by Alan Hyder
‘Everything’s fine,’ I assured her. ‘We can get fixed up here nicely. Now we’ll go out to the back and inspect the caves, for we’re sleeping in one of them tonight. I’ll carry a bed out for you, get the entrance ready for barricading, and then we’ll see about a meal. Get our sleeping quarters ready first though. It’ll be dark soon.’
There were two caves, the eastern cottage having an outhouse. We went into the one belonging to the cottage we had commandeered. About twelve feet deep by five across, and I could stand without bending close to the entrance. The cave was floored with sand and stocks of dried herbs, potatoes, and corded wood littered it. At the back was a small amount of coal. Working fast, I cleared most of the stuff out into the yard, arranged a barricade we could pull easily into place from the inside, and hung a blanket about the mattress I spread on the floor for Janet. Sweating and tired I stood to survey the result.
‘There. That’s fine, don’t you think?’
‘It’s grand. We’ll sleep safely in there.’
‘Anyway, it’ll do until I fix it up more permanently later on.’ I looked down at Janet sitting on the mattress pulling off her shoes. They were holed, and on her feet were red blisters showing through tattered stockings. ‘You sit down here, and I’ll go and get you some water to bathe your feet with; then, before I see if there’s anything to eat in the place, I’ll have a walk up to the top of the hill just in case Bingen is anywhere about.’
I brought water and, leaving Janet intent upon her blistered feet, climbed to the hilltop and scrutinized the darkening evening until my eyes ached for signs of Bingen, yelling and whistling between two fingers in a way I had forgotten since boyhood days. But there was no response.
To the north-east, glowing embers of London were beginning to reflect in the dark blue sky, and, circling the horizon, scattered fires were beginning to be prominent in the dusk. From the top of some hill far away on my right hand there floated upwards a continual fountain of sparks. I wondered what it was, and scrambled down into the valley again. It was hopeless, shouting for Bingen. He might be miles away. he would have to get on the best he could. He knew near enough the place we intended to go, and here we were waiting for him. There was nothing else to do.
With kettle, cups, plates, stale bread, and a hunk of dry cheese I went through the cottage to the cave and, squatting before a fire, we toasted the hard bread, smarming it with melted cheese, washing it down with strong tea, milkless, sugarless.
‘I suppose you’re laughing at my welsh rabbit?’ I asked her smilingly. ‘But there, I’m no chef. Later on, when you’ve rested, you’ll have to attend to all that.’
‘I think we are ever so lucky to have this,’ Janet answered, swallowing a mouthful with an effort. ‘When you think where I might have been, I . . . And it is all thanks to you.’
‘Nonsense. Perhaps if it hadn’t been for you, Bingen and I would have been wandering about now, terrified out of our lives, looking for some hole to dive into. You see, if it hadn’t been for us picking you up, we mightn’t have thought about this place.’
‘You mean that you wouldn’t have worried about getting to some place where you were safe?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t say that. But there is something in it. Anyway, here we are. Cosy as bugs in a rug, and tomorrow, I bet, Bingen will appear on the scene wanting dinner.’
We fell silent. Before us the fire burned cheerily. Queer the comfort and terror one can get from a fire. About us the hills loomed into the purple sky, and above, despite the comet’s rosy hue, instead of horror, great stars blazed fiercely in a clear sky. Silence and content began to close my eyes. I rose, stamped out the fire, gathered together the pots.
‘This won’t do. I’ll be asleep in two minutes if I stay here. We’ll go to bed. Have a long, long sleep and make up for all the nights we’ve been missing it, eh?’
‘I’m tired too,’ Janet yawned. ‘If once I go to sleep, I’ll never wake up again.’
‘Come along then, you’ll go to sleep all right.’
In the cave I pulled the barricade into position, lit the candle I had placed ready on a ledge in the rock-wall, settled the blanket so that it completely shielded Janet’s mattress after she had retired behind it, and sank thankfully, stretching full length, upon the bed I had made for myself upon the sand. The candle burned smokily, tracing a twisting smear on the rock. I watched it sleepily while I listened to Janet moving behind her blanket. There was silence. I wondered where Bingen was.
‘Are you ready for me to blow out the light?’ I spoke to the blanket.
‘Yes.’
‘Good night then, Janet.’ The light was out, and I curled comfortably on my bed. ‘Go to sleep and don’t be frightened, will you. You’ll be all right in here with me. Good night, kid.’
There came no reply from behind the blanket, and I leant on my elbow until apprehending. The girl was scared to be sleeping here in the cave with me. I felt sorry, ashamed that should be so, and lay down again. For a while I lay brooding, and then my eyes closed sleepily for I was dead tired, but suddenly I was startled awake, for the blanket was thrown aside and, with a pattering of bare feet on the sandy floor Janet was beside me. She flung herself by my side and my arm went about her.
‘Let me stay here with you, Garry, please,’ she whispered against my shoulder in the dark. ‘Please let me stay here with you.’
‘Then you’re not scared of me? Not frightened of being here with me? Janet, I’m glad of that. I thought you were.’
I held her tightly, glad of her trust in me.
