By this point Brittany was starting to make a bit of a racket, the chunk taken out of her shoulder looking nasty. Jed was not one for sympathy, and indicated to the other woman present, “keep her quiet will you.” Claire complied, and offered the minimal first aid skills that she had. Several of the gang who were standing gawping were dispatched to keep a lookout on different approaches. Jed’s attention then turned to Jose,
“Fucking hell man. We’re killers now.” He seemed excited.
“Jesus Christ.”
“Don’t worry man. We’re going to get rid of these bodies. The cops will never know nothing. I’ve got this all under control.”
“What the fuck were these guys on? I smashed two bottles on that fucker’s head, and he just didn’t give a shit. He just kept trying to bite us.”
“I know. We knifed the other one and he didn’t even notice. No arguing with a fucking bullet though eh, mate.”
“You better have a good plan. If the police find out about this we are completely fucked. Two guys die surrounded by twenty odd of us they’re not going to think too long about who started the trouble.”
“We just got to make sure that the bodies are too badly burnt for them to find the cause of death, and to get them well away from here. Me and you are going on a bit of a road trip.”
“Then what? We dump the bodies somewhere and burn them? That hardly sounds full proof”
“What else would you suggest brains?”
“The guys are busy jumping a car for us. We take the bodies five or six miles from here, then nick another car. Someone takes the first car back here and leaves it as it nothing happened. We get the second car from another shitty estate, so if the police do suspect its murder they assume it’s a gang from where the car was nicked. The cops won’t look too hard if they are given an obvious answer, and the two guys on the floor can’t have been pillars of society to wind up here trying to bite people. We burn the car with them inside and take a train home.”
“So the police think it’s either a gang where the car was found, or from where it was stolen trying to hide the evidence. Nice addition to the plan.”
“Do you still have your suit from your last court hearing? It could be useful to fit in with the early morning commuters a bit. Wouldn’t be good for us to stand out as we travel across London.”
“That wasn’t my suit. Billy there lent it to me.” Indicating towards one of the gang he said, “Go back home and get it for me… Have you got a suit for yourself?”
“I live closer,” was thrown in from the side-lines of the conversation. “I can get him a suit that will fit.”
“Then don’t just stand there. Get a fucking move on for it.”
The car arrived before either suit. The two guys inside it looked stupidly proud of themselves, each one like a dog that had fetched a stick for its master. The car was a piece of shit, but as it was running, and inconspicuous, it would suit their purposes perfectly. No one would ever notice an old Corsa on the road. Jed sent one of the two back to where the car had been stolen from to keep an eye out for whether its absence had been noticed. They kept the other guy behind the wheel. As soon as the two guy’s arrived with the changes of clothing, one of them even having the initiative to bring a can of deodorant, they set off, following the plan Jose had outlined. The first car was returned, with a splash of petrol so there was no evidence of its departure unless the owner kept a really close eye on the miles, which were already over 90k. The second car was burnt with its already dead occupants, in an isolated spot, but not likely to go unnoticed for long.
Jed and Jose took a train and the tube home looking like respectable citizens on their way to work, so no one expended a second glance on them. In a quiet moment Jed suggested disbanding the gang for a few weeks to keep a low profile, but Jose advised against it, suggesting they avoid any alteration to their normal behaviour. Jed agreed, and they decided to get everyone back together at the same spot at nine that evening. It was nearly eight in the morning when they got back to their local tube station and went their separate ways to catch up on their sleep.
When he walked into his house, Jose’s parents were having breakfast and following their normal pre-work routine. They didn’t look surprised at him walking in so late, but at times like this he could always tell how disappointed they were with the choices he had made in life. They wanted the best for him, and knew he could achieve something, but his choices had led him to loitering at street corners with a petty gang of hooligans. He tried to make out that he had been out with a girl rather than the usual crap, but no-one believed a word of it, despite the suit he was still wearing. It was not enough to offer any credibility after so many years. He told his parents that he was going to get a couple of hours sleep, then he was going to get himself down the job centre to find a proper job. This time he believed it, even if his parents didn’t. It was time to get himself well away from the life he was living. He would have to go out the next couple of nights to follow the advice that he had given Jed, but after that it would be time to slip away.
Newcastle
It wasn’t until she had got out of bed and was cleaning her teeth that Ruth remembered the events of the day before. It didn’t seem real, her brother being arrested after killing someone with one of the tractors, then the stories that her house mates had come home with. She figured that she should give her parents a call that morning for a catch up, but she wanted to leave that at least until she’d eaten some breakfast.
With some bread inserted into the toaster, and with water heating up to make tea, she walked into the lounge and switched on the TV, turning it to BBC news. They were talking about the latest trading results from Tesco, which was of no interest. Attention was turned back to making toast and tea. Only with that completed did she return to sit on the sofa and see what was happening in the world outside her house. The first thing she saw was the weather. Spring had kicked in properly, which was a relief as the Northern climate was far colder than she was used to. The difference was far more pronounced than she had expected when selecting Universities. The North East should be seeing some sunshine, which was always good news.
