by Benson, Tom
“It does, but as I’m sure you can appreciate when you meet—”
“Two mint teas,” Ramona said, “and your meals will be with you shortly.”
They both nodded their thanks.
“Go on,” Helen said when Ramona left them.
“It’s not important—just thinking out loud.”
Helen reached out and briefly placed a hand on Sandy’s. “I’m only here on a brief visit, but while I’m here, I’ll be happy to hear whatever is on your mind.” She withdrew her hand as Alan approached the table.
“Filled, baked potatoes for two—enjoy.”
“Thank you, Alan,” the pair chorused.
They ate in silence and then enjoyed their tea, saying first how much they’d appreciated the food before they fell into a conversation about what Helen was to see during the afternoon.
“Obviously I walked along the upper section of the pathway yesterday when I arrived here, but how far down the mountain does it go?”
“It winds back and forward across the mountainside all the way down to the fields, and then it’s straight for a short distance until it reaches the lochside.”
“Victoria told me that shelters were being constructed on the mountainside and a log cabin.”
“We’ve made a lot of progress over the past couple of weeks while the expedition team were away on their adventure. The log cabin is completed and fit for purpose as a schoolroom and activity centre for the children.”
“What are the other shelters intended for?”
“Like many of our projects, the hillside shelters started out as basic and experimental.” He smiled. “They’ve moved on from basic and are now habitable.”
“When I think of the circumstances I’ve been living in, this whole setup makes me think I’ve been living in comparative luxury.”
“I’ll have to pay a visit to Aviemore sometime and check out what you guys have up there.”
“You’ll be most welcome, and it will be my turn to give you a guided tour.”
When they left the cafeteria, Sandy and Helen went along the glass corridor to the entry and exit portal, which was close to where the corridor met the old tunnel.
Helen paused to reach out and touch some of the remaining house-bricks which had been left in place. “These may just be a few bricks set around the opening into an old tunnel, but to your community, they must mean so much more.”
“They certainly do with regards to all those who had been on the coach. It was a double-layer brick wall, but when we later reduced it in size we wanted the opening to be a presentable reminder. For me, this area and those bricks serve to remind me of being on high alert. I met a handful of people in the corridor who shouldn’t have been there, and then climbing through a hole in a brick wall to find a whole lot of people in the old tunnel, desperate to survive.”
When they stepped out onto the small patio area, the pair stood and looked around at the incredible view.
Sandy said, “From here to the right, you’ll see that within a few miles the land fades from healthy colours to variations of brown and grey, and then it’s the revised west coast. To the left, about two miles away is the massive forest which you would have followed down between the mountains towards the end of your journey.”
“The end of an incredible journey.”
Sandy nodded and grinned. “To the front, we have what we consider an extension to our mountain home. You’ll see where the buildings are about halfway down, there is a path leading off to the left, which takes you straight to the forest.”
“What’s that broad line which goes down the mountainside parallel to the forest?”
“It’s a simple boundary so that we’re not caught out by any four-legged surprise visitors.”
“Of course, I was told that there was a wildlife reserve on the other side of the forest. I suppose you’d have to be prepared for anything turning up, but how does that strip help?”
“Half of the width has thistles and thorny varieties of greenery. Alongside and all the way down the hill is an equally wide strip spread with loose stone chippings, like the piles you saw in the old tunnel.”
“Another example of recycling the materials that once made up the railway. I love it.”
As they descended along the pathway, turned at one of the bends and continuing back in the other direction, Helen was looking at the construction.
Sandy said, “Have you guessed the purpose of the heather border on the lower side of the path?”
“It looks decorative, but it must be functional—perhaps to provide stability in the soil where you’ve flattened the earth.”
“Well done, you.”
“You’re not the only one out to create a good impression.” She gave him a sideways glance.
“Hello,” Marie said, as the couple approached the shelter she was working on. “I hope you won’t mind if I carry on with the rendering of this hut.”
“Is it built with turf bricks?” Helen said.
“Yes, we’ve got four of these now. One is free-standing, and the others are like this one, built into the mountainside. After cutting the living space into the hillside, the main structure is turf bricks, and when the walls have settled, we plaster the outside with mud as I’m doing here.”
“How does the door operate if there are no hinges or a handle?”
“Behind the front wall is a wooden frame. Long wooden battens at the top and bottom have grooves cut into them where the door fits, so it slides. Apart from not requiring any metal fittings, it’s a space-saver because the door doesn’t take up any room when it opens. The hole in the door is the handle.”
“Amazing. May I go inside?”
“Certainly.”
Helen eased the door back and went into the shelter which with its two windows was surprisingly bright. To one side, a raised wooden platform represented the sleeping area. In contrast, on the opposite side, a small fireplace was cut into the solid wall. The floor was laid with timber. She stepped outside again, slowly shaking her head.
“That is very cosy. Would I be right in thinking that these are really just for overnight stays and all meals and suchlike would continue to be supplied up at the cafeteria?”
“Yes, but as time goes on, we’ll continue to improve each of these, incorporating a table and stools. We’ve got a couple of people practising the craft of making homemade candles which will provide sufficient light.”
