Hacking up bile, Hyde’s tears began to flow freely.
“Sir, there was nothing I could do, he tackled me as I entered,” she cried. “He’s taken Jas! Said unless you give him what he wants, she dies. What does he want, sir?”
Marcus kept rubbing her legs, ignoring her question as his mind whirled.
“Please stop. My legs are fine, it’s your daughter you should be worrying about. Untie me please, Sir.” She said nothing else. The look in her eyes made her feelings abundantly clear.
“One thing you should know about Jas, is that she knows how to look after herself. Even in tough situations. Okay, maybe not as tough as the one she’s in now, but she’s nothing if not a survivor. If he hurts her in any way, I’ll kill him.” His tone was surprisingly calm.
Dropping the binds to the floor, Marcus grabbed Hyde’s wrists and began to rub them, keeping them behind her back for a moment, while he drew the soreness out with his soothing fingers.
“Sir, please, we need to go,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at him. Releasing his grip on her hands, Marcus eased her out of the chair. She stumbled as he knew she would. The position she’d been tied in would have cut off all circulation in her legs. He steadied her as she gasped in pain.
“Get those legs moving, soldier. We have my girl to rescue.” He hoped, admitting that they needed to get moving would put her focus on Jas rather than her question about Judd.
“Don’t make light of the situation, Sir— and you still haven’t answered my question about Judd.”
“And I don’t intend to, so stop asking.”
~
“We’ll need to do this alone, Sir,” Hyde started, looking at Marcus. “The others can stay here. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the kids will slow us down. We can’t afford any delays. Judd said he’d make contact when the time was right.”
Marcus scowled at her as if it was her fault, which it kind of was—to a certain extent. “So, you’re saying that we haven’t got a time or a place?”
“Yes, Sir. He was very clear with his instructions, we aren’t to try and find him, he will find us.”
“Well, let’s just hope we’re going to be heading in the right direction then,” he said. “We need to wake Aggie; she’ll be able to tell us where the next big town heading South is. Maybe we should bring her with us?”
“No, Sir... just us, no one else. We can figure it out as we go. We can’t afford to risk losing anyone else.”
Hyde headed toward the bunk room with Marcus close behind.
“We need to wake John,” Marcus said. “He’ll need to know what’s going on, as I’m leaving him in charge. We will leave out the part about Judd kidnapping Jas, and just say we’re doing a recon of the immediate area.”
“Affirmative, Sir,”
“Go and wake Aggie, I’ll sort out John.”
“Yes, sir,” Hyde replied before moving off.
~
Marcus stood over John and gave him a gentle nudge.
“I know it’s early, but you need to get up,” Marcus whispered in his friend's ear.
John groaned and turned over.
“Wake up, old man.”
With a start, John shot bolt upright clutching his chest. “What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?” He took a deep breath and composed himself. “What’s so important that it couldn’t wait? This is the best night’s sleep I’ve had in months.”
Marcus perched himself on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving John a half-hearted smile to hide his distress. “Corporal Hyde and I are going on a bit of a recon mission. I’m leaving you in charge for the day while we suss out the area. Do you think you can handle it?” Marcus asked, keeping his demeanour as normal as possible.
“I think I can manage to look after this lot, yes.” John frowned.
“Oi, who do you think you’re calling ‘this lot’, old man?” John’s son, Matt shouted over. By this time, nearly everybody was awake, apart from the kids, who continued to sleep soundly in the corner.
“Get up, and meet us in the dining area in five minutes,” Marcus said as he left the bunk area, followed closely by Hyde and Aggie, who’d covered herself with her dressing gown.
~
Stretching as he rose from his bed, John left the bunk area and headed to his rendezvous with Marcus. Marcus’s decision to go out so early was highly suspect and he wondered if he should ask what was really going on. Jas’s bunk was conspicuously empty. Whether Marcus liked it or not, he was going to find out what was going on; that girl was as much his family as his own son, in this screwed up world.
