Frankie squeezed my hand gently and gave me a sympathetic look.
'Don't worry we will get her back, along with Jade and Hayley,' she told me softly.
Izzy said nothing as we all spoke, I had noticed how cold she was and wondered if anyone else had noticed. She was not one for socialising and often just sat and stared into space. 'Aye, those bastards won't know what hit them,' Tamara said fiercely.
'Any ideas where we're going to stay after we've scoped out their place?' I asked.
'Actually, I have an idea. It's a bit of a drive, but I'm positive it will be safe and secure,' Jillian said.
'Where?' Tamara asked curiously.
'Dunvegan Castle, it's on the Isle of Skye but it's out of the way. If by some unfortunate chance we get seen, we can drive far enough away so that hopefully they won't follow us,' she explained. We talked about for a while and all decided to go with her idea, I liked Jillian's way of thinking, while she wasn't much of a fighter but she was highly intelligent. I'd never even seen a castle before let alone been in one, despite the urgency of our mission I felt somewhat excited to be going to a castle.
We reached the town of Doll just as the sun began to set, pleased that our journey had been without incident I was in high spirits and felt optimistic about our mission. The town was quaint and pretty, it seemed to be in a reasonable state with not too much damage having been done to it. There were cottages spread out upon grassy hills, flowers bloomed filling the greenery with a wealth of colours. Though the sun was now below the horizon, I could still feel the warmth of the summers day, I looked in the side mirror to see my cheeks were now tinged with red from the days heat. Between being hungover and sunburnt it was no wonder I felt a little off, I looked at the others to find that both Finn and Frankie had caught the sun as well.
We hid the car in some bushes behind a static caravan, feeling sure of ourselves we walked along the lonely roads as the darkness descended upon us. None of spoke as we approached Brora, I could feel my hands shaking as I realised just how close I was to my sister, Frankie took hold of my hand and smiled at me. Everyone else had been kind and loving during the months since my sister had been taken, but Frankie was my rock. I loved her more than I ever thought possible, she was kind, caring, loving, strong and wise. I knew I was a lucky man, and made sure that she knew how much I loved and appreciated her.
'We need to split up so we can see from different points,' Frankie whispered. We all nodded in agreement, I would go with Frankie as I knew that if I saw my sister only Frankie could stop me from doing anything stupid. Tamara would go with Finn so that left Jillian with Izzy, I could sense Jillian's unease but she she said nothing. We all agreed to meet up back at the car in an hour, as much as I hated it we also said that we wouldn't go back no matter what. We quietly headed off in different directions, I clutched Frankie's hand as we approached the tall walls. We were on the right side of the compound, I could see the main gate from here and in the dark of night I could make out Tamara and Finn's shadows as they crept to the other side.
As we quietly knelt by the walls, we edged our way round until was found a hole in the wall big enough to see through. I let Frankie look through it, for fear that I would see something I wouldn't like. Frankie knelt on the grass peering through the hole, I sat next to her keeping an eye out.
'This place is bigger than I thought it would be,' Frankie whispered.
'What can you see?' I asked trying to keep calm.
'I can see about twenty men, most of the women appear to be inside the houses.'
I eagerly awaited news of my sister, but after ten minutes of waiting I plucked up the courage to ask.
'Can you see Maggie?'
Frankie shook her head, 'no but I saw Hayley and Jade,' she said calmly.
'At least that's something,' I replied trying to sound happy.
'Don't worry, we'll find her,' she reassured me.
'I just hope we're not too late,' I told her. She said nothing, and just kept looking through the hole. I looked around from where I was stood, there was a few old speed boats on the coast. I couldn't see clearly from here but they looked to be in reasonable condition, I noticed that none of them were overly big. You could fit maybe six people of each one, I wondered if the boats were their emergency transport.
'Time for a perimeter search,' came a loud, booming voice from inside the walls.
'Crap, let's go,' I told Frankie in a hushed voice.
