The Fenton Saga: Never Say Goodbye / There Was No Body.

by Colin Griffiths

  “Today we find answers!” She screamed, the vicar fell to his knees as he truly believed an angel had come today. Daniel went up to the pulpit, grabbed her hand,

  “You are one special sister.” He told her.

  And that was the day when Madison Hughes realised how special she was.

  “You still owe me for that taxi.” She said.

  Outside both William and Saskia looked up to the sky as the rain pounded their faces and the big oak tree groaned in the wind,

  “It’s like it’s washing all the sins away.” William told her.

  But Saskia didn’t answer, she had far too many sins to wash away.

  Chapter 40

  Todd and Cathy were in the lift, she had promised to help him get out, she guessed her career was over now, but she couldn’t imagine the agency existing anymore not after today. Todd had told her to say that he forced her, and who would disbelieve her. The cave like entrance opened and they were stood outside now. It was raining very heavy and soon their bodies was soaked, the clouds were dark and menacing and it brought back memories of the storms he had somehow created a year ago today. He thought of the three people he plucked into the skies, he hoped Marie Rose and James had survived that night. He knew Madison had, because he could swear as he looked up into the skies and the rain hit his face, he could see her looking down on him. Todd looked at the cliff,

  “I can’t climb that,” he told her.

  “Then fly.”

  Todd laughed, he so did like Cathy Brown,

  “I wish I could, but it seems I’m not completely the man I once was,” and for a moment that frightened her, because she had seen what he had done and if this was only a bit of it then god help anyone who tried to stop them.

  “Hypnotise those soldiers on the gate like you did the others,” she excitedly said,

  “I have to get near them, they’d shoot me before I got near enough.” he stood still looking at the skies as if he was asking for intervention.

  “The woods.”

  He looked at the woods, he couldn’t face the woods, not yet, he would get lost in there and he could still see Wendy on that mountain, he shuddered, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand,

  “We wait,” he said,

  “Wait for what?”

  “Fancy a game of draughts?” And as they went down in the lift Cathy Brown had no idea how this was going to end. Todd was a little more confident, he knew he had people fighting with him.

  Meanwhile, every special agent and another 17 American agents were descending on the Welsh Village named Ashbourne.

  *

  As they rushed to the café, they could see the doors of neighbouring houses open and men and woman leaving, some were carrying baseball bats, others lumps of wood. The streets were filling up now and as they ran Madison Screamed,

  “I missed the first party, I’m not going to miss this one!” and she grabbed Wendy and Katy and they danced their way to the café in the pouring rain. Wendy had no real inkling about what was happening, other than she believed in Madison and Daniel, and the singing and dancing seemed to lift the mood, and for one moment Daniel forgot that there were people coming to kill him and Madison. Madison hadn’t forgot, for today she felt invincible, and what people didn’t realise was, she probably was. They were in the café now, they all just stood outside looking at the hundreds of people walking the streets, with a determination of soldiers going to war, and Gordon Williams who had followed them to the café looked on in amazement, this is crazy, he thought, and it was, just like it was twelve months ago.

  “What are they doing?” Asked Tracy,

  “They are stopping them coming for us.” Said Madison and Tracy just slumped in her seat then immediately got up and went for a vodka. Then everyone took a drink and something to eat as the streets filled, and they chatted trying to find an answer, trying to work out a plan to get to Todd. Then Carol heard a child scream and she looked round and she saw them, Lia Slater with baby Connor.

  Roy had told Lia to head back to the café, the car was there and maybe they could get something to eat, and that’s where the three of them headed in the pouring rain. Lia pushing the buggy as she ran, and that’s where Roy would have gone, if he hadn’t seen the old man and the girl sheltering under a tree, they were both looking at him and he felt compelled to go over and speak to them as William Fenton drew him in.

  “I see you met the Devil,” William said to him, Roy nodded,

  “Are you ready Roy?” William asked, and Roy nodded again.