Entering the dining area, the atmosphere was subdued. Marcus had his arm around a lightly sobbing Hyde’s shoulders, confirming that there was more to the recon mission than Marcus had said.
“Okay! What the hell is really going on here?” John folded his arms across his chest and waited for Marcus to spill the beans. “I’m waiting.” The looks of despondency on both Marcus and Hyde’s faces began to grate as he waited for an explanation.
“Come on Marcus, how long have we known each other? You still won’t tell me anything of importance, yet you trust me to take charge while you swan off on some secret mission.” Frowning, he continued with his little rant. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed that Jas is missing. Now, I’ll ask you again...what the hell is going on?”
Marcus released his hold on Hyde, kissed the top of her head and walked over to him. John’s heart sped up. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t good. He couldn’t cope if something had happened to that strong-willed, sassy kid. Marcus placed both hands on John’s shoulders, looked him straight in the eyes, then paused, much to John’s consternation.
“I’ll tell you, but it goes no further. The others are not to know. As far as they’re concerned, we are going on a recon mission, do you understand?” John nodded and Marcus continued.
“The long and short of it is, Judd overpowered Corporal Hyde, took her weapon, kidnapped Jas, and if I don’t want a dead body returned to me, I’m to give him what he wants,” he said. He turned to Hyde. “It was in no way Catherine’s fault.”
Judging by her distressed facial expression, John concluded that Marcus’s platitude had only made the young soldier feel worse.
“I should’ve checked the knots before I left the room, sir,” she said solemnly, her head hanging low. “It is in every way, my fault. I should be the one to go and find her.” She looked up at Marcus, her eyes welling up.
He frowned at her, looking angry.
John kept quiet, watching the interplay between them. He’d seen Marcus deal with all sorts of stressful situations, some involving Jas, but there was something else going on here.
“And what do you intend to do when you find him, kill him with kindness?” Marcus probed. “You’ll be a sitting duck without a weapon. So, stop beating yourself up and pull yourself together, soldier” His words were stern, but they seemed to do the trick.
“Yes, Sir,” she replied, an added sense of strength modifying her voice.
If it wouldn’t have been horribly inappropriate, John would have broken into applause. Marcus had played the young woman like a fiddle.
A faint trace of a smile appeared on Marcus’s face, but his body language still screamed tension.
“You do what you have to do,” John urged. “Go and find Jas. The rest of us will stay here and await your return.”
“Thank you, John, I appreciate that,” Marcus then turned to Aggie, who John hadn’t noticed. “Where’s the nearest town from here?”
Aggie replied without hesitation, clearly as worried as everyone else. “Knaresborough. About twenty miles from here.”
“So, around seven to eight hours on foot then?” Marcus said, sounding as though he was speaking more to himself than Aggie. “I think we can make good time if we go now. It should still be light by the time we get there... Come on soldier, let’s go. We have work to do.”
CHAPTER 14
<
br /> Jas walked under the barrel of the SA80. Her hands were tied behind her back and the leftover rope was tethered to Judd, who was leading her on a route march toward Knaresborough. They followed signpost after signpost to get to the caves that were situated only a couple of miles outside of the town’s boundaries. Will we be safe there? Jas thought. What about the cavers? Have they made it as far down as Knaresborough?
“Let me go, arsehole. You’re a coward... a fuckin’ waster.” Jas spat, angry tears streaking down her cheeks as she tried to pull away from him.
Judd stopped and turned to face his hostage, swinging the semi-automatic rifle over his shoulder.
Jas faced him, noticing the way he repeatedly clenched and unclenched the fingers of his right hand. The look in his eye was frightening. It almost looked like he’d been possessed by the devil. At one point, it was only possible to see the whites. His breathing was heavy and angry. This man was clearly on the edge of sanity, but she was determined to slow their pace, even if it cost her. It was the only way her dad would be able to catch up.
“What are you going to do? Hit me?” Jas taunted him as she watched the repetitive movement of his hand. He said nothing, simply drew back his hand and hit her in the face, knocking her to the dirt.
