“Troy!” shouted one of the men from the stage.
Troy turned to look. The Hughes creature had managed to shuffle its way across to the edge. A few more centimetres and it would drop to the floor. The fall would have the potential to finish off the broken chair once and for all and free the creature. “Well, good God, man, do I need to tell you to tie your shoes as well? Finish it off.”
The guard marched across to the beast. He pulled out a knife from his belt and plunged it through the Hughes creature’s head. Despite Jules, George, Emma, Lucy, Ruth, Jenny, Raj and Shaw all knowing that it was no longer their friend lying there, they let out gasps as the steel blade plunged through the monster’s temple.
“I hope you burn in hell,” Jules said.
Troy carried on. “Anyway, as I was saying. You get on that radio and say what I want; otherwise, there’s going to be a hell of a mess here. You’re going to have infected everywhere.”
“You wouldn’t do it,” Lucy said. “You’d be just as screwed as the rest of us.”
“Oh, darlin’,” Angel said. “We won’t be here when it all happens. We’ll hop in our little dinghy and just head out. We’ll leave it a few days then we’ll do a clean-up like we always do. We’ll put one of our sirens in position outside of town, set a nice big fire, lure all them monsters away, and then, yes, we might have to use up some valuable resources to get rid of them, but it’ll be worth it.”
“So, you just want us to make it all easy and convenient for you?” Lucy replied.
“It’s not like you wouldn’t be getting anything in return. Like Troy said, you’ll all leave here, living and breathing. Now isn’t that better than what happened to your poor friend over there?”
“Why should we believe you?” Jenny demanded. “Why should we believe that you’ll let us go and you won’t kill us?”
“Darlin’, haven’t you been listening? There’d be no point.”
“She’s right,” Troy said. “I don’t care what happens to any of you, but I’d rather march everyone out of here without wasting a single round of my valuable ammunition than the alternative. So, the question is a very simple one.” He turned back to Shaw. “Do you people want to live or die?”
chapter 16
Talikha opened the door for Mike as he carried the case of freshly distilled alcohol into Ward One. He took it through to the small store cupboard and placed it carefully on the shelf.
“Lucy and Raj aren’t back yet?” he asked, crouching down to make a fuss of Humphrey.
“No, I was expecting them before now.”
“Poor George must be getting the third degree.” He ruffled the Labrador’s furry mane, kissed him on the head and stood up. “Well, I’d better be getting off, I’ve got another delivery to make.”
“You’re making deliveries?”
“Yeah, I told Jules I’d do the supply runs for her this morning. I knew she’d have the meeting. I’ve already done the North Ridge. You were my second stop. I’ve just got East Ridge left, and then I promised Wren and Sammy that I’d go out foraging with them this afternoon.”
“Foraging? You?” Talikha had always been well-mannered. She was very quiet, but the people she allowed to get to know her best found out that she had a real sense of humour and a mischievous side.
“That is just what Wren said. What’s wrong with me foraging?”
“As I understand it, it requires a lot of patience.”
Mike laughed. “I can’t believe I’m getting dissed by Talikha Chakrabarti. What happened to that lovely, polite, quiet veterinary nurse I met in Candleton?”
“She got to know you.”
“And again. Y’know, if I told anyone, they wouldn’t believe me.”
Talikha smiled. “That is what makes it so enjoyable.”
“Just for your information, I have plenty of patience.”
“Michael, please do not take this as an insult when I say that is a dirty, rotten lie.” Mike burst out laughing, and Talikha couldn’t keep her deadpan expression any longer, she laughed too.
“Okay. You’ve got me. But it was really important to Sammy.”
“You are a good brother, Mike.”
“I try to be. I don’t always get it right.”
“None of us get it right all the time.” There was a pause of a few seconds before Talikha spoke again. “How is Emma?”
“Em’s okay. We had a long chat, cleared the air.”
“And how are you?”
“I’m better now she’s back.”
Talikha smiled. “I can tell. It is like a giant weight has been lifted from your shoulders. You are young again.”
“Err … you do realise I’m only twenty-two. I mean in my culture that’s still pretty young.”
“Ah yes, but when Emma was gone, you were the oldest twenty-two-year-old I had ever met.”
Mike shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t suppose I can argue with that.” They walked back down the short hallway and into the main living area of the static caravan. “How come there are no patients?”
“We have just one at the moment, in Ward Two. If this prolonged bout of good health continues, I will be made redundant.”
“I’m sure it will change come winter. Do you remember—” The radio handset at the nurses’ station crackled to life, causing Mike to stop in mid-sentence.
“This is Shaw. Please listen carefully. This is not a drill. This is not a hoax. I am speaking on behalf of the council, and I need everybody hearing this broadcast to do as I say.” There was a long pause then finally he continued. “We need to evacuate. We need to head out of Safe Haven with the clothes on our backs. We’re taking the coast road north. All vehicles, boats, weapons and supplies must be left behind.” There was another long pause.
“What the hell is this?” Mike said.
