“The weirdest thing was that they just kept trying to bite people the whole time. I’m sure they were trying to eat people, and the only reason they didn’t was that they kept being dragged off the person they had bitten, then focused on someone different. They must have got their teeth into another ten people at least before the police arrived. I think that if that rugby group hadn’t been there someone would have died. They were proper heroes.”
“By the time the police got there most people were outside, but we were still inside with the rugby guys, the psycho’s and a few others who hadn’t made it to the door. The cops came out in force with full riot gear. When they entered the bar they were attacked the same as everyone else, but they had those big plastic shields in front of them. Even so, they had a lot of trouble arresting these three. The heavy duty batons they were swinging seemed to have no effect. Even after Tasering them it looked like a struggle to get cuffs on. One of the cops got bitten, but eventually ten of them managed to get the three nutters into the back of the van. After that they took all of our details, sent the badly injured to hospital in the ambulances that had followed them, and let the rest of us go. The bar’s been closed for investigation. The guy whose throat was bitten was still alive, but there is a good chance this will turn into a murder.” Simon finished.
The five of them sat in silence for a few minutes. No small talk was appropriate after a story like that. Ruth didn’t mention the scene that she had seen from the bus, as it seemed irrelevant after that, but she could not help but wonder about the similarities between the participants in the two events, and the similarities in behaviour.
The Farm
John was locked in the interrogation room by the kid who had been working on the front desk. If he had wanted to he knew he could have overpowered his captor and escaped, but in the long run he was sure that such an act would only guarantee him a prison sentence. He followed all instructions, handing over his belt and shoes, and emptying all of his pockets. He took off his watch, and signed what he was asked to sign. He was led to an interrogation room and was a model prisoner as he was incarcerated. The kid seemed relieved to be able to follow a routine that he knew and understood.
That had been twelve hours earlier, and since then he had had no contact with anyone. No lawyer had been presented. No food or water had been provided, and no opportunity to use a toilet had been offered. He was sure that he had basic human rights that were being withheld. He’d tried banging on the door to get some attention, but no one had come. He could hear noise from other cells that would probably drown out any noise he made. Having seen one man being locked up on his arrival he feared the state that the rest of the prisoners were in. He also wondered if they were being treated as badly as he was, or if he had just been forgotten because he was not being kept in a normal cell.
About an hour after John had resorted to using the bin as a makeshift toilet for the second time, leaving the room with an unpleasant odour of urine, he heard the door unlock, and leapt to his feet. “What the fuck’s going on?” he demanded, before a figure even had the chance to enter the room, “I’ve been left in here all day without a lawyer, or even as much as a cup of water.” He had wanted to get this out quickly, as he knew he would calm down and try to be accommodating far quicker than was appropriate in this situation. He was surprised to see that it was Sergeant Cooper entering the room.
In the morning the man had looked tired, now he looked absolutely battered. A large bruise was developing under his right eye, and his uniform was torn in a couple of places. It was evident that his extended shift had not ended and he could barely stay awake.
“Well, you can still talk, that’s a good sign.” he answered, “There is a definite lack of conversation coming from the other cells at the moment. All they seem interested in is biting people.”
“What’s going on out there?”
“The ones in the cells are still behaving exactly like the guy you saw us locking up when you arrived here. We’ve put two or three to a cell, and they seem to get along with each other just fine, but they seem ready to kill anyone else. Unlike you, they’re showing no interest in food or water. God only knows what’s wrong with them.” He rubbed a palm over the side of his face before continuing,
“In the wider world things seem to be calming down a bit. We got a bunch of reinforcements sent up from Suffolk, so this hell of a thirty hour shift is finally coming to an end.”
“What about me?” John asked. “Am I going to get a lawyer and get interrogated?”
“Not today. You’re being released on bail. You are not to leave the country and have to notify us of any travel plans, but otherwise you are free to go until we are in a better place to investigate the case. If you can just tell anyone who asks that we went through the necessary formalities I’d appreciate it. As soon as I’ve got you home I can get something to eat and get some long overdue sleep.”
“Works for me,” John confirmed. He wanted to be out of there with as little delay as possible. He followed as Cooper led him back to the car. There was a lot of noise coming from the cells, but otherwise the station looked unoccupied.
“Where is everyone? I thought you’d been reinforced?” John asked.
“At the hospital mostly. Quite a few of our guys have been hurt in the last twenty four hours and are in as patients. There’s also been a lot of violence breaking out there, so we have plenty of officers there to protect the staff. The hospital is looking as overstretched as we are. Quite a few of the doctors and nurses are needing treatment, and they’ve started sending people elsewhere.”
They got into the waiting vehicle. Cooper let out a huge yawn as he started the engine. “God I need to get some sleep.”
“What’s caused all of this? We never have any trouble around here.”
“Fucked if I know. In fifteen years on the force I’ve never seen anything like it. Even the five years I had in London had nothing like this.” He yawned again. “I need a new job. How’s life as a farmer?”
