Underwood

by Colin Griffiths

  ‘Wouldn’t surprise me if phones are banned in bloody Wales’ Lily moaned, Peter and Eileen laughed, Lily screwed her nose up in her usual manner,Nathan remained quiet.

  ‘Must be the trees’ Eileen told her,

  Peter was just about to suggest they walk back to the car then they heard a rustling noise from above them,

  ‘Who’s there’ shouted a voice, they could hear it but couldn’t see anyone, and all four heads looked up trying to find the person behind the voice,

  ‘We just wondered if you’re open for breakfast’ shouted Peter, as he looked up but he could still see no one,

  ‘Yea ill come down and open up, give us a min’ said the voice above them in a strong friendly Welsh accent.

  They all looked at each other with smiles on their faces, ‘yes’ shouted Lily with her fist in the air, she was starving, she was thinking of bacon and eggs as she danced.

  Five minutes later the double doors were open and a man in is early forties’ stood there, he was a large handsome man with broad shoulders and fair hair, he had a five o clock shadow, he looked as if he had just woken up, which of course he had, he really didn’t want any early morning strange diners today, he had seen to many in the past, he was hoping after the storm he would just be serving the locals, he felt sympathy for those he was about to serve.

  ‘sorry about that’ he said ‘don’t usually start coming in until about eightish, Trish has just gone in to make the coffee and tea, ill pour the fruit juice,’ it was then he really noticed them and his eyes widened, he realised what the storm had brought, young children, he didn’t want to see young children, not female children.

  ‘God you look as if you slept in the car all night’

  ‘We have’ smiled Peter,

  ‘Bloody awful it was an all’ added Lily as she pushed her way past him to get in,

  ‘well go into the washrooms get freshened up, and we’ll get you some breakfast, see you in the bar’ and he smiled at them and headed to the kitchen’

  ‘Four of them this time’ he told Trish who was just making the hot drinks’ Trish just rolled her eyes and her face looked concerned, Craig just shrugged his shoulders, the four people who had slept in the car went into the bathroom’s to freshen up thinking what a nice man he was, and perhaps this place wasn’t so bad after all.

  ‘Yes a nice cooked breakfast and they would soon be on their way’ thought Peter,

  As Craig prepared the breakfast, he really wished that morning he hadn’t woken up at all.

  ‘This foods good’ said Lily chomping on a piece of bacon, she ate fast as if it was her last meal, relishing every mouthful, she couldn’t remember a breakfast tasting so good, Craig the landlord had served them one of the biggest breakfast they could eat, as well as a full English, there was cereals, fruit, juices, tea and coffee, and for that moment everything seemed to be okay and they all thought that Underwood and its people were all ok.

  ‘Wouldn’t want to live here though’ said lily when Craig was not in earshot, and they all more or less nodded in agreement, they didn’t think there would be many 5 bed detached houses in Underwood like they had at home in Sheffield, as Nathan ate all he could think about was home, wishing he was there now, with his friends, he didn’t like this place, he wanted to get out, the woods creeped him out a little, he could see the trees in the distance from the window in the bar, ‘you could easily get lost in there’ he told himself. ‘Get lost and never find your way out’ the thought chilled him a bit.

  ‘Everything okay’ said Craig as he brought some more coffee over’

  ‘Fine it’s a beautiful breakfast’ said Eileen, she licked her lips in appreciation, Lily nodded her mouth was to full to speak, Nathan was picking at a sausage, he said nothing.

  ‘How do we get on the M4 from here’ Peter asked ‘we lost our way in the storm last night’ he added, he bit a sausage and chewed enthusiastically as he waited for an answer,

  ‘You kids want anything else’ said Craig, completely ignoring the question and went to walk away, Peter grabbed his arm,

  ‘The M4, how do we get on it?’

  Craig just stared at Peter, and as their eyes met Peter noticed they seemed dark and deep, and the comfort he was feeling just a moment ago was no longer there, Peter let go of his arm, he could feel the discomfort in Craig too, as the previous friendly attitude was no longer prevalent, Craig wasn’t a big man by any means, but something told Peter not to challenge him any further, it was the look Craig had given him, that troubled kind of look.

