Dark Winter Series (Book 1): Dark Winter

by Fernfield, Rebecca

  “Yeah? What do you want?”

  Taken aback by his brusque, deeply unfriendly tone, she replied with the sinking realisation that he was not going to let her pass. She had to get in and see Jem! “I’ve come back. It was stupid of me to leave.” She swallowed against a drying throat. “Is Gregor here? I’d like to see him.”

  Jake grunted and the door closed. Panic began to rise, and Anna’s heart beat faster. She had to get Jem out. If they wouldn’t let her in, how would she ever see Jem again? She raised a hand to rap at the door, more determined than ever to gain entrance, but the door opened before she had a chance to knock. “Come in,” Jake said gruffly. “And be quick. You’re letting the cold in.”

  The heat in the room was stifling, and Anna’s cheeks began to burn. The fire burned fiercely, throwing out a glow against the cold light reflected from the snow in the unlit room.

  “Anna!” The door closed and Jem moved across the room, flinging her arms around her sister.

  Instead of berating her for leaving without saying a word, she returned the hug.

  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “So am I,” Anna lied, scanning the room. Apart from Jake and her sister, the room was empty. “Where’s Gregor,” she asked. “And Callum?”

  For a moment Jake didn’t reply, then he said, “Gregor’s in his office. Callum’s upstairs.”

  “Can I see him? Gregor, that is,” Anna asked. The last thing she wanted was to see Gregor but regaining his trust until she could talk to Jem and convince her to leave, was crucial. Forcing herself not to ask about Callum, the ‘him’ she really wanted to see, she followed Jake to the ‘office’.

  The door opened to a large, panelled room, complete with roaring fire, desk, and heavy curtains. In complete comparison to the modern styled kitchen and living room, the ‘office’ seemed dated although still had the air of expense and quality evident throughout the rest of the house. Gregor sat in an oversized office chair, the back reaching above his head. A nearly empty bottle of whisky sat beside a half-filled tumbler. The man he had killed smiled from a photograph on the mantel, white teeth grinning through his thick black beard. Gregor’s face was pale against the black leather despite the heat in the room. He seemed to flinch as she entered, and his face quickly fell to one of cold suspicion.

  “You are back!” he stated.

  “Yes ...” she said hesitantly. “It was a mistake to leave.”

  “Mistake? Explain.”

  “Well ... I thought they would help us, but they just wanted to hand Jem over to Social Services.”

  He nodded without taking his eyes from hers then said, “But you didn’t want to stay here. You did not trust Gregor. Why should I take you back?”

  She fumbled in her mind for the right words, words that would sound convincing. She decided to tell the truth—in part at least. “I was afraid. You killed that man and ... and I hardly know you. It scared me ... but I can see that I ... we ... need you, Gregor. I don’t know what’s going on, but people are going crazy out there. They’re breaking into shops to steal the food. Some men tried to attack me on the way here. There’s no electricity so no heat and it seems that every hour the temperature drops. I don’t know how we’ll survive without you.”

  As she spoke, Gregor relaxed and leant back into his chair. A smile curled onto his lips. “It is true. As I told you. People will become animals in this time, and it is Gregor who will keep you and Jem safe.”

  His words were spoken with firm sincerity, and Anna’s determination to escape began to dim. Perhaps Gregor was right. Despite the kind of man he was, perhaps because of the kind of man he was, the safest place for her and Jem was right here and not at some isolated farm. Gregor rose and walked towards her then placed an arm across her shoulders. It felt comforting and she leant her head against his shoulder, surprised at her feelings. “There, there,” he soothed as he stroked her hair, the smell of whiskey strong on his breath. “Gregor will protect you.”

  He walked her through to the kitchen, instructed Jake to make her some hot chocolate, then disappeared back into his office. Jem joined her in the kitchen and they both sat at the central island sipping warm drinks. Jake’s face remained stony as he left the kitchen, without having said a word to her. He seemed on edge.

  “What’s wrong with him?” she asked Jem and took another sip of the warm chocolate.

  “I don’t know. He was like that when I got back.”