“I love it,” John answered, not giving any more detail, knowing the question to be rhetorical. The two sat in silence for the next couple of minutes, Cooper driving and yawning, John in the back looking out the window for signs of the chaos that he had been told about. The fields they passed all looked calm. He snapped to attention as they started to drift into one of those fields. He shouted at Cooper to wake up, and the policeman wrestled the car back onto the road, apologizing for the lapse. It had happened a second time before they got back to the farm and Cooper let John out of the back.
Before the car had stopped both of John’s parents were approaching. He smiled at them, and was nearly knocked over as his mum threw herself at him. He couldn’t help noticing that Cooper looked defensive for a moment until the action was undoubtedly a loving embrace.
“Let the boy breath, Jane,” he heard his Dad say, then directed at him, “So is it over, are you being released?”
“I’m just on bail. I’ll have to go back in for questioning at a later date. The police are pretty stretched at the moment, that’s why its taken so long.”
“Bloody hell, are you still on shift?” Matt asked, recognizing it was the same officer there who had made the arrest thirteen hours earlier.
Cooper yawned, “Dropping your son off is my last job of the day. I now just need to get home without crashing, then I can get some very well earned rest.”
“And is someone coming to replace that lad you left in my field? We’ve sent a couple of flasks of tea and a sandwich out to him, but he’s been standing there without a break for a long time.”
“Oh shit.” Cooper swore. “With all that’s happening I forgot all about him. Can someone go and get him. I’ll give him a lift home. We’ll have to send someone in to deal with the crime scene in the morning. Things seem to be calming down a bit now, so we should be following proper procedure again by tomorrow.”
Matthew summoned one of the farm hands and sent him to fetch the Office
r from his post by the tractor. He then invited Cooper into the house to wait for his colleague. Within a couple of minutes the policeman was asleep in an armchair, while the family quietly discussed the events of the day. On hearing that John had not eaten all day, they moved to the kitchen so that they could talk while Jane heated up a plate of dinner in the microwave for him. He told his parents all that he had seen and heard in the police station, and the poor treatment he had received there. His mum in turn told him about the conversation she had had with Ruth. His Dad sat quietly, looking pensive.
“Are you sure that Ruth has stayed in Newcastle? The Sergeant has said that things are calming down, but I still don’t want to think she is travelling into this.” John said.
“I told her not to. I said that there was trouble down here and she should stay away.”
“Might she have come anyway? I’ve never been arrested before, and I don’t think she’ll take any trouble around here too seriously.”
“I’ll give her a call and make sure she hasn’t. I need to let her know that you are back home anyway.”
Once she left the room the two men sat in silence, the son engrossed in his meal, the father deep in his own thoughts. After a few minutes the elder of the two asked, “With so many people acting crazy at the moment, do you think that could explain what happened this morning?”
John lowered his heavily laden fork. “That would kind of make sense. That tractor isn’t exactly fast, and it’s definitely not quiet. It’s not hard to avoid if you want to. If the guy ran at me from that blind spot where the pillar is it would explain a lot.”
“Hmm. I think that it might not be a bad idea to make access to the farm a bit more difficult, in the short term at least.”
“Is that not a bit of an overreaction?”
“I’m not talking about building walls or anything. We have ditches around all of the fields already. All I was thinking was putting gates across the bridges and having a couple of guards out at night. Maybe let the dogs earn their keep as well. It’s a while since they’ve done anything but eat and sleep.”
“It’s getting a bit late in the day to be setting up gates. It’ll be getting dark soon.”
“You’re right on that, but I’m still keeping a couple of guys on patrol tonight. I’ll tell them the neighbours have reported poachers in the area or something. If it all calms down like the copper through there says then I just have to pay a bit of overtime. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”
The conversation ended as the farm hand who had been dispatched earlier re-appeared with a tired looking policeman behind him. There were patches of mud on the latter’s uniform which suggested that he had been sleeping on the job, understandable given the length of his shift and the nature of the duties assigned to him. Before he could control himself he shot an envious look at the plate of food that John was demolishing. Quickly he recovered himself and asked “Where’s the Sergeant?” He looked scared that he had been tricked into leaving the crime scene without authorisation. Cooper walked into the room at that moment, and answered the question for himself,
“I was just resting my eyes. Never had a shift like it. I think it’s time we left these people alone and got ourselves back to our own homes.”
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to drive.” John intervened. “We nearly crashed twice on the way out here. Why don’t you spend the night here? We have space for you both.”
Cooper protested, but it was clear that his objections were out of politeness rather than being heartfelt. The offer of food won Andrews over, and Cooper was glad to capitulate quickly. He was quick to acknowledge that it he was no longer safe behind the wheel.