  ‘Let me know if you need anything else’ Craig said as he headed quickly towards the kitchen, Peter thought it looked as if he couldn’t get away quick enough, but all it was is that Craig didn’t want to hear any questions he couldn’t answer, he just wanted to cook breakfast and be a good host, that’s all he could do, that’s all he was told to do, he slammed the empty coffee pot down on the kitchen side and put his both hands out on the worktop to support him, Trish came over and put her arm on his shoulder, she could see the upset look on his face,

  ‘You okay’ she asked him, Craig let out a big sigh, he wasn’t okay, not at all was he,

  ‘She’s probably 16’ was all he said, Trish stood there still with her arm around Craig, and she could feel a tear falling down her cheek.

  Peter sat there a bit unnerved, why hadn’t he answered such a simple question, what made him change the way he did, he glanced around the bar they were sat in, there was photos of Rugby club captains over the years, and on the wall was a list of their names and the dates they were captain, as Peter looked down the list he noticed the names ended 46 years ago, ‘This is Wales’ he thought, ‘where’s the team been for the last 46 years’ there was no fruit machines, or jukebox and he couldn’t see a television anywhere, there was however a pool table which looked well past it’s sell by date and a dartboard that looked as if another dart was thrown at it, it would drop of the wall, he guessed that everyone who used this place were locals, as no one would surely come out of their way to visit here, clean and tidy it may be, but the place left a lot to be desired, The others hadn’t really taken in their surroundings and Peter certainly wasn’t going to tell them what he was thinking.

  We’ll finish this, walk to the car and head off’ he told everyone, they all nodded in agreement, ‘I’ll find the fucking road myself’ he thought,

  He went to the bar and shouted for the barman, Trish came around she was a tall plump girl in her thirties and Peter thought ‘she’s been eating all the profit’s’ then he chastised himself for thinking it,

  ‘I would like to pay ‘he told her, holding his wallet out in front of him as if to say ‘look I got money’

  Trish’s face broke out into a big smile that made her face glow and showed a prettiness that Peter didn’t see before,

  ‘There’s no charge’ she told Peter, He went to object but Trish had already gone back into the kitchen, Eileen and Peter gave each other a ‘that’s odd’ kind of look, Lily and Nathan thought it was cool but Peter didn’t like it ‘’who on earth gives away free breakfasts’ He asked himself.

  Five minutes later they were stood outside the Underwood Social, in the car park, the no. 64 mini bus drove by, with the same driver who had no name, there was no one on the bus, the driver stared at them as he passed, he did not acknowledge them but Eileen was sure she saw him smiling, but assumed it was more in hope than reality, they started walking to where they had left the car, no one really saying anything, Peter wanting more than anything to get out of Underwood, the list of captains, or lack of them had unnerved him and he wasn’t sure why, it just didn’t seem natural, there was something about Underwood he didn’t understand, but he didn’t want to wait to find out what it was, Lily was thinking ‘how cool it would be if everything was free’. She played with her phone and cursed it when there was no response, Nathan held onto his dad’s arm just wanting to get back in the car and go home.

  They Passed by Terraced concrete houses
as they walked, the day had warmed up considerably as the sun beat down on them and the streets drying, though large puddles still remained in places, all the houses looked the same, picket fences all around, grass on every home, some with flowers or garden ornaments, all very mundane, in all but two of the houses they were sure they saw the curtains move, but they never saw a living soul, it was like they didn’t like strangers around here, and that was fine with them, they just wanted to get out, Eileen had thought that the Underwood people were a strange lot and certainly would not be sorry to leave this place behind, they seemed to be walking a long time, the earlier bus journey had taken less than a minute, but they were sure they were going the right way, surely it couldn’t be this far.

