The Undead (Book 23): The Fort

by Haywood, R. R.

  ‘It’s perfect,’ he says earnestly. ‘Thank you, Lenski…’

  ‘Is no bother. Come, we go on…’ she bustles out as the lights within the fort start to flicker on with the shadows growing deeper and darker. ‘Damsa, she help with meeting new people. She very friendly. Pamela, I think we no use her now. We have problems there, but I explain that later, she is not nice person. I show you the canteen now. Come…’

  They head across the fort, passing people flaked out by the food tables drinking tea or simply too exhausted to move. Children running about. People talking. A hubbub of noise. Lilly takes it in, seeing the change from just one more day out of the fort. The way people are getting to know each other. The way they greet each other from a day spent working in different areas. The bay workers talking to John’s and Colin’s teams. She spots Sam, Pea and Joan ahead with John and Pardip and blinks at the skeletal frame standing large in the middle.

  ‘That’s enormous,’ Ann remarks, making them all turn to see Lilly’s group heading over.

  ‘Lilly!’ Billy shouts out from nearby, rushing over to be hoisted up for a hug. The other kids running in as Lilly spots Ameer wedged between his dad and Simar, still translating.

  ‘What do you think like?’ Pardip asks them.

  ‘Did you make it?’ Anika asks. ‘I wouldn’t go in if they made it,’ she tells Lilly, adding a wink.

  ‘This is solid this is,’ Simar calls over.

  ‘Course it is,’ Anika says, offering a thumbs up. ‘But er…I’m not a builder or anything but doesn’t it need sides? And a roof? And a floor…and like windows and a door…joke!’ she squeals out as Pardip lunges at her. ‘It’s great. Honestly…drafty mind but…’

  ‘The frame is pretty much done,’ John says. ‘We’ll get the sides and top on tomorrow…if the weather holds,’ he adds with a glance up at the sky. ‘But having Maleek has saved a day’s worth of work…’

  ‘More than that,’ Simar says.

  ‘Maleek is a carpenter?’ Lilly asks, working out who Maleek is.

  ‘Good one too,’ Simar says. ‘And his lad here has been translating all day…’

  ‘It’s amazing,’ Lilly says. Looking at the building then past it to the new tents put up. ‘Very good. Makes a huge difference…’

  ‘Come,’ Lenski says, taking her arm. ‘I show you offices and rooms…want me to take Billy? You look hot.’

  ‘I’m fine. How’s it been?’ Lilly asks, trying to hug her squirming brother. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asks him.

  ‘Want to get down,’ he says, far more interested in what Rajesh, Milly and Amna are doing.

  ‘I’ve just got back in,’ she says. ‘Not even a kiss?’

  Billy kisses his sister then squirms to be released to run free and wild, to shout out and race into the offices to get chairs, the four kids laughing hard.

  The adults follow them in, dumping bags and groaning with relief. Damsa inside holding sheets of paper and waiting patiently. Her eyes flicking nervously to Lilly and Mary. Remembering their faces on the beach and how close to death they all were. Remembering the fierceness of these two women. But that was then, and this is now, and time rolls ever forward, changing the world and the people in it as it goes by.

  ‘Hello,’ Lilly says to her. Not surly, not grumpy but then not overly friendly either. Distant and aloof. ‘Lenski said you are helping now.’

  ‘We wanted to work,’ Damsa says politely.

  ‘Thank you, that helps a lot,’ Lilly says simply.

  ‘Hey now, remember me? Sorry for pointing guns at you before,’ Mary says, sticking her hand out to Damsa. ‘What’s your name again? Damsa? That’s a gorgeous name that is. Is it hot in them robes? They look light though and I bet they keep the sun off…’

  ‘Thank you, you are very kind,’ Damsa says, her nerves easing somewhat as she spots the light fading outside. ‘Would you excuse me…’

  ‘Ah sure,’ Mary says. ‘Do you all pray when it gets dark?’

  ‘Yes, yes we do…is that okay?’ Damsa asks, her eyes once more flicking to Lilly standing nearby talking to Lenski.

  ‘Fine with me,’ Lilly says.

  ‘Is good. Yes. Pray. Is fine,’ Lenski says. ‘I see you at food yes?’

  ‘Thank you,’ Damsa says, walking out.

  ‘Are they still under a shelter?’ Lilly asks Lenski quietly.