‘Here, I’ll tell you what. It’s silly for you to be sleeping on the floor when there’s that mattress in there. I’ll light the candle and pull it out here. Then you can go to sleep on my arm and pretend you’re a baby again, and that I’m an old uncle looking after you.’
‘Get the mattress . . . but don’t light the candle, Garry, please.’
I did not understand but, in the dark, pulled the mattress from under the blanket and folded clothes upon it for a pillow.
For a long time Janet lay silently in the crook of my elbow, and I thought her asleep, until she spoke softly, and I could feel that she moved her head further into my encircling arm.
‘Garry. Are you asleep?’
‘No.’
‘You’re not old enough to be my uncle. You’re not as old as Bingen?’
‘No. I’m sorry, but I think Bingen is a few years older than I am. Why?’
‘Oh. Nothing. Good night, Garry.’
‘Good night.’
VII
The Valley of Security
THROUGH THE BARRICADE slanted a shaft of sunshine to waken me. Gently I released my arm from the sleeping girl to sit awhile, musing speculatively down at her, and then, carefully to avoid disturbing her, let myself through the barricade, and climbed in the misty morning from the cottage to the summit of the surrounding hills.
To the north-east, remaining panes of glass in a great building twinkled like a signal, reflecting redly some near-by fire; closer there lifted, lazily, clouds of smoke from a smouldering clump of buildings; away at the end of the long slope I could see the oblong green of the nearest village surrounded by burned houses; to the north the town of Croydon burned. Where, in all that fire-razed country, was Bingen? But for wakening Janet, who would be nervous finding me gone, I would have shouted. No sign of Vampires smudged the sky, and presently I slid back to the valley.
From the back window as I busily swept, tidying the room, I glanced towards the cave, and presumed Janet slept on. With the room cleared and a kettle upon the grate I went into the next houses to see what I could do about getting rid of the bodies. One by one I carried them into the end yard, covering them with stuff from the outhouse. Later, I would find a way to inter them. Until then, they were out of sight of the girl. Two dogs and four cats there were among the people and, like their masters, had died in a similar fashion. While I put finishing touches to the covering pall there stalked sl
owly, from the other cave, a black cat. With tail erect it came stiff-legged towards me with the air of expecting trouble. It took me some time to make friends with it, and when at last I persuaded it to approach close enough to be caressed, its ears slid back and, spitting, it fled away into the cave. Stooping, I watched it go. Janet and I would coax it out with food. I made to go into the cottage again when a shrill scream jumped me over the party wall towards our cave.
Hunched in line, staring with eyes which did not turn as I came close to them, were three Vampires, and of Janet there was no sign. I cursed myself for a fool leaving her alone even as I sprang for them. One by one I grabbed leathery wings, flinging them to the ground with all my strength, and when they lay staggering to recover their equilibrium, had to watch helplessly, for the sword was along with Janet in the cave. I resolved, running to fetch it, never in the future to have it beyond reach.
Behind the blanket Janet crouched, crying softly, and so frightened was she I had quite a job to make her understand it was I, that we were safe. Afterwards, I heard she had risen and walked yawning from the cave when she found me gone, right out to the three things squatting in the yard. I calmed her and went to settle the Vampires.
Recovered once again, they sat facing the entrance as I emerged. The first I lifted, dashing it to the ground, to slash at its fluttering wings even as it dropped. The second I had more trouble with, hacking at its neck repeatedly before I could kill it. The third did not move, hunched, watching with bleak eyes the destruction of its fellows. I reached for it, heaving heavily, more strongly than I intended. It lifted in the air, turned, tried vainly to recover its poise while I waited with lifted sword, and then dropped squarely upon the low enclosing wall of the well. For a second it beat with spiralling wings uselessly, leaning gradually backward to fall at last into the well. I reached the parapet in time to see it falling, bouncing from side to side, wings beating uselessly. It disappeared into the darkness and I heard the wet flop as it reached bottom . . . and splashing.
The thing was in our only source of water!
Janet ran across to me, clutched my arm.
‘Oh. It’s gone. I’m glad.’
‘Glad! What are we going to do? It’s down in the only water supply we’ve got. There isn’t any closer than the houses over the hills. This well supplied the three cottages.’
‘It doesn’t really matter, does it?’
‘It does! You saw it go down the well? We won’t be able to stay here unless we’ve got water. We can’t drag water all the way from those houses.’ I waved my hand towards the hills vaguely. ‘I searched the place this morning. There’s no other water. I’ll let down the bucket and see if it will come up in it.’
The bucket dropped and rose repeatedly as I worked hastily at the windlass. Each time it rose dripping with cold water, but the Vampire bat stayed at the bottom.
‘You’d think anything with a spark of life in it would clutch at that bucket to save itself, wouldn’t you,’ I said petulantly to Janet, and stopped lowering the bucket. ‘I’m going to get it out somehow. I’m not going to have to leave this place because of one of those things.’
‘Will it hurt down there?’
‘I don’t know, but it’s coming out if I have to go down and pull it out. It might poison the water, drowning in there. God knows where we might find another place to satisfy our needs like this. Might be searching around for months. I haven’t an idea where else to go.’