“Have you made some provision for toilet facilities?”
“It’s good to meet another person who thinks practically—yes, we have that underway too. I won’t go into detail regarding the design; however, if you look along the hillside beyond the next bend in the main pathway, you’ll see the foundations of a small building.”
Sandy said, “It’s being built over a mountain stream, and Archie, our plumbing engineer is designing a simple sewer system so that the water and its contents will be channelled downhill. It will go to an area of the loch which a team has already started to partition and filter.”
“Nothing is impossible here,” Helen said, and half-turned. “Thank you, Marie—we’ll move on and let you continue working.”
“Enjoy the rest of your tour.”
“Next up is our log cabin,” Sandy said and glanced over his shoulder to see Marie winking.
The log cabin was a large free-standing structure with three windows on both sides and a sliding door close to one end. The roof was thatched, and the walls had been rendered in a coating of mud. It gave the creation a look of permanence. Children’s voices could be heard within, so the visitors stayed outside and sneaked a look through one of the windows.
Jean, the ex-teacher was sitting at one end of the hut telling a story to a group of eight young children, who all gave her their full attention. The small class were sitting on wooden stools.
Sandy and Helen moved on without causing a disturbance. They followed the pathway past the small building still under construction, waving to Archie, Craig an
d Louise. They turned and continued downhill.
The pathway reached a flatter area which with its abundance of flowers could well be described as a meadow. A straight path led across the field to the lochside. A few metres to the left of where the path ended, Paul and Jay-Dee were using timber to improve and extend the small fishing pier they’d first built with large rocks.
“Hey,” Sandy shouted, “how are the fishermen doing?”
“Hello, you two,” Jay-Dee said. “Marie showed us how to make strong joints by using grooves in the wood, and we’ve got a pretty solid base now.”
Paul paused in what he was doing. “We still need to go out a bit farther, but it’s looking good.”
“It looks excellent,” Helen said. “You should be pleased with yourselves.”
After a few minutes of chatting, Sandy led Helen along the lochside. “The forest is about two miles away from here, but this is a pleasant area to come just to feel normal.”
When they’d walked a few hundred metres, the only sound was the lapping of the water on the pebbles and sand.
Helen gazed out across the loch, turned and looked back at the men working on the pier, and then up at the various activities taking place up the mountainside. “The whole situation is other-worldly.” Tears poured silently down her cheeks.
“Hey, it’s okay, we’ll get you back to Aviemore soon.” He put a comforting arm around her shoulders. When her head rested against him, Sandy whispered, “I know you probably already miss your friends and the farm.”
Helen slipped her arms around the stalwart young man and held tight but said nothing.
For several minutes, they stood there, holding each other but neither offering to break the silence.
.
Wednesday 17th August
When he felt a nudge, Sandy opened his eyes to see somebody squatted beside his bed. “What’s up, Harry?”
“See me in the Control Room as soon as you’re ready, mate. I’ll carry Peter through to our place, and he’ll be fine if he wakes up beside young Laura—he’ll think he’s been on a sleepover.”
Sandy’s thoughts raced as he got dressed. Why did Harry want him in the Control Room, and why had he already decided that Peter ought to be sleeping elsewhere?”
Five minutes later, at almost two o’clock in the morning, the two men met in the Control Room.
“What’s going on, Harry?”
“I came on shift at midnight, and everything was normal and quiet until about a half-hour ago. I was amazed to see a light flashing and then realised it was the Aviemore sub-station. I got scribbling, and the message was from Josh.” He held out a sheet of paper. “This is how our messages have gone so far, and I’ve written timings.”
Sandy stared at the neat hand-printed notes.
01:20 ‘JOSH. ANY OF U GUYS UP THIS WAY AGAIN. JOSH’
01:25 ‘HARRY. NOBODY HAS LEFT HERE. HARRY’
01:35 ‘JOSH. WE HAVE ONE OR MAYBE TWO PEOPLE WATCHING US. JOSH’
01:45 ‘HARRY. STAY INDOORS AND AWAIT INSTR. HARRY’
Sandy squinted at the scientist. “Have you told anyone else, mate?”
“I saw Bill whispering to you and Flint on the day the group arrived back from Aviemore. I may be wrong, but it didn’t look like you were sharing your favourite jokes.”
“Harry—”
“It’s okay, Sandy, I know you three guys play your cards close to your chests, so if this is something that might upset people, I’d rather not know the details. I have a suspicion that this is a scenario that you three have discussed.”
“First of all, thank you for your trust. Anything we keep hush-hush is for the benefit of the community. I’d like you to wake Flint, and ask him to come along here to see me. While you’re doing that, I’ll prepare a message for Josh.”
“Got it, mate.” Harry left the Control Room in haste.
Sandy lifted the pen to code a brief message. “You fucking bitch,” he muttered as he stared at the sheet of paper for a moment. He was grateful that Bill had confided regarding the mysterious rowing boat with the red name crudely painted on the front end. “It can’t be anyone else.” He composed his message and then under the words adapted the message into dots and dashes.