She nodded then grabbed my hand and pulled me to safety, we snuck through the long grass back towards the road that led to Doll. Once we were far enough away, we started to walk normally.
'What exactly did you see in there?' I asked.
'Nothing out of the ordinary, which is strange in itself,' she replied sounding a little confused. 'What do you mean?'
'I mean, there were no chains or bindings round the women that I saw. Obviously the women were guarded but it didn't seem like they were being held prisoner,' Frankie told me.
'That is strange, hopefully the others will have more news for us,' I said trying to sound optimistic.
'I could only make out twenty men, but no doubt there's plenty more on the other side of the compound.'
We made it most of the way back to the car when Tamara and Finn caught up with us, I could not read the expressions of their faces which made me worry.
'What did you see?' I asked as soon as they neared us.
'I saw Jade, she seemed alright,' Tamara told me.
'Let me guess, she had no chains or anything binding her and the women didn't really seem like they were being held captive,' Frankie said.
'Yeah, I'm guessing it was like that round your side too,' Tamara replied.
'Yup, did you see Maggie?' Frankie asked carefully.
'Sorry lad we didn't,' Tamara said sadly.
'Damn it,' I shouted in frustration. Frankie put her arm round me and held me for a moment, I just hoped that Izzy and Jillian had seen my sister. I stood, silent while the others talked about what they'd seen. I just wanted to know if Maggie was alright, I waited patiently for Izzy and Jillian to come back; they were taking a while. I went to sit in the car, wanting to get away from the talking. From what Tamara and Finn had said there had been a lot of women on their side, as well as men. They had also said that there were babies in the compound, how on earth were we going to get our friends out without endangering the women and children?
Izzy and Jillian arrived almost twenty minutes later, I jumped out of the car and stood waiting as they drew closer. Before I could even get a word out Jillian cam up to me and gave me a look of relief that quelled my fears.
'I've seen Maggie, she looks alright but I think you'll be shocked when you see her,' she said.
'She's not, you know pregnant is she?' I asked worryingly.
'No, not that I could see. From what I could tell, she's the queen,' Jillian told me.
'What?' I said in disbelief.
'She was by Nathaniel's side, commanding the people just as he did. I could see that they both fear and respect her,' she replied.
I didn't know what to do or say, what the hell had happened to my sweet innocent sister?
'Did anyone see Hayley?' Izzy asked concernedly.
'Yeah, I did. But I have some bad news,' Frankie told her sadly.
'What is it?' Izzy cried, her eyes alight with worry.
'She had a rather large stomach.'
'Shit, fucking shit,' Izzy shouted.
'Come on, we should head out. We all need sleep and food,' Jillian told us kindly.
'Do you mind driving?' Tamara asked her.
'No problem.'
We all jumped in the car, Tamara sat next to Jillian, Finn and Izzy sat in the middle while Frankie and I had the back to ourselves. No one said anything as Jillian drove us through the night.
After about two hours of driving the radio crackled and Faye's voice came through.
'Finn, I've found her. I've found our mum,' she said joyfully.
'What, is she alive?' He asked. 'Yes, hold on I'll put her on,' she replied happily.
'Finn, it's mum.'
'Mum is it really you?' His voice broke as he spoke, I could see the tears in his dark blue eyes.
Frankie reached forward and squeezed his shoulders, he turned and smiled at her.
'Yes, it's me. Listen there's something I need to tell you, it's about your father.'
'What is it?'
'He didn't make it sweetheart, I'm sorry,' she told him sadly.
'It's alright mum, I'm just glad your safe,' he said tearfully.
'Faye told me what your doing, just please come back to me safely,' she pleaded.
'Don't worry mum I will do, I promise,' he told her.
'How's everyone else?' Jillian asked.
'Hi mum, don't worry we're all fine. Have you found the others yet?' Cammi asked. We told them what we'd found and where we were heading, Finn still had tears of joy running down his face. I was happy for him, it was about time our group had some good news. We all said goodnight to them, and promised that we'd check in tomorrow night.