  ‘What the hell’ gasped Peter, Eileen just put her hand to her open mouth,

  ‘Dad I’m scared ‘ said Lily and Eileen cuddled her, as did Peter hug Nathan as he burst into tears, it wasn’t the fact that their car was no longer there, although that was scary enough, yes the car was gone, they stood on the waste ground where they had parked it that morning, the derelict huts with the water tower in the distance still loomed, it was exactly the same place they caught the bus, the same place where a fox had run out and gave them the stare before running into the woods, the same place when the strange man in the waistcoat told them they couldn’t drive, there was no mistaking that, but now there was no road with the battered kerb stones and potholes, there was no lane that was inches thick with mud that they drove up on that morning, they all looked around in horror, and no one really believed it, because where that road was, all they could see was trees, thousands and thousands of them.

  Chapter 3

  The Siren did not go off at 8am that Sunday morning, as it did every other morning, waking the residents of the town that never really wanted to exist, Sunday was a lie in day in Underwood, Sunday was a non-working day, Sunday was the day they buried their dead, Sunday was a day the courts were held, Sunday was Judgement day, Sunday was grievance day, Sunday was creation day, Sunday was welcoming new family day, And some Sunday’s was a day somebody was sentenced to go into the woods and feed whatever was in there, To some people in Underwood, Sunday was just like any other day, smoking and drinking, trying to forget, No Sunday was not a working day, there was far too much to do on a Sunday.

  The Sheriff of Underwood lived in the last house in Woodland road, that’s what he wanted to be called in Underwood, he relished the name, thought it gave him an aura of power, it had a bit of Americanism to it and he loved that, he missed hearing about the states, but he didn’t need no name for people to feel that he was the one with power, he knew people smelt that every time they saw him, he could tell by the fear in their eyes, he wasn’t up early that morning, Allan Herapath was never up that early, he was a big man, he looked as broad as he was tall, and at 56 years of age, he had a good head of hair that shone a colour of silver, ruggedly handsome, ‘fit as a butchers dog’ everyone would say, ‘the strength of an ox’ others would say, murderous bastard most called him but never to his face, no Allan Herapath was never up early, one of the reasons being, the only reason being was that Allan Herapath, the sheriff of Underwood never slept.

  He sat at his Kitchen table in his modest home, a home that he had no desire to live in, in a town he had no desire to live in, his home must have been elsewhere because this never felt like a home to Allan, no breakfast or coffee lay in front of him nothing frying on the stove, the kitchen standing as if it had never been used, it was unlived in as a home could ever be, it was just the way he wanted it, he was focussing on the duties he had to do today, that’s all that was on his mind, his performance as the sheriff of Underwood, sadly there was a burial, 32 year old Haydn Williams was to be buried today, or what was left of him, that was at midday, there were two refusals of pro-creating that had to be dealt with, but that was easily dealt with, as the Vicar would say “what they are not prepared to give, shall be taken from them” ‘when will these women learn’ he said to himself, but all that was the norm for a Sunday, in fact this Sunday was quite quiet, which he was glad as he had a new family to welcome, the population of Underwood had just gone up by four, which he thought was good as some outsiders were very rare in Underwood.

  ‘I hope they got skills’ Allan thought, ‘sure could use them’.

  He looked at himself in the mirror, straightened his tie, his uniform was always pristine, his gun always polished and cleaned, he looked at his shiny boot’s, yes that was okay he could see his face in them, he put on his flat cap, rubbed his fingers against his chin, hoping he could feel no stubble or he would have to shave again, it was good, he walked out of his front door to meet his day, and the day of the residents of Underwood, the sun was shining, he didn’t much care for that, he would much prefer the rain, rain sometimes brought results.

  He had been the Sheriff of Underwood for a long time now, too many years for him to remember, ever since he created it, ever since he had restored this once failing neighbourhood into the glory it stood in now, yes he had created a fine place to live, that’s all he wanted, sometimes he thought the people of Underwood didn’t appreciate what he had done for them, he had told them sacrifices would have to be made, which may involve loss of life, he had told them that he would create a new generation of Underwood beings, he had warned them not to go into the woods, but still people occasionally tried to flee, he had told them there was no way out, it was a man’s Town he created, he knew that, but where he came from the male was the king of that particular jungle, now Underwood was his jungle and those who lived in it would see him as king.