  “He seems very ... grumpy.”

  Jem shrugged and tipped the last of the drink into her mouth then wiped her finger around the rim, chasing the last of the chocolate from the cup.

  “I haven’t seen Callum.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Not since you got back?”

  “Nope.”

  A cold shiver ran through Anna’s bones. Callum had allowed them to leave last night and if Gregor had discovered that fact then ... She rushed to the kitchen window, checking beyond the snow-covered lawn to the shed, heart pounding, but was unable to see the side where the body lay beneath the snow.

  “What’s wrong?” Jem asked as Anna peered out of the window.

  “Nothing,” she lied. “I just wanted to see if it’s still snowing.”

  Jem tutted. “Of course it is, you retard, anyone can see it.”

  “Hey!” Anna reprimanded. “There’s no need to be rude.”

  “Well, you’re just being stupid.”

  Jem’s attitude had taken a discernible, and derogatory, shift. Rather than stir up more irritation between them, Anna placed her cup in the sink and wandered through to the living room. Jake sat at one end of the couch with his head propped against the cushion. He eyed her as she moved into the room then stared out of the window as she sat on the other end of the sofa.

  Jem retrieved a stack of board games along with a pack of cards in a cupboard and they entertained themselves playing drafts, snakes and ladders, and snap for several hours as Jake prowled through the house. Gregor made no appearance, but nor did Callum and, as the light began to fade and Jake lit a candle, she couldn’t hold her tongue a moment longer.

  “Jake ... I haven’t seen Callum. Where is he?”

  Jake grunted. “Upstairs,” he replied after a moment. “Sleeping.”

  The hair on Anna’s neck prickled. Without heat, the upstairs rooms would be freezing. Jake was lying.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  As the room grew dark, lit only by the tealights placed on the kitchen’s central island and the glow from the log burner, Anna boiled the kettle on the small gas stove now sat beside the sink and searched the wall cupboards for the packets of pre-flavoured dehydrated noodles that Gregor had requested. Illuminating the tins and packets with the torch Jake had allowed her to borrow with a terse, ‘Don’t keep it on for long’ she checked through the cupboards. She took several packets of curry-flavoured noodles, then scoured the cupboards for something to take for the pounding headache that had begun to plague her as the sun began to set. She found a box filled with vitamins, topical creams, pain killers, and sleeping pills. She stared at the packet, adrenaline suddenly making her hand tremble. Slipping the sleeping pills into her pocket she placed the packet of pain relief tablets on the counter and closed the cupboard door.

  Intensely aware of the pills in her pocket, she checked that Gregor’s office door was still closed, and that Jake wasn’t snooping, then popped four sleeping pills from their blister packet and dropped them into the waiting pan. Crushing them with the base of a wooden spoon, she added the noodles, covered them with boiling water and added the sachet of curry powder then stirred, making sure the pills were well mixed in. Preparing noodles for herself and Jem in separate mugs, she ladled the drug-laced noodles into two bowls, drizzling them with the remaining liquid. Taking a bowl through to the living room, Jake took his, greedily forking the slippery noodles into his mouth before she had a chance to leave the room. Gregor thanked her politely, downed the remainder of another glass of whis
key, and then began to eat. She watched him swallow a large mouthful, then closed the office door.

  As Anna ate her own noodles, she watched for the effects of the sleeping tablets on Jake. Within ten minutes of eating the noodles he had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly. When she was certain that he had fallen into a deep sleep, she checked on Gregor. He too was asleep, curled up on the sofa, a thick blanket pulled up to his chin. The fire crackled, its orange glow filling the room. Gregor grunted as she pulled the door closed, letting out a low and grumbling snore.

  Satisfied that both men were fast asleep, she took the torch, told Jem to stay put, and made her way upstairs. On the first floor, there were four bedrooms and one master bathroom. She ignored the bathroom and made her way to the bedrooms. The first one was empty but, in the second, she found Callum. Her breath misted white as she entered the freezing room, and her skin prickled as it reacted to the difference in temperature from the stuffy room downstairs. She shivered and trained the torch onto the bed. Callum’s hair stuck out from the top of the duvet and the bedclothes moved rhythmically as he breathed.