'I can't believe my mums actually alive,' Finn said in shock.
'We're all happy for you, and don't worry we'll make sure you get back to her,' Tamara told him.
'Thanks,' he replied smiling.
'How much further Jillian?' Tamara asked. 'We've got another couple of hours yet, if you lot want to get some sleep go ahead,' she told us happily.
I was too wired to sleep, my mind kept going back to what Jillian had told me about Maggie. My sister had always been quiet and shy, the person Jillian described sounded nothing like her. I kept wondering what could have happened to make Maggie like that, none of the reasons I came up with were good. Frankie leaned on me, her fingers wrapped around mine. She didn't say anything, I think she knew I needed to think things through myself. I could see that she was falling asleep, I reached up and brushed her hair behind her ears. I gently kissed her forehead, before looking at everyone else.
Izzy looked both sad and angry, she'd never been one for emotions but I suspected that when it came to Hayley it was another story. Finn was falling asleep next to her, his eyes fluttering as he tried to stay awake. He could not hide his joy, even with the dire state of things I didn't want him to hide his happiness. I'd be just as jolly and smiley if I were in his shoes. Tamara was wide awake, she was talking in a low voice to Jillian. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, and I was too tired to try and listen in.
I began to feel tired and while I didn't want to sleep, I closed my eyes letting all the images of my sweet sister pass through my mind.
Chapter 28
Frankie
I was jolted awake when the car came to a sudden stop, it was pitch black outside and I couldn't really see out the windows. I rubbed my eyes and stretched as I started to properly wake up.
'Are we here?' I asked sleepily.
'Yeah,' Jillian said. Finn was waking up, as was Izzy. Jillian turned off the headlights and waited for us to wake up, while couldn't see any of the detail I looked in front to see a large stone, three story castle complete with a keep and a tower.
'Wow, that place is beautiful,' I was in awe.
'Come on, we've got work to do,' Tamara told us all. We all got out of the car and just stood for a moment, I could smell the salt in the air from the nearby sea and feel the cold breeze on my shoulders. There was a low stone wall that ran from the road leading right up to the castle, I looked to see that the front door was open. I listened for a minute, waiting to see if I could hear any walkers nearby. When I heard nothing I told the others to move out.
Jensen walked in front with me, Tamara and Finn where behind us while Izzy and Jillian took the rear. Upon entering the castle I saw in the foyer a large set of dark wooden stairs, a bright red carpet trailed down the stairs and stopped at my feet.
'Let's check out this floor first, then we'll head upstairs,' I told the others.
They nodded and followed my lead. I turned left into a small music room, there were old instruments on the walls and tables. Violins, guitars and there was even a large black ancient looking piano in the corner. The walls were painted a pale blue colour with a rich wooden mahogany border going round the middle of the walls. The carpet was dark as was all the furniture, as much as I wanted to just sit and admire the room I knew we had work to do.
The next room was a grand dining room, there was over a dozen long wooden tables and chair within the room. Various paintings hung on the walls, they showed past centuries within their small frames. No corpses in here, thankfully. In the room just ahead of the dining hall, was a chapel. It was a simple place with a few rows of seating, a tall stand was at the end with a bible laying on it. Nothing in this room, we doubled back to the dining hall and went into the left room. It appeared to be some kind of sun room, with large, long windows and six old sun loungers sat next to each other. There was not much in the way of decoration in the room, I took a minute to look out the windows. I saw some of the gardens below, they were rife with vibrant colours from the stunning flowers that had made their home in the garden. I could see the tall sturdy trees, the stone gate just to left and a large lake that surrounded the sides and back of the castle.
There was only one last room on this side of this floor, it was a tiny room that held a small, dark wooden desk and chair. I could see some more paintings hung around the room, scattered papers lay upon the desk and there was a tall, wide bookcase in the corner. No doubt this had once been a study room.
'Let's head back to the entrance,' I said.