The door opened quietly, and Flint entered with Harry.
Flint looked alert for someone who’d just been woken up. “What’ve we got, mate?”
Sandy handed over the sheet with the messages as Harry had done. He watched his friend’s teeth bite into his lower lip.
“Just the two of us?” Flint said.
Sandy nodded. “As we discussed and my pack is ready to go—yours?”
“Ready, mate—we just need to grab some food to tide us over.”
Harry stood back, knowing better than to take part or listen to details.
Sandy held his new message out. “Harry, while we grab what we need—send this, please.”
Harry glanced at the message.
HARRY. 2 MEN AT YOUR DOOR WITHIN 72 HOURS. TAKE CARE. HARRY.
When Harry heard the door click behind him, he sat down and pulled across one of the Morse keys he’d made. He sent the message and waited.
Ten minutes later, two things happened almost simultaneously. One of the red alarm lights for Aviemore flashed. As Harry concentrated on taking down the response from Josh, he ignored the quietly opening door behind him.
Harry glanced over his shoulder before he transcribed the message. “Response from Josh.” He wrote out the letters above the dots and dashes.
‘JOSH. OK. WE WILL SECURE THIS FACILITY AND GET HOME. THANK U. JOSH’
“That’s good,” Sandy said, “that means they recognise the importance of keeping the power station intact.”
Flint said, “It also looks like there are more than one of them so somebody must be armed to protect Josh.”
“Who should I speak to when questions are asked.” Harry looked from one man to the other, both now wearing backpacks and carrying laser rifles.
Sandy said, “Get to Bill before the word gets out and brief him but don’t let anyone else see the messages. Let him handle this, Harry, and thanks again for trusting us, mate.”
“I know you two know what you’re doing but … you haven’t done the trek to Aviemore—”
“Harry,” Sandy said, “we’ve got boots, rations, water, weapons, and I’ve marked my map with the indicators and notes from Bill’s map.”
Flint shrugged. “What else would a guy need for a hike into the wilderness?” He winked.
Harry lifted the second Morse key he’d made. “This might make life easier, as long as you use the correct socket.”
“Thanks, mate. We’ll be in touch,” Sandy handed the small device to Flint, who tucked it into his backpack. Sandy briefly placed a friendly hand on Harry’s shoulder, and then the soldiers left.
At seven o’clock in the morning, Bill sat in the Control Room, staring at the messages and nodding slowly. “I know this is all very mysterious, Harry, and I appreciate your co-operation regarding confidentiality.”
“It may be mysterious, Bill, but I know you guys do these things for good reason.” He grinned. “I suppose you’ve already prepared a cover story for such a scenario?”
“Well, actually, I expected to be involved if something like this happened, but even I appreciate how fast those two will cover the ground. As a pair, they’ll move faster for longer, and also rest for less time on the way.”
“You still miss the service life, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do, mate.” He smiled. “Would you like a brew—I’ll go and fetch us a couple?”
“Yes, please, and then you can sit in here and work out your speech for our friends.”
At nine o’clock, the community was gathered in the cafeteria for a meeting.
Tina stood, and the hubbub ceased. “Good morning, everyone, and this extraordinary meeting is because as you all know—we don’t tolerate rumour. I’ve been assured that this won’t take long and we’ll
all get on with our various tasks for the day. Cherry is on a shift in the Control Room, but she’ll be able to hear us on speaker. Jean is already down at the cabin with the children. Helen went along with her today because she’s been apprised of the situation. I’ll hand over to Bill who will explain what’s going on.”
“First of all, folks,” Bill said, “there is no need to panic. You’ll remember that some weeks ago we thought we had visitors in the nearby forest. After an investigation, there were signs that whoever it was had moved on.” He paused to look around the faces.
“Late last night we got a brief message from Josh at Aviemore to say that they felt they were being watched. Those guys up there have weapons, and they know how to use them, so I’m confident that they’re safe. I’m not a lover of coincidence, and it reminded me of the incident that we had here. I had a chat with Sandy and Flint, and we involved the committee members in our decision.” He paused. “Basically, what we agreed was that if there were any mysterious occurrences, it would be Sandy, Flint or me who would investigate. Our guys left in the middle of the night and they’ll be in touch to keep us up to date with progress.”
Anne raised her hand. “Bill, won’t this make Helen feel that she’s stranded here for a couple of weeks? With two of our people away now, it means that she wouldn’t be able to go back until we have enough to form another team.”
“It’s not a problem, Anne, and Helen has been apprised. She understands how quickly our two guys will be able to make the journey, and they’ll let us know when they arrive and what is going on. We already have other people lined up who have offered their services to get Helen back home when she wishes. Surprise, surprise, I’m not one of the escorts.” He laughed and was pleased to see that his remark and laughter had lightened the mood even slightly.
Tina stood. “That’s about it, folks, and as soon as we hear anything from Sandy and Flint, we’ll post it on the board or get everyone together for a quick update.” She smiled and looked around. “Are there any more questions?”
A few people shook their heads, but there was silence.