Matt quickly stepped into action preparing a meal for their guests. On the farm food was always plentiful, and appetites were voracious to match. Cooking was rarely gourmet, but the ingredients were generally fresh enough that they spoke for themselves. The time of year was not favourable for the vegetables, but they had some slices of gammon from one of their own pigs. He offered up some home-made bread and butter, while John got glasses of cider, also produced on the farm, for everyone in the room. They only produced Cereals commercially, but they dabbled in plenty of other produce. The farm hand, Tom, had had the sense to stay put for a few minutes and had been included in the round.
Jane re-entered the room, “I’ve spoken to Ruth and let her know what’s happening. She is still in Newcastle,” she said. “That’s our daughter.” she added for the benefit of the police officers in the room. She did not look particularly happy about the situation.
“What’s up love?” Matt asked.
“I’m worried about her,” she answered. “It sounds like there is trouble up North as well as here. People going a bit nuts and attacking each other for no reason.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s at home now and her house mates are all there, but she said that they all saw a pretty horrible scene in a bar when they went out without her. Three guys started attacking everyone for no reason, and kept biting people.”
“Did you tell her to stay indoors?”
“Of course. She isn’t going anywhere tonight. She sounded pretty upset, with that following John’s arrest.”
“Were any of her friends hurt?” Cooper interrupted.
“No. She said that there was a group of rugby players who were trying to protect everyone. One of them got really badly hurt but it could have been far worse if they hadn’t stepped in.”
“It sounds pretty similar to what’s been kicking off here. I don’t know if there’s a bad batch of drugs circulating or something, but it’s pretty worrying.”
“What should she do?”
“Stay indoors like she is doing. Keep an eye on the news. I’m sure this will blow over pretty quickly, but she just needs to make sure she is not caught up in it all.”
Jane did not look particularly happy with the answer, with its lack of new ideas, but accepted it in silence. Her husband could tell that she was on the verge of telling him to drive up to Newcastle to rescue their daughter, but she held back. He was tempted himself, but knew that it would be a ridiculous journey. Whatever trouble there was she should be safer where she was. The two policemen at the table did not say otherwise, and they had seen more of the state on the ground locally than anyone.
As soon as they had finished eating, and swallowed the last of the cider from their glasses, both of the policemen were nodding in their seats. John was sent to make sure that beds were ready for them. Tom was asked to fetch a couple of employees that Matthew knew would be keen on earning a bit of overtime pay. He was told not to say too much about what he had heard at the table, but to say that the police were a bit over stretched and that he was concerned that poachers would try to take advantage of the fact. There was enough truth in it, and anything else Tom said would be taken as nonsense.
The two men arrived just after the two policemen went to bed. Matt was glad that they had not crossed paths, as he was not sure how the police would have reacted to him putting armed guards on patrol. He handed each of the men a rifle and explained the situation to them as he wanted them to see it. Both were happy with the pay and the day off that they were offered in reward and took on the extra work. With a dog each, a powerful torch, and a rifle slung over their shoulders they set out to patrol the farm through the night.
Birstall Laboratory
He had rehearsed this conversation dozens of times in front of the mirror, and spent days sounding out his audience for receptivity, as he was terrified about how it would go in reality. What he was going to suggest, people just didn’t do in this day and age. He was scared about what they would think of him, and what they might say to everyone else. Religious doctrine was not something people at his level discussed. Whatever the risks, he was sure that it was the right thing to have this conversation. If the worst came to the worst he could still claim that he was just testing their resolve. They prob
ably wouldn’t believe him, but would have enough doubts to keep their mouths shut until they were all in paradise with forty two virgins each.
He started with, “My friends, we all know that we have to strike this important blow against our enemies. We are fighters in a Jihad and are fulfilling the obligations we have to destroy the infidels. We go forward without fear, knowing that Allah is with us.” He paused while the three men he was addressing showed their support for his statement. “Our target has been identified, and we will see it destroyed for the glory of Allah.” Again, applause for his words. “We are all prepared to die for this cause knowing that we will be rewarded in the afterlife.” Everything said to this point was popular, but the next line was where it became risky. “And if we survive, we will be ready to continue the fight until our enemies are destroyed once and for all…” That caused some confusion. They were all signed up as suicide bombers. Sacrificing their lives was a deeply ingrained element of their role in this battle. He paused and waited for the questions. The first was not long in coming.
“If we survive then we have failed and brought shame upon ourselves and our families!”
“If our objective is achieved and we still live what shame is there?” He answered.
“We are all here to make the ultimate sacrifice. If we walk away we have failed.”
“If we walk away we can continue to fight against the infidels. If we are dead we leave the fight to others. Do we do greater good in dying, or in living and continuing to fight?”
He was faced with some blank looks. They were not educated men in front of him, and they did not know how to argue with him. They were fearless, but easily swayed about how best to serve the cause that had been drilled into them since birth. If he played this wrong he knew that they would describe this conversation to their superiors and it could come out badly for him. Getting it right meant he may still be alive in a weeks’ time.
The Farm Page 3