  For a while Peter and Eileen just stood there holding their children, Peter could feel Nathan shaking and he wasn’t sure if he was shaking as well, Eileen cuddled Lily, both had tears running down their cheeks, they all went into a group hug, as they tried to take in their surroundings, the surroundings that weren’t there just a couple of hours ago, all the time expecting some logical explanation to bounce out before their eyes, but it never came, and the more they thought about it, the less likely it was to come.

  ‘What’s happening dad?’ Lily cried, her voice showing her fear as she looked at the trees where once stood a road, her young mind not quite taking everything in, Peter didn’t answer at first, he wasn’t sure what was happening, yesterday they were leaving Sheffield for a holiday in Cornwall, nothing extravagant, just a caravan on a holiday site in Newquay, 24 hours later they were stood in a place where the trees appeared to move, and the people were more than just a little strange, he wanted to walk into the woods, find the road, find a way out, but the fear stopped him doing it, the fear of the trees, it wasn’t mind tricks, the trees weren’t there that morning, it was a road, somehow those tree’s had got there, he was sure of that, ‘or are we all just going crazy’ he thought, and as they hugged each other the number 64 bus pulled up, the 4 of them just stood looking at the bus as, Steve Duce, the driver who had taken them to the social club stepped from it, ‘this is fucking crazy’ Peter said.

  ‘You bet it’s fucking crazy’ said Lily still holding her mother’s arm.

  ‘What are you doing up here’ said the bus driver as he challenged them, his face was angry, Steve Duce was not at all happy, Peter wanted to grab him by the throat and demand answers, and for a moment stepped forward to do exactly that, Lily wanted him to do the same, ‘smash him dad’ she told herself, but his own common sense told him not to, he looked at the bus driver up and down, he wasn’t going to take any shit from him this time.

  ‘You shouldn’t be up here’ Steve added, scalding them like school children,

  ‘Where’s my car’ asked Peter assertively, ‘we want to leave’

  Steve stood before them now in his fluorescent vest, ‘The roads blocked and I wouldn’t go into the woods if I was you’ his words chilled them and 4 pairs of eyes went to the direction of the woods, no one wanted to go in there, he didn’t have to tell them that,

  ‘What the fucks going on, there
was a road here this morning’ Peter could not believe the words that came out of his own mouth such was the absurdity of what he just said, he shook his head as if denying everything.

  Steve had that grin on his face that he had earlier, he didn’t wish these people any harm, but just like everybody else, he had a job to do, and just like everyone else he had to do it well or suffer the consequences,

  ‘you’ve come the wrong way, get in I’ll take you to the pub’ he opened the door, held out his arm as if to guide them and the four of them went onto the 64 bus for the second time that morning, it wasn’t as if they had a choice they were in a place where roads disappear, they didn’t bother sitting down, thinking that in less than a minute they would be getting off, only this time the journey took 12 minutes and they drove past places they hadn’t seen earlier, Peter thought ‘how the hell can that be, we walked it in less’ as they drove and passed the houses and shops, people were out in the streets now and many of them pointed to the bus, and the family in the bus looked at those pointing at them, Those sharing conversation with each other as they looked and pointed at the bus, it was then that Peter thought they may have walked into something far more sinister then he first imagined.

  Eileen noticed the concerns on their faces of the people who pointed at them and that scared her, she waived to one person, a lady around the age of 30, the girl waived back, but it seemed arduous with a forced smile, it was to unnatural, they pulled into the Underwood Social car park, there were kids playing, throwing the ball at the hoop and somehow that made things seem a bit better, and that they did do normal things in this place, they got out of the mini bus and the kids stopped playing and stared at them as if they were aliens from outer space, Steve shooed them away with his arms and the new family followed him into the pub, and all four of them thought that there must be a logical answer somewhere, because back in Sheffield, no one could remember trees moving.