Jas lay on the ground, barely able to move, groaning with pain, her head spinning as Judd nursed and clutched his swelling knuckles. He let go of the tether and scooped her up in a fireman’s lift, jostling her into a more comfortable position.
“One more peep out of you, and I will gag you... and mind your language in future,” he said, slapping her arse hard for emphasis.
Jas raised her head as high as she could in order to look at the empty road behind her. Just as quickly, she dropped her head back down, breathing a deep sigh against Judd’s back. Where the hell is Dad?
~
Upon noticing the latest signpost, there were only two miles left of the journey. Jas was now walking under her own steam after recovering from Judd’s strike. She was sure her face had turned black where the punch had landed, and her lip was bleeding.
The wind picked up, causing dust to billow up from their feet as they walked. Ominous dark clouds gathered overhead at an alarming rate. Reaching the caves became more vital with every second.
The leftover rope that tied Jas’s hands had been cut away, and was now tied loosely around her neck to make it easier for her captor to handle her. Still conscious of the need to give her dad more time, she started to hurl abuse at Judd again. He stopped and Jas held her chin up to prevent any flinching as he turned back to her. It was clear he wanted her alive and able to walk for now, so she assumed the worst she’d be facing was another punch. It didn’t sound too bad if she didn’t dwell on it.
Judd pulled a bandana from around his neck, and rolled it into a tube shape, making a gag. “I warned you, girl, but you didn’t listen to me, did you?” He pulled the material across her mouth from behind, forcing her to bite down onto it. “You should’ve kept your mouth shut—bitch.”
Jas turned her head and scowled, growling her anger through the gag. Judd continued to drag her along as if he were deaf to her fury. She struggled to release herself from his grasp, but his grip only tightened with each attempt. Eventually, his pull grew so strong it forced her to scream with every yank.
“You need to stop struggling,” Judd said. “I don’t want to keep hurting you.”
Knowing full well that he meant business, Jas calmed down and allowed him to pull her along like a rag doll, though she still dragged her feet as much as possible.
There had been signs for Mother Shipton’s cave for the last mile of the journey.
“We’re nearly there,” Judd said, pulling Jas close. “You’ll get to meet the rest of my boys in a bit.”
Another sign stood in the distance, this time pointing west—leading them to the cave itself. Rain started to fall from the looming clouds before they reached the shelter of the caves, forcing them to run toward the opening. Jas lost her footing and almost tumbled in the mud. She could tell that Judd’s grip on the lead was so tight that if she fell, he would be joining her. That thought alone inspired her to regain her balance; the last thing she wanted was for him to be slithering all over her.
They were both drenched by the time they reached the cave. Judd held his prisoner fast. “You need to be on your best behaviour from this point, understand? The scavengers won’t hesitate to kill you if you make a wrong move.”
This was the first time that scavengers had been mentioned. Had Judd just revealed to her that he was a scavenger? They were no better than the cavers, killing mercilessly as they cleared up after them. Jas now feared for her life for the first time since she’d been kidnapped. It had been one thing to assume she was leverage of some sort, but this was different. She started to shiver as mingled fear and cold took control of her body.
Judd pulled her around to face him and flashed a twisted smile. She recoiled but had no way to stop him pulling her into the cave.
CHAPTER 15
Hyde and Marcus had been travelling for around four hours, both soaked to the bone. There had been nothing but dead cornfields for miles when the pair stumbled upon a twisted sign that was barely legible. After a moment, they were able to make out the words, ‘Knaresborough, nine miles’. They looked at each other and nodded.
Hyde was still trying to understand why the man beside her had been unwilling to be completely honest with her. Was he hiding something for her own good? Her heart told her to give him the benefit of the doubt, but her gut had other ideas.
Licking his lips, Marcus said, “We need to stop for a moment, I’m gasping.”