  ‘No, I put in tent. Big tent. Has rooms inside. They have good space now, but they are big family…’

  Damsa walks on towards the back with a calling inside that now is the time to offer prayer to Allah. Today has been a better day. Nervous yes, and Fearful too, but good and it feels nice to smile at people and put them at ease. Damsa was so very scared when she came here and so she knows just how hard it must be for the new people.

  She heads first towards the space her shelter was in, frowning at seeing it empty then remembering with a smile that they now have a tent and she changes course, veering to go left.

  ‘There she is,’ Tommy calls out, standing with a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other. Pamela next to him doing the same. Others around them. ‘Time for prayers is it love?’ Tommy calls.

  Damsa smiles politely and walks on. Dipping her head as though to avoid confrontation.

  ‘That the one that stole your job is it, Pammie?’ Tommy asks. ‘Oops, better not say anything against the fucking muzzies. They’ll have that Polish bitch over here shooting everyone eh? Lining up outside like a fucking Nazi. Muzzies and Nazi’s…same fucking thing really. Nah, I’m not being racist. I’m not. Honest I ain’t…Pamela’s British born and bred and lost her job to an emicunt. It’s fine….’

  A barrage of words spewing from his mouth. Humour inflected within his voice that earns a few half drunken laughs from men and women lounging about. Sucking on cigarettes. Glugging from cans of beer.

  ‘Bet her husband can get it up in this heat…’ Tommy adds with an edge to his voice.

  ‘Why do you keep saying that?’ Karl asks.

  ‘Fucking hell, Karl. I’m only joking. Jesus mate. Can’t even say nothing round here…I’m just saying is all…I’m just saying she looks fit…like her bloke can probably get it up…they’re used to the heat and they breed like rats anyway…nah, you go on love. Go and pray to Allah that we all get infected so you can take over…’

  Damsa rushes on, shaken as she reaches her tent to see Ameer going in ahead of her then running back out to look for her.

  ‘Mum!’ he runs over, flinging his arms about her body. ‘Me and dad were building all day and he was working with Simar and he’s so funny! He makes these faces and was spraying me with water and his brothers are so nice and John was there and they said that they couldn’t make that building without dad and…’

  She smiles at him, listening to the words rushing out as she goes inside the big tent. A communal area in the middle with smaller bubbles leading off. Basic, but enough.

  ‘You’ve had a good day then?’ she says, seeing her husband exuberant manner as he talks to his brothers. Everyone chatting about what they did, what they saw, what they heard.

  ‘You have a job?’ Maleek asks her as they start laying the prayer mats on the ground.

  ‘It is not a job, I am just helping,’ she replies. ‘It is okay though?’

  ‘Yes!’ he says, grinning at her. ‘Of course. We should work…can I show you the building later? It’s so big now…I told Simar how to make a joint differently…I will show you. You will be very impressed.’

  ‘Maleek,’ Tajj says, a rebuke to his tone. ‘It is already late…’

  ‘Of course, of course,’ Maleek says as they take to their mats, supplicating and getting ready for evening prayer.

  ‘Wankers,’ Tommy says, opening another can. ‘Bet they’re inside pointing their arses at Allah eh?’ he walks out and drops to his knees, pushing his backside up and wailing in a stupid voice making the others laugh, his rasping voice going up and down as he purposefully bangs his forehead into
the ground. The sight is funny and he gets good laughs, but he remembers the woman from earlier on her knees in front of him. Laughing at him not being able to get hard. That look of contempt on her face. The disgust she had for him. It festers inside. Mutating and becoming something other than what it was and he pushes up to his feet, glaring balefully at the tent the Muslim family now have. ‘Fuckers…got a new tent. We don’t have a new tent…and the ragheads are sleeping in the rooms now. Fucking Pammie got fired for nothing…telling you…I’m fucking telling you…if we don’t do something, they’ll take over and slit our throats…’

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‘FOOD! EVERYONE TOGETHER TONIGHT,’ Agatha shouts from the big tables, banging a ladle against a metal pot.

  ‘I forget,’ Lenksi says in the office. ‘Aggie and Sunnie say to try this tonight. They say too many families want to eat together…’

  ‘That’s fine,’ Lilly says, dragging a hair brush through her brother’s hair. Once again red-faced and flushed but this time from getting four young children into a shower. It was meant to be one at a time until all four decided they would shower together. Lilly and Pea did try and explain about boys and girls having different bits, but it got very complicated very quickly with all four wanting to know what bits they had, and where they were, and why and why and why.