“This next bit is the most important. A fleet of ships is heading towards us. They’ll anchor in the bay, and their crews will be ferried to land. Under no circumstances will they be fired upon or interfered with. We are leaving Safe Haven. That’s the only thing that any of us need to focus on. The rest of the council and I will remain here at the village hall until all citizens of Safe Haven are outside of the settlement boundaries. We will then be driven to safety. Under no circumstances must anyone try to reach us. The results would be catastrophic. The crews from the ships will be armed, and they will escort those not already heading to the North Ridge out of town. Anyone left in the boundaries of Safe Haven by the end of the day will be shot on sight. Those of you hearing this please spread the word and organise the evacuation. We have no other choice. There will not be another broadcast. We will see you later on tonight.”
The radio went dead. Mike and Talikha looked at one another in a state of shock. “What the fuck?” Mike said.
“I don’t understand,” Talikha replied.
“Yeah, you and me both.”
✽ ✽ ✽
“Nicely done. For a minute there, I thought you were going to lose it and shout out a warning, but no,” Troy said, pulling the radio away from Shaw’s mouth. He brought his own radio up and hit the talk button. “Jacobs, it’s Troy. You there? Over.”
“I’m here, Troy, pass your message. Over.”
“We are a go! Repeat, we are a go. Over.”
“Yes, sir, I roger that. We’ll see you real soon. Over and out.”
Troy clipped his own radio back onto his belt and brought Shaw’s radio up, hitting the talk button. “Now, you heard what Shaw here had to say to you all. My name’s Troy and I’m running this show.” He looked towards Angel and winked. “You’ll all leave this place today, never to come back, but you will leave. I’ve got operatives already in situ who are making sure that you do as asked. If there is any sign of anything other than complete adherence to Shaw’s instructions, people are going to start dying. Your beloved councilmen and women will be first. Any attempt to breach the village hall will be met with deadly force, and, trust me, it won’t just be visited on the one
s stupid enough to try to rescue these people. We’ll be unleashing a whole lot of hurt on everyone. Around about now, the first of my teams will be arriving at the checkpoints to the east and to the north. We’ve done our research, don’t take us for fools. If anybody tries to smuggle anything out of here there will be consequences, and if you’re wondering what those consequences might be, refer to my prior warning.
Now, the sooner you people start organising yourselves, the sooner this will all be over. Here the message ends.”
“You’re enjoying this,” Shaw said, not hiding the disdain in his voice.
“I don’t like losing. When I can turn a loss around into an emphatic win, I get a buzz like you wouldn’t believe, so, yes, I’m enjoying it.”
Jules looked towards the thing that had been Hughes, just lying there on the stage. “You’re a fuckin’ lowlife,” she said.
The smile left Troy’s face, and he almost charged to where she was sitting. He moved his head so close to her face that she could feel his breath against her skin as he spoke. “You’d better be nice to me, sweet-cheeks, or I might just kill one of your friends to show you the importance of manners.”
Jules swallowed hard. She could take any punishment this monster dished out to her, but she couldn’t let her temper cause the death of a friend. She closed her eyes to fight back more tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered before starting to cry again.
“I’ve just figured out where I know you from,” Lucy said, glaring at Angel.
“You’re mistaken, shug, you and I have never met.”
“No. No, we haven’t, but you’re Angeline Jackson.”
“Why Angel, you’re famous,” Troy said, the smile reappearing on his face.
“You really know her?” Ruth asked, remembering back to the first time Lucy had said she thought she recognised the woman.
“Her husband ran a sham evangelical ministry.”
“Now, weren’t you listening to Troy when he was talking about playin’ nice?”
Lucy ignored her and turned to look at Ruth. “They made more money than you would believe. There was lots of talk about how their church laundered cash for some of the country’s biggest arms manufacturers and dealers. Y’know a contract for supplying weapons to the United States Marines is something a company can shout about. Selling those same weapons to terrorist regimes, well, the pay’s even better, but you don’t really want that stuff going through the books.”
“I said it’s time for you to shut up,” Angel said.
Troy brought his sidearm up to Raj’s temple. “Say another word and Osama here buys it.”
A snarl started on Lucy’s lips, but she managed to subdue it just in time. “I am Hindu,” Raj said defiantly.
“Say what?” Troy asked.
“You called me Osama. Osama Bin Laden was a Muslim and a Saudi. I am Hindu and I am Indian.”
Troy looked at his men, and they all burst out laughing simultaneously. “Well, pardon me. I didn’t want to cause you any offence.” He pressed the gun a little harder against Raj’s skull and glared at Lucy. “Say another word and Gandhi gets it.” Lucy dropped her gaze to the table in front of her. “That’s better.” He bent down and brought his mouth close to Raj’s ear. “Now listen to me, you worthless, towelhead, bhaji-eating motherfucker. I’ll call you whatever I damn well please. If I say you were one of those pieces of shit that flew planes into the twin towers, then that’s what you fucking are. I’m running things, and right now, the only god you need to worry about is the metal one that’s pressing against your skull. You understand me?”
“I understand.”