Hyde agreed. They hadn’t taken a breath since leaving the bomb shelter, and her level of fatigue was noticeable as well. The only reason she hadn’t said something sooner was because she knew Marcus had been focussed on trying to figure out where Judd had gone with his daughter. Every joint in her body ached, but none more than her knees, which hadn’t yet recovered from their abuse the previous night.
Marcus had set an unrelenting pace as they moved through torrential wind and rain, and a chance to take the weight off, if only briefly sounded wonderful. The road was lined with the rubble of buildings, which had once cast it in shadow. Much of the stone debris was large and ideal for perching. Hyde found a dry spot to sit, and Marcus joined her.
Marcus offloaded the bergen onto the damp road, then rolled his shoulders. Hyde took out two of the bottles of water and handed one to him. He nodded in appreciation, giving her a wry, unsettling smile.
They sat drinking, saying nothing as the clouds made way for the sun again. Hyde stared up at the sky then closed her eyes. The growing heat was a welcome relief. She thought about many things; her dead family, the attack on her unit, Charlie Farlie and everything else that had happened over the last few weeks. Putting everything in perspective, she should have been thankful she was even alive. There were so many things that should’ve killed her, yet here she was. Marcus was to thank for at least one of those occasions. Had he not found her and dragged her back to his cavernous hideout, she would have been buried in the dust.
After half an hour of drinking in the hazy sunshine, and sitting in mutual silence, Hyde and Marcus resumed their journey toward Knaresborough, not knowing what they’d find when they arrived.
~
Still surrounded by stone rubble where buildings once stood, they came to another signpost, ‘Mother Shipton’s Cave, one mile’. The thought of having to spend the night in another cave made sweat break out on Hyde’s back. I can’t do it, not again.
“We’ll avoid the caves, shall we?” Marcus said, his expression understanding.
“No more caves, sir—I’d rather take my chances in the open.”
Marcus smiled, bringing her into a side hug. She returned the smile uneasily, stiffening at his touch, but after a few steps, she began to loosen up, taking in the warmth of his body.
They walked like that unti
l she broke away, wanting to concentrate on the mission instead of feeling his touch. The hugging was slowing them down. They needed to get off the road and find shelter before the next storm front came through. It wasn’t far off. She could smell it in the air. But instead of turning toward Mother Shipton’s Cave, the pair carried on heading to Knaresborough town, hoping to find somewhere suitable to bed down for the night.
Hyde looked straight ahead, cupping her hands over her eyes to filter out what remained of the sun. She could make out silhouettes of crumbling buildings breaching the skyline, their broken contours surrounded by an orange hue. It had to be Knaresborough. She couldn’t help noticing that Marcus was oblivious to the fact that they were so close. He seemed to be in another plane of existence. She clicked her fingers in front of his face, and he shook his head a couple of times to bring himself back.
“What is it?” he asked, sounding drowsy.
“Look ahead, sir,” Hyde pointed to the silhouettes over the horizon. “I think we’re close.”
The signpost only said one mile, but it seemed as if they had been walking for hours. Fatigue and the fact they hadn’t eaten that day were playing a big part in the deception. The closer they got, the bigger the silhouettes became. The pair turned to each other, both of them forcing a smile. Their pace quickened as they headed toward the ruins of the once regal manses that lined either side of the street en route to the town’s centre.
Hyde wondered whether there would be anywhere she could pick up some clean clothes. Her uniform hadn’t been washed since she left London.
~
The closer they got to the town centre, the more hopeful Hyde became. She began to wonder if they would find more survivors. It was a built-up area, and many of the buildings were still standing. She wouldn’t go so far as to say they were structurally sound, but they were enough to shelter in for the night. The majesty of the town square, its cobbled streets and old world look, had remained intact, despite the decaying brickwork and the debris caused by the bombs that had hit further north. If there were any more survivors, this was where they would be. But with places like this, there were always hidden dangers. Cavers could quite easily move from their traditional habitats into built up areas, coming out of their comfort zones in order to boost their food supplies. And scavengers lurked everywhere. It played constantly on Hyde’s mind as they made their way through the town, looking for anything useful.
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