What she saw after, when they switched to local news, was far more worrying. The over polished young reporter was giving the news in a tone that seemed forced, rather than containing real concern. His expression was plastic, and his effort to speak clearly made him sound patronising, like his audience were children. His performance was a distraction, but did not hide the news that he was presenting. There had been a night of violence across Newcastle, which had left the police badly stretched. He offered some statistics about how many incidents had been responded to compared to a normal night, then went on to give a bit of detail on the nature of the incidents.
The first scene that the cameras cut to, she immediately recognised as Plunkett’s, where her friends had been the previous night. The details did not exactly match what she has been told already, but they were close enough to confirm both versions. According to the report one man had died on the way to hospital, and several remained there in a serious condition. Three men had been arrested. The report cut to a couple more locations and described similar incidents, indicating that there were plenty more across the city following the same pattern. From here they cut to one of the main hospitals in the region. An out break of violence had occurred, and it was suggested that some of the people brought in from the pubs and clubs were responsible, biting a number of staff members, who had had to be sent home.
A senior police officer was brought in and interviewed. He told the camera that he believed that a bad batch of drugs had arrived in the city that were affecting the user’s behaviour, and advised everyone to steer clear of unfamiliar substances and to report anything suspicious. In the meantime, he said, police were controlling the situation, and had increased local patrols, and were providing a visible presence within all of the regions hospitals.
As the report ended, and they moved onto the fluffier n
ews stories to finish the local segment Ruth got her phone and dialled home. Her Dad answered, and after the usual greetings she explained what she had seen on the local news. There was a few moments of silence before he responded.
“I think you should stay in your house today, and convince your house mates to do the same.”
“Is everything alright down there?” she asked. “I thought the police had told you that it had all calmed down now.” There was enough of a pause for Ruth to assume that he was being economical with the truth.
“There is nothing much going on here. We’re all working flat out as usual at this time of year. I just want you to keep yourself safe. Newcastle is a big place, so if people start going nuts there will be a lot of them. Just give the police a bit of time to get things under control. It shouldn’t take them long. They are more used to this kind of behaviour than the cops around here.”
“I can get the train home and be back there this afternoon if you’re really worried,” she suggested. Again, a pause for thought.
“I don’t want you travelling today. One of John’s friends called from London this morning. Apparently a couple of people went nuts on the tube this morning. With it being so crowded no one could move. Loads of people got attacked and bitten by these nutters, who didn’t seem to feel any pain when people tried to defend themselves. Most not serious, but nearly thirty people are going into work with injuries to explain, including John’s friend. It sounds like whatever has affected Norfolk has hit the whole country.”
“What’s gotten into people? This is a bit weird.”
“I don’t know… Your house mates are keeping clean aren’t they? Not popping any pills that they shouldn’t? The police seem to think it could be some dodgy batch of drugs.”
“Of course they are!” Feigning shock seemed more appropriate than giving details about the weed they had smoked together a couple of days earlier, or that a couple of them had been popping ecstasy before going clubbing the previous week. Economy with the truth worked both ways.
“I’m not stupid. I know lots of people are going to experiment with drugs in university, and you aren’t going to surround yourself with saints, just be careful while all this nonsense is going on Ok?”
“I’m not going to get into any trouble,” she told him, then to change the subject, “How’s John?”
“Not too bad. I’ve given him plenty of work to be getting on with today so he’s not sitting dwelling on things. He’s with the cows at the moment. We’ve got six of them now, by the way, almost a full scale dairy herd. We’ve effectively got a tractor out of action at the moment, so it’s going to be long days for everyone.” He didn’t mention putting people on guard duty at night, or erecting gates. They turned to general talk about the farm, and ended the conversation a couple of minutes later.
Ruth went back to watching the news hoping to get some more information about what was going on. The BBC had switched to the national news, but other than a piece about how overstretched the NHS was getting in some regions, specifically mentioning Norfolk and Tyneside amongst three others, there was nothing that could easily be related to the previous night’s violence. She kept watching to see if any more light was shed on events. When her tea ran out she went to the kitchen to make a re-fill. While she was in the kitchen Paul joined her, with a smile. Ruth offered him a tea, which he accepted.
“How are you doing today? Heard any more about your brother?”
“He’s still at home. Dad’s sent him out working on the farm, so it can’t be too bad.”
“Feeding pigs and turning mud. I’m not sure how much worse it could be,” he teased.
“Do you want to be wearing this tea? You’d be going pretty fucking hungry if there was no one putting the hard work into growing food.”
