Darkness Ahead of Us | Book 3 | Darkness Lifting

by Spencer, Leif

  “What are you doing?” Graham asked.

  “Making sure he’s not losing his arm. If he’s damaged a nerve or a blood vessel—”

  “I can move my fingers.” Bob wiggled his fingers.

  “Do you feel any pins and needles?”

  Bob inhaled sharply, gritting his teeth, then shook his head. “This isn’t the first time I’ve dislocated this shoulder. A doctor showed Sue how to pop it back in the last time it happened. Once it even went back in on its own.” He glanced down at himself, a hopeful look on his face, but his eyes were wide with fear.

  “May I try?” Graham asked.

  “No. Please just help me get back home.”

  “Fine, but first we need to secure your arm,” Rachel said.

  Anna tore the lower half of her shirt into strips, knotting them together. Oreo watched her with his head cocked. “Everything’s fine,” Anna murmured reassuringly as she handed Rachel the strips of fabric.

  After Rachel had secured Bob’s limp arm against his torso, Graham knelt and gestured for Bob to slide his good arm around his neck. “Hold on. I’ll lift you up.”

  Once on his feet Bob swayed, but he looked less pale, and his cheeks were flushed. Anna aimed her torch at the ground in front of Bob’s feet, and together they walked back home.

  It was completely dark now, and it was more a shuffle than a walk. Bob winced with every step, and he held onto Graham with a white-knuckled grip.

  Oreo circled them as though guarding sheep.

  When they reached the copse of trees behind the row of houses, Sue came running towards them, torch in hand.

  “Bob!”

  “I’m fine, love. I’m fine.”

  “I thought you were—” Sue was about to pull him into a hug when she noticed the makeshift sling Rachel had made with the torn strips of Anna’s shirt. Her face fell. “Is it your shoulder?”

  Bob nodded.

  Sue’s eyes darted to Rachel, then to Graham. “Bring him inside.”

  Once inside, Sue helped Bob sit down on a chair in the kitchen where everyone had been waiting. Rachel lit more candles to illuminate the room better. Graham, Rose, Sarah and Anna gathered in a small circle around them. Luke was the only one missing. Anna made a mental note to update him once she’d made sure that her help was no longer needed.

  Sue wiped Bob’s muddy face and neck with a wet towel. “How long has it been dislocated for?”

  “A few hours.”

  She sat down on a chair in front of him and patted her thigh. “Lay your hand on here.”

  “No. It hurts too much.” His voice was laced with defeat, but a shred of stubbornness remained.

  “We can’t just leave you like this,” Rose said. She took Graham’s arm, looking up at him. “Right?”

  Graham nodded.

  “It’ll pop back in on its own,” Bob muttered.

  “That’s rubbish and you know it,” Sue said. “And even if…what are you going to do until then? Sit here in an upright position because you’re in too much pain to sleep?”

  “You said that a doctor had shown Sue how to reduce the shoulder—”

  Bob interrupted Rachel with a stop right there gesture. “After they’d given me sedatives, and she wasn’t actually allowed to touch my arm or shoulder. They made her watch just in case.”

  “I’ve seen it done on television,” Rose said. “We can—”

  “You’ve seen it on television?” Bob scoffed. “That’s it. No one is touching my arm.”

  “It’ll continue to swell, and the more it does, the harder it’ll be to set, and you know it,” Sue said gently. “Now put your arm on my thigh.”

  He bit his lip but did as he was told.

  Sue gingerly placed her hand on his forearm and pulled. Bob’s scream tore through the house, and Sue flinched.

  “Please stop. It’ll pop back in. It always does.”

  “You said it popped back in once,” Rachel said. “Once.”

  A feeling of helplessness overcame Anna as she leaned against the kitchen counter. Three months ago, they would have called an ambulance, and a doctor would have set the shoulder at the hospital.

  Now…

  “I’m sorry.” Sue’s voice cracked, and she wiped her eyes. “They made it look so easy at the hospital.”