  “Who are you?” Carol demanded, they were sat at a table eating food and Lia was drinking out of a can of lager. Connor stuffing sausage rolls in his face, the place seemed to fall silent as everyone looked. Madison walked over to the couple with the child. Lia had a tear in her eye, she had not realised that Roy hadn’t come with her until she got inside the café, now she had no idea where he was and she could not take Connor out in this weather. Daniel went with her. Lia told them of her plight and she can’t find her husband. They stood staring at the Woman and baby for a little while, then they looked at each other, Madison nodded, and Daniel nodded,

  “You’re welcome to stay.” Daniel said,

  “Cute kid.” Said Madison and they both sat down at their table,

  “Well who are they?” Carol demanded.

  Both Madison and Daniel had felt something when they looked at Lia and Connor, particularly the kid, but they deemed them harmless, they didn’t want to uncover any more mysteries today, but felt they would rather have them here, strange as they were, strange as that kid felt.

  “I think there here for a reason.” Daniel said.

  Everyone just shrugged as if to say ‘so, what do you expect’ Carol sat by Morgan, they both had their head in their hands. Lia thought it was a dream and she would wake up soon, well Connor, he liked it here, he wanted to go and play with that baby the lady was holding, and at that moment Oliver Todd cried.

  Minutes later a police car pulled up outside the café, they were already on the estate at the time of the memorial. Only one officer came out of the car. Tracy watched and thought that it was unusual as there were usually two, he entered the café and Tracy immediately recognised him as a rookie cop she was on duty with last year.

  “Well well well, what have we here?” He said and everyone just burst out laughing and Jezz hummed the tune of Zcars and everyone laughed even more, even though most of them in that room had never heard of z cars.

  He went over to Sandy Potts, who he had remembered took the mickey out of him a year ago,

  “I’m afraid I have to arrest you for serving alcohol in an unlicensed restaurant,” he told her,

  “It’s a café,” said Sandy Potts, defiantly.

  “It’s a joke,” said Daniel, “have you seen what’s happening out there?” He pointed to the window where the streets were full of people yielding some sort of homemade weapon.

  “There’s people on the way to deal with that.” He said.

  Sandy Potts sat down the same time as Carol stood, the petit gentle lady who had never hit anyone in her life, drew her fist back and hit the copper with such a force that he ended up on his backside. Becky shrieked with delight, remembering what she had done to Tracy a year ago. Madison, Katy and Wendy, danced on the table,

  The copper stood up, Daniel grabbed him by his arms,

  “That’s for not looking for my son a year ago.” Said Carol,

  “Put him with the other one.” Said Sandy, and that’s what Daniel did, and they all seemed in good spirits, all except Lia, she was cursing Roy for leaving them with these mad people. Gordon Williams looked on wondering how the hell these people’s minds worked, at the same time he was mesmerised, and afraid.

  So Sandy, Tracy and Jezz, Carol, Wendy, Katy, Daniel, Morgan, Becky, Lia and Connor, along with Gordon Williams sat on one side of the room. Baby Oliver had been taken back to Wendy’s house to be looked after by Helen. Cindy had managed to get home before all t
he chaos started whilst the other family friends who attended had slowly drifted away. The occupants of the cafe were planning their next move. It was decided they need to get out of Ashbourne. Madison, Daniel and Morgan, would leave, to try and find Todd and it was then the partying stopped and they were all brought back down to earth, and if that hadn’t stopped them, the car that pulled up outside, the car that the crowd had let through with its single occupant, would have stopped them. As James McCarthy got out of the car and walked into the café, no one rushed to greet him, and no one asked him where Marie Rose was. His look said it all. Carol stood and took his hands.

  “She’s dead!” He cried as Carol hugged him, and as James told them how he had found her and that someone else had been there. The reality that not only would Marie Rose never again meet her grandson again, and never again would they meet her, hit home to all, as they wept at the death of the Lady who had started it all, and Madison who swore she would only cry tears of joy today, stared out of the window as the tears trickled down her face, I will kill him, she told herself.