“Only kidding with you. Any chance you can lend me a couple of slices of bread?”
“Help yourself.” She returned to the TV with her tea, while Paul focused on making toast. He joined her a couple of minutes later. Seeing her choice of programming he asked,
“Aren’t there any cartoons on at this time in the morning? This is all looking a bit serious.”
“For an intelligent guy you are a bit of an idiot.” He smiled at her insult, “I was watching for news on what happened last night. Apparently Plunket’s wasn’t the only place with strange attacks last night. There has been a wave of it across Newcastle.”
“Seriously? With the crazy biting and shit? Cos that was really messed up.”
“The reports from the witnesses all sounded the same. The hospitals are swamped with patients, and a lot of those are turning violent.”
“I don’t get it. A couple of lunatics makes sense, but a wave across the city?”
“The police suggested that there’s a bad batch of drugs going around which is making people violent. It kind of fits with what you said about the guys yesterday feeling no pain, and having poor coordination. They were on something pretty nasty.”
“Do they have any idea how much of the bad stuff is out there? It kind of puts you off going to the pub.”
“At the moment I don’t think they know what it is, let alone how much is out there. I think they suggested that everyone stays indoors until they get this under control. I was on the phone for that part, so I didn’t catch everything.”
“Well, I had bugger all planned for today, so staying in doesn’t affect me too much. I hope those rugby players from last night are OK. We really owe them one after yesterday. Did they get a mention on the news?”
“Not that I saw. The reporters had quite a bit to cover I think, and didn’t go into that much detail.” She reached to pick up her tea to take drink. Paul saw his opportunity and snatched the remote off the arm of the sofa. Unable to stop him without spillage she accepted defeat. The BBC had switched to economic data, so she wasn’t too concerned at the loss. He celebrated his victory, holding the device aloft,
“The Power is mine!”
“Whatever.”
“Now we can finally watch Sponge Bob.”
“Can you remind me how you got into university again?”
“Nothing but good looks, charm, one A and two B’s.”
Their conversation was interrupted as Lucy joined them wearing a short pair of shorts and a thin vest top that she’d slept in. Paul tried, and after a brief struggle, succeeded in looking at her face, though his eyes seemed keen to rebel.
“Hey guys. What’s up?” she asked.
“Apparently there is a wave of drug fuelled violence spreading across the city. What we saw last night was just the tip of the ice burg.”
“Seriously?” She looked to Ruth for confirmation.
“There were more attacks through the night all across the city. I saw it on the news before this idiot insisted that we watch cartoons instead.”
“That’s horrible.”
“The news or the cartoons?” Paul asked. He was ignored.
“The police think there is a bad batch of something out there that’s making everyone who takes it act crazy. From what my Dad said, there is a similar issue in Norfolk, and in London.”
“The police say we should all stay inside with our doors locked until all the druggies can be brought under control. These are apocalyptic times!” Paul put his own twist on Ruth’s earlier lie.
“Is it really that serious?” Again, Lucy looked to Ruth for a sensible answer rather than Paul.
“It definitely wouldn’t hurt to keep indoors until this all calms down. People are definitely not acting normally. On the bus home yesterday I saw this little woman attacking a man twice her size. He didn’t know what to do as she kept flinging herself at him, even managed to bite him a couple of times. I thought it was just a bit of a domestic, but given what I’ve heard since it could have just been a random attack on a complete stranger. Seems to be an awful lot of it around at the moment.”
“Fuck. Paul, put the news back on.”
“But it’s Sponge Bob.” He protes
ted.
“Grow up.” Lucy snatched the remote from him and changed the channel. “I’m not going to be chewed on by some lunatic just so you can watch cartoons.”
He didn’t protest, now outnumbered and without control of his remote. To show his acquiescence he went the extra step of offering to make a round of tea, which was universally accepted.
A couple of hours later, Ruth was surprised to find that all of her house mates had taken the decision to spend the day indoors. It was not at her prompting, but a follow on from Paul spouting a load of crap. They had seen enough the previous day that while not really taking him seriously, enough attention was paid, and no one had plans that couldn’t be delayed. With half the house in pyjamas, and with the news on in the background they had a prolonged session around a monopoly board. As evening kicked in they ordered in a takeaway, which was the only time the front door opened that day. Ruth felt sorry for the takeaway boy, for the danger he might be in, but he seemed unconcerned. Other than that it was a really good day surrounded by friends.
The Farm
John was awake before six. It was not unusual. Darkness had not fully lifted, but daylight was not required to signal the start of the working day. As the sun’s first rays made their way over the horizon, prompting their roosters to compete over the loudest way to greet the new dawn, there would already be people at work. The nights were still long, but already the working days lasted sixteen hours. The last light of dusk and the first light of dawn were used. Darkness was challenged at either end of the day. Work was always the standard.
The Farm Page 5