“Good then. We’re going to get along just fine, Osama. Oh, wait a minute,” he said, looking worried and animatedly patting Raj down. He turned to look at his men again. “Don’t worry, boys, we’re safe, no suicide vest.” Troy’s men burst out laughing once more, and this time Angel joined in.
“Oh, Troy, you’re just terrible.” She looked at him, and he looked at her. That feeling was coming back. He could tell. The sparkle in her eyes from the early days.
Troy winked at her. “Don’t you just know it?”
✽ ✽ ✽
“What are we going to do?” Talikha asked with a look of worry in her eyes the likes of which Mike had never seen.
Mike slumped down onto one of the beds. He remained silent for a moment; the cogs in his brain were turning slowly, trying to digest what he had just heard. “Okay, first things first.” He stood up and disappeared out of the ward for a moment. Talikha heard the boot of his car close before he returned a moment later. There was some rustling and a thud in the entrance hall before Mike reappeared.
“What are you doing?” Talikha asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, walking up to her. “Talikha, I’ve got a big ask. If you move quickly, you’ll get to George’s place before anybody’s had time to react. Speak to Richard and David. Get them to organise the march north. Tell them to form a team and make sure that every house along the way is evacuated. Then I need you to take the car and head to my house. Sammy, Jake, Wren and Tabby will be there. They won’t have heard the message. I need you to explain everything to them. Leave the car at the house and start walking towards the North Ridge, then on to Torridon. It should be safe there. Take Daisy with you; walk her up one of the hills before you get to the checkpoint. These bastards will think she’s livestock. Do that for me, please. Do it now.”
“But—”
“I need you to do this, Talikha. I need you to keep my family together and safe. I need to know you’re with them. Whatever happens, please stay with them.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m heading to the pub. They’ll probably have heard the broadcast. I’m going to get a team to go door to door and get everybody out of the village. We’re probably going to need a couple of the wheelchairs from here, but we need to get everyone moving.”
Talikha looked at him. “So, when you have been to the pub, you will catch up? You will join us?”
Mike placed his hands reassuringly on her shoulders. “They’ve got our families in there, and there is no way these people are going to let them go once we’re all out of here.”
“How do you know?”
“The council is the community’s brain, its organisation. They want rid of us, they want us weak, they want us to die out there. They’re not going to hand our best people, our military leader, and our doctor back to us. They’ll make sure everyone is out of Safe Haven then they’ll just kill them.”
Talikha’s brow furrowed. “What are you going to do?”
Mike strengthened his grip on her shoulders. “I’m still working on that one, but whatever else happens we need to maintain the appearance that we’re obeying their commands.”
“Mike, I am scared. I could not live without Raj.”
“It’s not going to come to that.”
“You are just one man, what can you do?”
“This is family, Talikha. I’ll do whatever I need to.” He let go of her shoulders, bent down and tussled Humphrey’s ears. “Look after everybody, boy.” Mike stood straight once again and threw his arms around Talikha. “Take care. You’re the only person in the world right now who I can trust to get this done.”
“Please don’t do anything foolish.”
He kissed her cheek, picked up the radio and left. As he entered the small wooded area between the infirmary and the Haven Arms, he heard the car engine start. For all his bravado, he knew this was going to be virtually impossible. One man against an army, but while ever Lucy and Emma were still alive, he would never give up.
chapter 17
Kirsty had been inside the pub when the first part of Shaw’s broadcast had begun. She had run outside with the radio to let the assembled workers listen to the message, and now, rather than heading out of town as the instructions had said, there were panicked and fevered conversations going on. Mike could hear the frightened murmurs before he’d e
merged from the woodland, and as soon as he appeared, Kirsty headed straight towards him.
“Jenny’s at the meeting, Mike.” Jenny was the closest thing Kirsty had to family. He knew how she felt, he could empathise with her anxiety, but familiar feelings had begun to stir in him.
After he’d experienced hallucinations and ultimately what was a psychotic break, Lucy had helped to piece him back together. Part of that process had been relieving him of some of his responsibilities so the weight of the world was not on his shoulders. Part of it had been a concerted effort to react with more thought and less emotion to situations. Mike felt that during this time he had matured greatly, but he could also feel the pressure building once again.
“I know. Lucy and Em are across there too,” he said to Kirsty before climbing onto a bench. “Listen to me, everybody.” He projected his voice loud enough to be heard even at the back of the car park. “We need to follow the instructions we’ve been given. We don’t have a choice in this. There are only a few radios dotted around, so there’ll be a lot of people who didn’t hear the broadcast. I need you to split up the village, go door to door and then head towards the North Ridge.”
“But this is our home,” shouted a voice.
“You don’t think I know that? They’re holding all the cards here. We’ve got to do as they say, and the sooner the better. So, please, no more discussion. Alert the rest of the village then head north on the coast road. There’s another team evacuating all the properties on the road north. It won’t take long for you to catch up with them and then you can give them a hand too. I know how hard this is for everyone, but we have to do as these people say.”
Safe Haven (Book 6): Is This The End of Everything? Page 14