‘But you couldn’t go down there in the dark with that,’ Janet cried. ‘You couldn’t. I couldn’t stay up here while you did it.’
‘Oh, I’ll go down. There won’t be much in it. Be a nasty job, but I won’t be down there two seconds. Would you like to stay on here and have to drink the water that thing died in?’
Janet shuddered.
‘Give me a hand then to pull the rope off the windlass and tie knots in it every foot. They’ll act as a sort of ladder.’
Overcoming her fears, she lent a hand, and together we detached the bucket, prepared the rope, and dropped it into the well.
‘I’ll go down and you can stay here, but if anything happens you aren’t to wait for me to come up, but make a dash for the cave. I’ll be able to look after myself. Then I’ll come to you. Shan’t be long.’
The last thing I saw as I went over the wall was her white face trying to smile pluckily as I slipped down. My eyes went out of the light and I wished fervently I had thought of some other way to recover the thing. Nearly, I clambered back. I would have, but for seeing Janet waiting for me to pull the Vampire out. After all, I told myself, as I went steadily, slowly down, the thing could not hurt me, but thoughts of being clutched by that filthy thing down here in the dark made me shiver. Desperately I slid down the last few yards with a rush, and my feet dangled in cold water.
Above, the circle of blue sky, such a height away, was broken by the intruding silhouette of Janet’s curly head staring down. To drown down here with something clamped upon my body! Spurred into ction by imagination I kicked about with my legs, swinging from side to side.
I felt the softness of the Vampire but, bobbing in the water, it evaded me again and again until my boot pushed it to the wall while I guided it into position between my legs. With a secure hold on it I began to climb. Three feet, four, five! I heaved up the rope to realize as I rose that I could not climb without my legs to aid me! Inch by inch I pulled myself upwards, knowing I attempted the impossible. I hung by one hand trying to bend so that I might somehow get the Vampire under my arm. That would give me the use of my legs to step upon the knotted rope, but as I bent and reached, wings tightened about my calves, winding to tether my legs together. I kicked, twisted, trying to free myself, let it fall back into the water, but could not.
‘Are you all right?’
Janet’s voice came tumbling down to me.
‘No! I’ve got it on my legs. I can’t climb with it and I can’t shake it off.’
The rope jerked suddenly to almost loosen my hold.
‘Don’t try to pull me up. You couldn’t. And the rope jerks. I’ll have another try to get out.’
Slowly I pulled myself up. Joints of my arms were red-hot, aching, till I feared they would let me down. My lungs inflated explodingly, and in my groin grew an unbearable pain. Between my dangling legs the Vampire held still, as though it knew it was being saved, and it did not loose its hold. Motionless as it was, above even the fear I should not be able to pull myself out was the fear it would climb upon me, my shoulders, my face.
With the top no more than twelve or fifteen feet above, I hung limply, beaten, after what seemed months of heart-breaking effort, so limply, my hands nearly opened to let me plunge back into the dark and the water with the Vampire.
‘Oh, try, Garry. Try again,’ Janet’s voice came despairingly to me, and it seemed she was a thousand miles away, her voice sounded so distant.
‘I can’t. I’m done,’ I called huskily, but the words were hoarse muttering in the well, and Janet did not hear.
I was beaten, and only the thought of Janet up there alone in the sunlit world with its horrors kept my hands clenched on the rope. I must hang on. Hang on.
The rope swung as Janet’s hands strained at it uselessly, hardly moving it from the vertical, but the movement bumped me between the circular wall, swinging me round and round. The searing ache in my shoulders dulled. Could I hang there until I recovered strength? But the rope was slipping slowly, surely, between my palms. I was finished.
And then miraculously into the circle of sky by the side of Janet appeared the head and shoulders of a man. I thought it was Bingen, but did not care who it was, too fatigued to lick dry lips and call, shout that he pull me up. Vaguely, I know he shouted down, and the bull-roar of his voice set the rope swinging again unless it was, as he shouted, he tugged upon it. Then I recovered from faintness and understood the import of his shouting, knew it was not Bingen.
‘’Old on, ol’ cock. ’Old on! I’ll �
��ave you out o’ there in two shakes.’
The rope jerked, sliding my hands downwards, and then I was being lifted with a violence which ripped the sleeve from my shirt and grazed my arm along the brickwork. I called to him to heave more gently, for now, with rescue heartening me, I feared the Vampire between my legs would lose its grip to fall, make the whole effort worthless. But gasping and panting I was pulled over the wall to lay in the sun, and still on my legs the thing was clamped securely. Cramp had stiffened my limbs so that I could not move even after the man had pulled the Vampire from me and flung it away.
‘You know how to deal with them?’ I gasped.
‘You bet I does,’ he answered with a grin. ‘Better now?’
‘Not quite, but will be in a minute.’
My heart beat as though it must burst from my chest while I tried to fill my lungs with the sweet air. The sun blackened before my eyes, and dimly I felt a bottle being pushed between my clenched teeth. A fiery trickle of neat brandy running down my throat revived me, and I sat erect coughing, spluttering, to feel extremely foolish. Janet, sitting back on her heels, eyed me solicitously.
