rolling him onto his stomach, and re-tying his hands behind his back, so he couldn’t try anything stupid. The dirty rag remained in his mouth, so she didn’t have to listen to his angry words.
“I see Stevens didn’t follow your lead when it came to preserving his life, captain,” she quipped.
She pulled on the army issue utility trousers once she had unfastened his belt and supporting button, but they were stuck to his legs. Several days of mess had acted as glue, sticking the cloth to his skin. By the look on his face it was causing him a great deal of discomfort, and the shame of it all was also apparent. Hyde couldn’t help feeling sorry for him as he lay there wincing.
Once she had pulled his trousers down far enough, she rolled him onto his stomach to wrench them off the rest of the way. The tops of his thighs and lower back were encrusted in dried excrement, and he appeared to have what could only be described as severe nappy rash. His skin was scarlet where his own urine had burnt him. She grabbed the leftover rope that had attached his wrists to the rafter, and tied his feet with it. Even though he was still weak, she couldn’t take the chance of him escaping while she went to fetch water from the spring.
He was immobilised sufficiently for her to be able to move away from him, but it didn’t stop her from looking over her shoulder with every other step. She’d made the mistake of trusting Judd once, even with his current condition she would leave nothing to chance. She’d learnt her lesson.
~
Hyde came back from the spring to find Marcus standing over the prisoner, pointing the SA80 into his cheek, mumbling something at him. Hyde s
tood in the darkness, waiting for him to do what he intended to do, or move away. She couldn’t hear what Marcus was saying, but his body language spoke volumes.
Marcus bent down, untied Judd’s ankles, then yanked him to his feet.
Hyde ran over to them with the water, spilling most of it on the way.
“What’s going on, Marcus? Can I at least wash him down before you take him away? You don’t want him to stink up the place any more than he already has, do you? Can you at least find him some clean underwear if nothing else? I don’t think the others would appreciate watching his droopy little junk flapping around in the breeze.” It was an attempt to appeal to Marcus’s softer side—if he even had one. “Please. I’ll take care of him from here.”
Agitated, Marcus stopped and held Judd fast. The prisoner remained silent and didn’t resist.
“Do what you have to do, but do it quickly,” he said as he left her holding the prisoner. “I’ll go find this filth something to wear.”
Hyde poured what was left of the water over Judd’s legs and grabbed pieces of cloth from Stevens’ lifeless, stinking body. It wasn’t a job that she had imagined herself doing, but it needed to be done for everybody’s sake. Judd gasped and twisted as she scrubbed at his raw flesh.
Once Hyde was satisfied that every part of his lower body was clean, she took her leave and disposed of the revolting rags.
Returning with some underwear and a pair of tracksuit bottoms, Marcus shoved the clothes into Hyde’s arms.
“Get the prisoner dressed,” he said in his usual stern manner. “Be in the main chamber in fifteen minutes.”
“What’s going on, sir?” Hyde asked, appearing puzzled by his request.
“I have decided that we will head back to London,” Marcus explained. “It seems the logical thing to do.”
Only the Few Page 6