  Chapter 41

  William, Roy and Saskia were just about to get into the car until William seen an opportunity to good to miss, he recognised the baby that the lady was holding, it was Oliver. William had seen him at the church with Daniel and Becky. What a trophy he would be, he had thought as he ordered Roy and Saskia to follow him. Within five minutes they saw Helen rushing inside her house, she closed the door behind her. After a discussion with William, Roy Slater walked up to the door where baby Oliver was at and knocked the knocker. Helen didn’t answer at first she was busy drying herself and baby Oliver, but the persistent knocking made her put baby Oliver down to answer the door. As soon as she opened the door she felt a hand to her throat and only managed a muffled scream before she was pushed inside and pushed onto the sofa,

  “Don’t say a word.” Roy told her, Helen sat shaking on the sofa as she watched two other people enter the house. Helen was soon gagged and bound and taken upstairs to be locked into a wardrobe, they had put a chest of drawers and the upended double bed against the wardrobe, just in case, but it really didn’t matter if she got out, they had got what they wanted. William picked up the baby out of the Moses basket he lay in. He knew he was a Fenton, he wondered what abilities the child would have, they all had them, the Fenton’s, just some try not to use them and some never find them. He told Roy and Saskia to grab the basket and the provisions that were left for Oliver. Saskia took William’s hand and they walked the short distance to the car, no one noticing amongst the chaos and the storm that arose. Minutes later they sped out of Ashbourne, before the roads were completely blocked, and Roy thought the fields they passed were moving, but it was merely the thousands of people taken to the fields, as they did exactly a year ago. The whole of the Gwent Police force was put on alert, the army was put on standby, British and American agents were on their way and whilst all this was going on, sky news had beamed live, Madison, Wendy and Katy dancing it the rain sodden street.

  Chapter 42

  With the skies now clearing and the sunshine breaking through, those in the café could see the helicopters in the sky, and those that had took to the streets and the fields and the roads were now heading back home. There were stories of the army up ahead of them and whilst those people were up for a fight to protect their neighbours the Fenton’s, they were not prepared to take on the British army. They were waving apologetically as they passed the café, one young man went into his house and rushed back out with an air rifle, wanting to go and take the army on, but he was soon ushered back home by his friends. But the army were not there, and the men in black were on the M5 heading towards Ashbourne. They had tried to contact those at Devon, at first they could not get through but soon did and talked to one of the agents in the compound who indicated that everything was ok. He daren’t do anything else as Todd had took him out of the trance that he was in and Told him what to say, scared out of his wits by the young man who stood before him. Agents were being sent to the compound in Devon for back up. William Fenton was not on the Radar, he was deemed un-important at this moment in time. Roy slater didn’t exist as far as the agents were concerned, and Saskia, the powerless Saskia, well you couldn’t even find her as a citizen of the country if they tried.

  They were all at in the café now, Morgan, Daniel and Madison preparing to leave in James’s 4x4, wondering how the hell they were going to get through the potential blocks. Then 16 cars came roaring down the street where the café was, followed by a single decker bus. The lead car driver got out and entered the café,

  “Your transport has arrived,” He said, “the bus couldn’t get off the estate, the drivers sort of tied up at the moment,” he looked excited, “we are going to escort you off the estate onto the motorway, then I’m afraid you’re on your own.”

  Daniel and Morgan stared at each other,

  “Can you drive that thing?” Daniel asked,

  “Of course I can.” answered Morgan as if it was a stupid question.

  “What are we waiting for?” Madison asked them.

  Morgan stepped into the driver’s seat of the bus, he checked the fuel, it was ok and he started the engine. Daniel and Madison soon followed. Morgan’s heart beat dropped when he saw his beautiful daughter step on the bus. But he knew he couldn’t stop her,

  “Stay close.” He told her, she smiled and Morgan was uncomfortable with that. Daniel and Madison sat in the seats closest to Morgan.