  In the end it was a mammoth team effort as bit as difficult as building a wall to get them washed, scrubbed, dried and changed with one brief interlude when all four kids burst free from the cubicle to run nudey across the fort, and it wasn’t until Lilly used that voice that they all stopped and came back.

  ‘You four are becoming feral,’ she says, pulling Billy’s t-shirt straight as Pea sorts Rajesh while Sam brushes Milly’s hair while Mary and Amna shrug and pull faces at each other.

  ‘What’s feral?’ Milly asks.

  ‘Wild,’ Lilly replies. ‘Like wild animals…just very cute ones. Come on. Food. I’m hungry…’

  They go out into the fort proper, heading to join the throngs going for food. Norman and Kyle heading over. John’s voice heard as he greets Pardip, Simar and Jaspal.

  ‘There he is,’ Simar calls out, spotting Maleek with his family gathered about him. ‘Maleek! Alright mate. You should get double portions for what you done today.’

  ‘More than you should get,’ Anika calls from further ahead, laughing with Ann.

  ‘Eh, we’re the hard-working team we are,’ Simar calls back. ‘Not like you lot over there swimming about and lying on the sand…’ he trails off with a laugh at the huge groan coming back and the voices all joining in. ‘Yeah yeah, whatever,’ he says, waving a hand at the jokey protests.

  ‘Have you seen our wall?’ someone shouts.

  ‘Five containers makes a wall does it?’ Simar asks, setting them off again. ‘I’m joking!’

  ‘Fucking listen to ‘em,’ Tommy sneers quietly, further back in the queue. His gait becoming a bit unsteady from the booze. ‘You hearing that? They get double portions now…eh? That’s where our food has gone…listen to ‘em all shouting at each other in wugga wugga language…wankers…I’m telling you, they’re taking over.’

  ‘Lilly love!’ Agatha says, spotting her in the queue. ‘What you queuing up for? You want food you just say so. Blimey. I’ve heard what you did all day. They said over a mile of wall has gone up today.’

  ‘Not quite that much,’ Lilly says.

  ‘But still. Fancy that. A new wall eh? And it looks so good too.’

  ‘Looks amazing,’ Sunnie says, bustling behind Agatha. ‘Keeping us all safe…’

  ‘She is,’ Agatha says. ‘Keeping us all safe…eh. And Norman’s over there with Kyle sweating away and Mary getting the things we need. Pea and Sam and Joan, all working so hard they are.’

  ‘Working so hard,’ Sunnie says, bustling back the other way.

  Plates loaded, cutlery grabbed and they head out to sit on the grass and eat with Lilly heading over to the side, lowering down as the others gather about her in a big circle. John and Pardip side by side next to Simar sitting near Maleek and his family. Jaspal near Lenski. Alf nearby. Mary plonks down beside Lilly, sharing a smile as she gets comfy to eat. Ann and Anika joining them. More people nearby.

  ‘Will you look at that, Blondie,’ Mary says quietly, looking around. ‘You’ve got an Irish gypsy sharing a meal with Sikhs, Muslims, a Catholic priest and a Polish woman…end of the world is it? Doesn’t bloody look like it…’

  ‘I don’t think Kyle is a priest,’ Lilly replies.

  ‘Really?’ Mary asks, giving her a look. ‘From everything I just said you pick out the priest bit?’

  ‘You know what I mean,’ Lilly replies with a smile.

  ‘And our rooms are cracking aren’t they? Lenski, I said our rooms the rooms are grand now.’

  ‘Good. I hope they okay.’

  ‘More than okay,’ Norman says from across the circle.

  ‘Am I down with you guys?’ John asks.

  ‘Yes,’ Lenski replies. ‘Single men down there so you can fart and scratch your…’ she pauses, casting a quick look at the children. ‘Your bums, yes?’

  ‘Nicely recovered,’ Kyle chuckles.

  ‘Need this weather to break,’ Norman says.

  ‘Not too soon,’ John says.

  ‘We need the sides and roof on yet,’ Pardip adds.

  ‘How long will that take?’ Ann asks as everyone looks to Simar and Maleek.

  ‘The lady wants to know how long it will take for your building to be finished,’ Ameer translates.