  Sarah placed a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  Anna gestured vaguely at everything and nothing.

  A sad smile played on Sarah’s lips.

  “He’s the one who is hurting. I’ll be fine. Did anything happen while we were gone?”

  Sarah let out a long breath, exhaustion evident on her face. “I couldn’t stop her.”

  “Who?”

  “Sue.”

  “Oh no. Did she…did she threaten Neil?”

  Sarah scoffed. “She pounded on his door and windows, yelling for him to return Bob.”

  Anna had no trouble picturing the scene. She hid a smile behind her hand. “And?”

  “He didn’t reply, didn’t even acknowledge us. Rose helped me drag her back home. I could barely keep her from going back and breaking into his house with a crowbar.”

  Anna chuckled. Now that Bob was back home, the tension in her shoulders was slowly melting away.

  “Can we wait until tomorrow, please?” Bob flashed Sue the biggest smile he could muster despite the pain clouding his eyes.

  Sue pursed her lips. “Fine.” She exhaled slowly, her eyes finding Rachel’s. “Thank you for finding him.” She wiped her face on her sleeve. “And you.” She gave Graham and Anna a grateful look. “Thank you.”

  Anna smiled, then stepped outside to update Luke.

  6

  “You’re limping. Are you hurt?” Chris’ steps faltered as she watched Tom shuffling along the overgrown path, his footprints visible in the thick mud.

  It had stopped raining, but the ground was slippery with fallen leaves.

  “I’m in pain.” He reached for a thorny branch and pushed it to the side, gesturing for her to pass. “I’ve been out here every day. Hunting, checking traps, gathering berries and nuts. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down, relax and play videogames.” He flashed her a grin. “I used to take that for granted, you know?

  Chris turned sideways to avoid the blackberry bush encroaching on the path. She caught her jumper in some thorns. “We all took things for granted. A lot of people will struggle to adjust.”

  If they survive…

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well…” Chris trailed off, wiping her brow on her sleeve. “Even living in a safe place with enough food, everything they know is…gone. Some people won’t be able to adjust. Others will simply give up.”

  Tom frowned. “I don’t think that could happen to me.”

  “I doubt it.” Chris gave him a reassuring smile before continuing. “You’ve already proved that you can adapt, but there are people out there still waiting for things to go back to normal. They’d rather wait and starve than face the inevitable.” She lifted her right foot and inspected her shoe. It was caked in mud, and she wrinkled her nose. “Imagine being by yourself with nothing but your own thoughts for company.”

  And every past mistake haunting you.

  Tom didn’t reply. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He tightened the waist straps of his backpack, then carried on walking. Chris followed him.

  No Netflix. No takeaways. No distractions.

  Chris shuddered.

  When they reached the edge of the forest, Tom paused, looking left and right before stepping into the road.

  The first thing Chris noticed was an abandoned roadblock. She tilted her head, listened.

  An eerie silence had fallen over the world. To her right, the leaves were rustling, and a rabbit flitted past. A blackbird’s boisterous song filled the air for a moment, followed by an abrupt stillness.

  There were no gunshots. No traffic.

  Chris pointed at the roadblock. “Have you seen
any soldiers in the last few weeks?”

  Tom put down his backpack and stretched. “No. It’s like they’ve vanished. They were everywhere at first but now…where do you think they’ve gone?”

  Chris looked up, bit her lip. Small, puffy clouds littered the sky. The air smelled of damp moss. “I don’t know. I wonder if they were sent in to empty the warehouses and supermarkets, and it was never about distributing food or helping us.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “They were stalling us, telling us to stay at home and wait while they were taking everything.”

  “Who for?”

  “I don’t know. The government? Themselves?”

  Tom rolled his shoulders, then turned his head from side to side, waiting for the joints to pop before moving again. “But the army is there to keep the country and its people safe.”

  “They probably knew from the outset that they wouldn’t be able to feed the entire population with the supplies they had left. It was a lost cause.”