  Carol got on the bus with Sandy Pott’s,

  “Where you going?” Asked Morgan,

  “He’s my son.” She said as she glared at him, challenging him to stop her, Morgan didn’t Sandy just raise her eyebrows as she sat next to Carol.

  Becky got on the bus next, Helen Wendy’s mum had agreed to look after Oliver. Becky objected at first but Daniel insisted that Oliver did not come. Either he stayed or both of them stayed, so Becky took the first choice,

  “No way!” said Morgan,

  “Who put you in charge?” Asked Becky as she took her seat behind Daniel. Wendy was followed by Katy, and Tracy was followed by Jezz,

  “Party time.” Jezz shouted as he sat down in his seat, determined and angry, still wanting revenge against the man who gave him eight stitches. James McCarthy got on the bus, his eyes still full of tears,

  “She would have wanted me to go.” He said and no one questioned that. Lia and Connor got on the bus and everyone objected,

  “I have nowhere to go,” she cried “I’ve lost my husband.” Madison got up and escorted them on, no one challenged her, she looked at Connor and wondered where his father was. She felt something wasn’t right. Gordon Williams stood on the pavement looking at Daniel through the window,

  “Don’t forget my story,2 he shouted, Daniel put his thumbs up, 12 adults and a child were escorted out of Ashbourne estate and onto the motorway by 16 vehicles, 4 motorcycles and a helicopter in the air, who were reporting that the Fenton’s were on the move. People waved in the streets and from the windows of their house as they drove past, they were waiting for the return of a long lost friend. The government wanted to put the country on lock down. The agency had told them things were under control. The Army were in confusion as there Generals put them on stand bye. The RAF were told to prepare to put their planes in the air. Todd Fenton was playing draughts with Cath Brown, watched by two agents bound to the chairs they were sat in. William Fenton, well he was busy killing people.

  Chapter 43

  AS Roy Slater passed the sign that said welcome to Devon, he thought that it looked a lovely place and he would have to bring Lia and Connor here. He thought about texting her and asking her opinion, but when he looked at his phone he noticed he had 7 missed calls and 5 texts from her, so he guessed she would be in a bad mood. He opened the car window as they drove down a countryside lane and through the phone out of the window.

  “Women trouble?” Asked William,

  “Yes granddad.” Roy answered, and W
illiam laughed at that and, hook line and sinker, sprung to mind.

  Saskia sat in the back, with Oliver asleep in the Moses basket next to her, she was twisting a piece of string around her fingers and then untwisting it again, thinking that maybe this Roy bloke would sleep with her for £50. Saskia had no idea what was happening, all she could see was pound notes.

  “When are we going to eat?” She asked,

  “Soon.” Said William.

  William pulled the car up into a clearing in the woods that lay either side of the dirt track. He knew a few hundred yards down the road, was the first manned entry gate into the Devon compound, where Todd was. There were regular soldiers there and they were armed and he didn’t fancy a fight, even with his powers he would have to get close to disable them. He wasn’t feeling to good today, he was coughing a lot and his strength seemed to be going, he tried to put it down as just being a tiring day, but he feared it was more than that. He hoped Madison hadn’t got to him and was taking his powers, that bitch would do that, he thought. The rain had eased, and the sun was attempting to come out from behind the clouds. Though it had been raining quite heavy the ground was still firm, the weeks and weeks of hot weather drying it, and it stood as solid as a rock.

  “We walk from here.” He told his two companions.

  “That’s cool.” Said Saskia, Roy just nodded, he just wanted to please his grandfather. Oliver was left asleep in the car.

  As they got nearer to the gate, William could see the two soldiers on duty, one was outside lying on the ground, the other was in the Cabin with his feet up, the two rifles the soldiers had by his side. William took out a switchblade and gave it to Roy, he told him what had to be done, he held another switchblade for himself. He called Saskia over, told him exactly what he wanted her to do, she got excited at the task.