  “Callum!”

  A finger curled around the duvet, pulling it below his chin.

  Anna gasped.

  Callum was almost unrecognisable. Both eyes were swollen and marked by red and purple bruising. Blood caked the side of his face, and a deep split cut into his lip. Blood was caked around his nose and upper lip. One eye remained closed as he looked at Anna. He grunted for her to remove the light.

  Upending the torch on the floor, light shone in a circle on the ceiling.

  “What happened? Who did this to you?”

  Callum grunted again, attempting to force words out, then licked at parched lips. “Gregor.”

  Pain knotted in her stomach as she watched him struggle to speak. “I’ll get you a drink. Just wait there.”

  “Not going anywhere,” he grunted.

  Within two minutes, Anna was back in the room, helping Callum sip from a glass of orange juice. When he had taken several sips, she pushed him to talk. He explained that Jake had discovered him watching her leave. They had argued in the kitchen, and then Jake had informed Gregor. Gregor’s reaction had been explosive, and it was only Jake’s final intervention as the beating had taken a sinister turn that had saved Callum’s life. He had blacked out but crawled upstairs out of Gregor’s way when he regained consciousness. Neither man had bothered to check on him.

  “Why didn’t you leave?”

  “And go where, Anna? Beat up like this, I wouldn’t last five minutes in that cold.”

  She stroked his forehead. His skin was cold and clammy.

  “Is the power back on?”

  She shook her head. “There’s nothing. No electricity at all, so no lights, no heating. People are starting to break into the shops.”

  He grunted as though it was what he expected, then said, “Why are you back here? I thought you were safe.”

  “Jem!” she said with an exasperated sigh and a quick look to the half-open door. “She overheard the policewoman talking about Social Services and bolted. I had to come back for her.”

  “And do what? If they’re coppers, they’ll have to turn you in.”

  “I’m not going back there, but I do have somewhere to go,” she whispered. She hesitated then said, “Come with me!”

  His eye opened a fraction, pushing against the swelling. Hope glittered for a second before extinguishing. “I can’t.” He eased back into the pillow.

  “You have to, Callum. If you stay here ... I think he’ll kill you.”

  Callum grunted again. All hope lost.

  “I’ve drugged them,” Anna said in conspiratorial tones. “We can get away.”

  Callum made a curious noise in his throat, and the hope returned to his good eye. “Drugged them?”

  “Sleeping pills. I gave them two each. It said on the packet just one. They’ll be dead to the world for hours. We can get out of here and be long gone before they wake.”

  With effort, Callum raised himself in the bed. The pain in his posture and his face was obvious, but he managed to sit then swing his legs to the floor but held his ribs. “And what about Jem?”

  “I haven’t told her about the safe house.”

  “She might not want to come.”

  “She’ll have to!”

  “Gregor’s done a good job on her—put a lot of effort into making her dependent on him.”

  The dread returned to Anna, but she ignored it. “I’m not going to think about that. She has to come with me. End of story.” As Callum began to rise, she helped him to stand. “Is anything broken?” she asked as he stood on unsteady feet.

  “Some ribs maybe, but I can walk.”

  Before he made an effort to go down the stairs, she checked that Jake was still asleep. Satisfied that he was still heavily under the influence of the sleeping pills, she helped Callum to the ground floor then searched for his coat and boots.

  As she finished tying his bootlaces and zipped his coat, Jem woke. “Anna,” she said. “What are you doing?”

  “Shh!” Anna replied as Jake shifted on the sofa. He murmured as though waking. Anna stood frozen, a silencing finger at her lips.

  “What is it?”

  “We’re leaving,” Anna said, stepping across to Jem and handing over her coat. “And we have to leave now.”

  “But I don’t want to!”

  “Please, Jem. You have to be quiet. If Gregor or Jake wake up, then ...”

  “But I don’t want to leave, Anna. I like it here.”

  “I’ve got somewhere better to take you.”