  A long silence followed. Tom chewed on the inside of his cheek as if contemplating her words. A sweaty lock of hair stuck to his forehead.

  Looking at her, he grimaced. A shadow had crept into his eyes. “That’s a horrible thought.”

  Chris smiled sadly. “Are you surprised?”

  He raised an eyebrow as if bewildered by her question. “Yes?” His voice cracked, and he sounded like a little boy for a moment, as if he’d never considered that people could be this awful, and then it dawned on her that he probably hadn’t.

  He still believed that life was mostly fair. He’d lived with parents who had kept him safe, who’d always kept their word.

  Tom worried his bottom lip, looking at her through hooded eyes. “That means we shouldn’t have—”

  “We shouldn’t have stayed home. We should have gone out and stocked up.”

  “But…Mum…” He licked his lips. “What about the people who couldn’t have…you know, people who are old or sick? This is so—” He threw his hands up.

  “Remember when we first talked about this?” Chris asked. “You asked why we had to wait for the government to distribute supplies, and why we couldn’t just buy what we needed.”

  “Yes.”

  “I was hoping that it was going to be a fair system. I didn’t realise they’d take everything for themselves. In hindsight, I should have known because I did know that there wouldn’t be enough food for everyone.” She sighed. “I guess that’s why they call it survival of the fittest.”

  “And the…unfit are left to die? Aren’t we supposed to look out for each other?”

  “In an ideal world, we help the sick and the weak. But now…what are we supposed to do? There is no food, Tom. I can’t conjure up baked beans out of thin air. As much as I’d like to.”

  He opened his bag, pulled out a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap. “I understand we can’t help everyone, but you went a step further. You’ve…you’ve killed people.”

  “To save us, Tom. To save you.”

  “What’s wrong with tying someone up? It’s not like they can come after you.”

  “I’ve told you before—”

  Tom scowled. “Yes, I get it. What if we meet them again and they kill us…because clearly, this country is so small that we’ll be meeting everyone twice.” He rolled his eyes and put his bottle away.

  Chris gave a small shrug. “You never know.” She ran her fingers through her matted hair, then looked back at Hatfield Forest. It was still warm, but winter was rapidly approaching. Leaves danced in the brisk wind. “Do you know the exact date?”

  “I don’t. I’m sorry.”

  They set off along Dunmow Road in the direction of Takeley. Abandoned cars littered the road. They’d all been broken into, windscreens shattered, their boots wide open.

  Chris inspected the houses as they walked past. Some windows and doors had been boarded up. Shards of glass crunched underneath her shoes with every step.

  “Did you check the shops in the village?”

  “I didn’t dare,” Tom said. “There were always people around. I was too worried about what would happen to you if I didn’t come back.”

  “We should try to find more supplies. I’m not sure that settlement would appreciate if we showed up empty-handed.”

  “It doesn’t say that on the flyer.”

  Chris gave him a hard stare. “Don’t be silly. Let’s check the houses. We can get in through the back gardens.”

  “But what if people are still living there?”

  She gripped the bottle with pepper spray that was inside the pocket of her jumper. “Don’t worry. We’ll knock before going in.”

  Tom came to a halt and shook his head. “Mum…”

  “Look, I know I made a mistake at the farm, I get it. But this settlement is much more likely to take us in if we bring food.” Chris sighed. “If they even still exist.”

  Tom scratched his chin, and a particularly angry spot began to bleed. He scowled and wiped his fingers on his trousers. “If we see any sign—”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll only search empty houses.” Chris offered him a tissue. “May I ask you something?”

  Hesitation flitted across his face. He pressed his mouth into a grim line, then nodded.

  “Did you and James part on bad terms? I’m sorry if I…”

  “No.” He shook his head, his shoulders slumping. “James was upset because I didn’t go with him, but he wasn’t angry at me. He was angry at his dad.”

  “At Tony? What did he do?”