  ‘The lady is a doctor, Ameer,’ Damsa says.

  ‘I think by tomorrow evening,’ Maleek says.

  ‘My father thinks by tomorrow evening,’ Ameer says to Simar.

  ‘That’s too long,’ Lilly says, bringing every head over to her.

  ‘Too harsh, Blondie,’ Mary whispers.

  ‘I mean, of course yes,’ Lilly says quickly at everyone looking at her.

  ‘They’re working like demons,’ Mary whispers again.

  ‘You’re all working so hard and I really appreciate that,’ Lilly adds. ‘I’m just concerned the weather will break…’ she smiles at the faces nodding in agreement, their reactions softening from her blunt tone. ‘Do you need more people working?’

  Pardip shakes his head, swallowing his food before answering. ‘We’ve got enough people…it’s just the processes…it all takes time, and we’ve only got a few power tools.’

  ‘It’s looking grand though,’ Mary says.

  ‘Much bigger than I thought it would be,’ Pea says.

  ‘I was thinking that,’ Sam says.

  ‘Needs to be big,’ Simar says. ‘Lots of people to feed…’

  ‘How’s the wall?’ John asks.

  ‘Fridges,’ Norman and Kyle reply together, both laughing. ‘And shoes,’ Norman adds.

  ‘You and those bloody shoes,’ Kyle laughs.

  ‘And the whips mind,’ Mary calls out.

  ‘The whips!’ Norman laughs. ‘I brought mine over to keep practising…’

  ‘I’m telling you,’ Mary says, pointing at them all with her fork. ‘You’ve not seen nothing till you’ve seen this lot cracking whips and what was that other thing you were holding, Father?’

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ Kyle laughs. ‘Something green.’

  ‘Something green,’ Norman laughs, shaking his head as he eats but the smile becomes frozen and slowly fades as he glances up to see Tommy staring at him. Patricia and Keith with him. Karl and Matty. Gwen and more that Norman recognises from that area. All of them sullen and hard-faced. A few dozen at least. Tommy says something, sneering as he nods towards Lilly’s group. A few laughs but not nice ones. Sniggering and nasty.

  ‘…and Norman’s saying I think mine is broken, I really do…’ Kyle says, imitating a posh English voice as Norman shifts his focus from the dark to the light, smiling at the joke and pushing Tommy and his group to the back of his mind. Who cares what they do. There will always be peop
le like that.

  ‘Crack it,’ Norman says, mimicking a strong Irish accent. ‘Crack that whip…’

  ‘Ach, I don’t sound like that,’ Kyle laughs.

  ‘You do,’ Sam calls out, pointing her fork at him as the laughs roll round.

  ‘That was brilliant, Norman,’ Pea says, chuckling away. ‘Do it again.’

  ‘Ach to be sure,’ Norman says. ‘Aye, crack that whip!’

  Tommy festers with an anger growing inside at Norman making jokes and laughing. Looking tanned and relaxed and popular. ‘Queer cunt,’ he mutters. ‘And what they laughing at?’ he asks, seeing the Muslims smiling as they eat. ‘They can’t even speak fucking English…’

  ‘Tommy,’ Karl says, nudging his side.

  ‘Eh?’ Tommy asks, turning to see Sunnie waiting to serve him. He glares at her, tutting and shaking his head before grabbing his plate and taking a step on to purposefully grin at the white woman next to her. ‘Alright love! What you got?’ he asks brightly.

  ‘Er, you missed Sunnie,’ the woman says.

  ‘Alright alright, no need to string me up. Only asking for some food.’

  ‘Just load his plate up and get rid of him,’ Sunnie says.

  ‘You’d bloody love that wouldn’t you,’ Tommy says, looking at Sunnie.

  ‘Pamela?’ Sunnie asks, holding a ladle full of stew out as Pamela shuffles in front of her.

  ‘Sorry, what?’ Pamela says.

  ‘Not again,’ Sunnie snaps. ‘You’ve been doing this all day.’

  ‘I just can’t understand her,’ Pamela says, looking at the others. ‘Honestly, her accent…’

  ‘I don’t have an accent!’ Sunnie says, an edge growing in her voice.

  ‘Yeah I don’t understand her either,’ Tommy says. ‘Still, best not say anything, get shot for racism in here…or they starve you and make you work to death…’