  Jem stood, hands on hips, defiant. “I’m not going back to those people. They just wanted to call Social Services.”

  “Please, Jem, keep your voice down,” Anna whispered. “It was a mistake to go with them, but I’ve found us somewhere safe to go, and they won’t be there.”

  “But Gregor promised to look after me.”

  “Gregor’s not what you think, Jem,” Callum added and took a step closer.

  Jem gasped as she took in his beaten face. “What happened?”

  “Gregor did it,” Anna stated.

  “No! He wouldn’t do that. He’s nice and kind and-”

  “And he kills people-”

  “He did it, Jem,” Callum confirmed. “Jake held me down whilst Gregor punched me. They both did it.”

  Jem fell to silence still staring at Callum.

  “It’s true, Jem. I know that Gregor has been kind to you, but he’s dangerous too.”

  Jem took the coat from Anna’s outstretched hand. Jake grunted, and a loud thud came from the direction of Gregor’s office.

  “Now!” Anna said in a whispered hiss. “We have to leave now!”

  Heart beating, Anna ushered Jem into the kitchen and out of the door, boots in hand. She stalled at the door, looking back into the house.

  “Come on, Anna!” Callum said as she stood on the doorstep.

  “I’ve got one more thing to do. Both of you go. I’ll catch you up.”

  With a disbelieving frown from Callum, and a ‘No!’ from Jem, Anna ordered them to leave and closed the door.

  Making her way back through to the living room, she spent the next minutes locking each window and taking its key. She went through the same process in the kitchen and made sure that the front door was locked and the key in her pocket. Then returned to the office. Gregor lay on the floor, half-covered in a blanket, dead to the world. In the corner stood the stolen rifle. She strode to the corner, adrenaline pumping, and grasped the weapon surprised at its weight. It felt foreign and dangerous in her hands and she held it with something akin to awe, knowing that it contained live ammunition. Remembering Jez’s instructions, she clicked the safety lock into place, then made her way out of the house. Then, with the house silent, and all windows and doors locked, the keys in her pocket, and Jez’s rifle held across her chest, Anna ran through the snow to catch up with Callum and Jem.

&
nbsp; Fending off questions about the weapon, she led them to the gnarled tree, and retrieved the ‘bug out’ bag and the spare for Jem. Rucksacks firmly in place, they walked back down the country lane towards town. The pace was far slower than Anna was comfortable with, but Callum’s injuries made walking a painful chore, and they had no choice other than to keep moving forward through thick snow at a snail’s pace.

  Breathless, they left the lane where the road opened up to a large roundabout with three exits. Two would take them back into town, the third out to the northbound motorway. She checked Jez’ map then took the third exit and headed north. They continued along the empty carriageway for a further two hours before another junction took them to within five miles of the farm. The night sky was bright with twinkling stars and the moon cast its bright light onto the fields and trees covered in snow. In places it lay more than three feet deep. Progress was slow, but as a bitter wind began to blow, they arrived at the place marked as the entrance to the farm on the map.

  Blocked by a barred gate of tubular steel, the snow-covered hedgerow gave way to a gap with just enough space for a single vehicle to pass. Jem and Anna climbed it easily, jumping over the top bar and landing with a thud on the other side. Sinking into snow that reached her knees, Anna laughed, despite the weariness that had overcome her in the last half an hour. Callum leant against the gate, his breath coming hard.

  “Come on slow coach,” shouted Jem. “Anna said the farm’s just up here.”

  “Give me a minute,” he replied.

  The weariness in his voice was evident, and Anna climbed back over the gate. “Do you need me to help you?” she asked.

  “No,” he replied, but made no effort to move.

  “The gate’s padlocked, so I can’t open it for you. You’ll have to get over the top,” Anna urged.

  Callum nodded, then began to climb the gate, grunting with pain as he lifted his legs.

  “When we get to the house, you can rest,” she assured him. “There’s a fire and beds, and heating in all the rooms. There’s food too and we can cook.” He offered a pained grunt in response. “We’re nearly there, I promise.”