  You promised. She vaguely remembered curls of auburn hair flopping into green eyes, and the petulant, almost pouty complaints of a teenager whose voice was on the edge of cracking.

  Tom shrugged. “James thought that his dad had been lying to him about his mum. He made me promise to run away with him. Said we would bury Dad, then find his mum. He was convinced that she was still in Harlow, waiting for him.”

  “But…” Chris frowned. “Why would Tony lie about James’ mother?”

  “I don’t know. Tony went out to find her, but she wasn’t home. Nobody had seen her since the night of the EMP. He looked everywhere. Her sister’s, friends’, nobody knew where she was.”

  “And James didn’t believe him?”

  “James didn’t want to believe him. It scared him too much to consider the possibility of her being…dead.”

  “Dead?” Chris blinked. “Wasn’t this right after the EMP? Why would she be dead?”

  Tom scowled. “You’ve met James’ mum. Do you really think she’d abandon her son?”

  “Abandon?” Chris scoffed. “The EMP happened late at night. At that time, James was safe at the farm with his father. There was no need for her to worry about her son, but perhaps she had family who weren’t safe? Parents who needed help?”

  Tom rubbed his nose, sniffed. “Hm.”

  “Dead…” She shook her head and chuckled. “You’re both so used to being the centre of our attention that you can’t even imagine that we might care for other people as well. James should stay with Tony because his mum would know where to find him. If she’s alive, she’ll eventually go to the farm. I hope you told him to stay put.”

  “I did, but I don’t think he was listening.”

  “Silly boy,” Chris muttered. “If he’s wandering through the countryside in search of his mum, he’s just putting himself at risk. Not to mention poor Tony.”

  “That’s why I didn’t run off,” Tom said. “I was worried about you.”

  Chris smiled. “But you did run off. Don’t you remember the night of the EMP? Your laptop wouldn’t turn on and you decided that something bad had happened and you just—”

  “I went to find you at work,” Tom protested.

  “I was angry at your dad, you know?”

  Tom’s face turned red. “Why?”

  “Because it was almost midnight, and he was supposed to stop you from running off into the night. He let you walk right out of
the door and into an extremely dangerous situation.”

  “He couldn’t have known about—”

  “He was your dad. He was supposed to keep you safe.” Chris forced a smile. “He couldn’t have stopped you, I’m aware of that. Still, I was angry at him. He should have tried harder.”

  “Did you shout at him?”

  Sometimes I wish you’d just give up and end it all.

  She nodded slowly. “A bit.”

  Tom looked like he wanted to ask something else but didn’t. Instead, he pointed at a row of houses. “Let’s go and find out if anyone is still inside.”

  He discreetly wiped his eyes, and Chris turned her head, pretending not to see.

  Sometimes I wish you’d just give up and end it all.

  And then Lester had killed himself.

  Tom clambered over the wooden fence surrounding the house. A crash sounded as he knocked something over, followed by a muttered curse.

  And then he opened the gate to the garden for her. “I hope the house is empty.”

  A rusty metal table stood on the patio. Next to it lay a garden chair. Piles of books were stacked against the outside wall, the yellowed covers curling upwards.

  The French doors stood open a crack. Tom rapped his knuckles on the glass.

  There was no reply.

  He pushed open the door and stuck his head inside. “Hello? Is anyone home?”

  Chris shuffled past him, pushing a long purple curtain out of the way. She set down her backpack and blinked, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room.

  “I think someone’s still living here,” Tom whispered. “Look.”

  The bookshelf was filled with even rows of tinned food. On the bottom shelf stood three tubs of peanut butter next to several jars of raw honey.

  “That explains the books outside.” Chris grinned. “Jackpot.”

  “No! Mum…”

  But Chris didn’t pay attention to him, rushed to the backpack and opened it.

  “No one would leave this much food behind. They’re either coming back or…” He sniffed the air.

  Chris’ nostrils flared. The musty smell of damp clung to the air. There was no odour of decay. Only dust. “This is enough food for us to survive the winter.”