'This place is beautiful,' Izzy spoke softly.
'Yeah it is, what do you think the chances are of there being no corpses here?' Tamara asked.
'Ha, I think that's wishful thinking,' Finn joked.
'He's right,' I laughed.
'Come on, let's go,' Jillian said smiling. We went back to the entrance and immediately checked out the right side of the first floor, the room adjacent was part of the museum. It was home to various old artefacts that had once belonged to the previous owners of the castle, I could even see in a glass case the famous fairy flag. As the room was empty of corpses I couldn't help but take the time to read the sign next to the fairy flag.
The Fairy Flag is an heirloom of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod. It is held in Dunvegan Castle along with other notable heirlooms, such as the Dunvegan Cup and Sir Rory Mor's Horn. The Fairy Flag is known for the numerous traditions of fairies, and magical properties associated with it. The flag is made of silk, is yellow or brown in colour, and measures about 18 inches. It has been examined numerous times in the last two centuries, and its condition has somewhat deteriorated. It is ripped and tattered, and is considered to be extremely fragile.
I looked over to see the Dunvegan Cup and the horn, both stunning artefacts that I dared not touch. We couldn't get to the other rooms this way so we went back to the entrance, just in front of us were two doors either side of the large stairs. We could see that both doors led to same place, which was a smaller dining space and kitchen. Most of the castle still looked quite old but this room had been modernized, I could see a that one wall was lined with cookers. There were two small tables in the corner, there was a door near to where the cookers were. As we exited the room into a small hallway, I saw that there were two doors; one straight ahead and one to our left. The left one led to a large balcony that was empty except for a well that sat near the corner.
'Just look at that view,' Tamara said in awe.
'I've never seen anything like it,' Izzy chimed in.
'I know it's beautiful, but we need to scope out the rest of this place and then get some sleep,' I told them gently.
'What's with ya being a buzz kill?' Tamara joked.
'Tell you what, we finish what we're doing and get some sleep and tomorrow you guys can spend as much time as you want looking at this pretty view,' I told them, laughing.
'We'll hold you to that,' Jensen repl
ied. We went back into the hallway and looked in the other door, it led outside and I could see some stone steps that ran to the bottom of the hill. We didn't need to venture down there tonight, we'd get lost for sure. We walked back to the entrance and told the others to keep their eyes open as we ascended to the next floor. There was a thin, long hallway that led round to both parts of the second floor. There was one door to the right, which led into a rather spectacular bedroom, a giant wooden, four poster bed sat in the middle of the wall. The finest, most exquisite covers lay upon it in perfect condition.
'Dibs on this room,' Jensen said suddenly.
'You beat me to it lad,' Tamara joked. On the second there were four bedrooms and one heck of a library, there floor to ceiling shelves just covered in books. A few large desks sat in the corners with open books laying on them, I was definitely going to read some of these tomorrow, I thought excitedly.
The third floor was just the keep and tower, we went back down to the first floor to close the front door. We'd been incredibly lucky that this place had been empty, maybe we'd live here when we rescued the others, I thought happily. Izzy had wanted to keep watch first, so the rest of us headed to bed.
I took off my clothes, leaving on only my underwear. I turned to see Jensen looking at me lustfully, we'd not been really intimate as I'd been worried about his recovery. Yet now as he stood before me in all his glory I felt my worries disappear, I pulled the bobble from my hair letting it fall down my back.
'You look beautiful,' Jensen said gently.
'Ha, I look like a scruff I haven't showered in I don't know how long,' I joked.
'You still look gorgeous to me,' he smiled.
'Well then, clearly you must be crazy,' I laughed.
'Crazy for you,' he replied.
'Ha, nice pickup does it work on all the girls?'
'You tell me,' he said lustfully. I walked over to him, trying not to look at his privates too much. I'd never seen a man naked before and didn't want him to notice my nervousness, held his face in my hand as I kissed him with a passion that I'd long thought was lost. In that moment I let go of all my guilt over Nikkita, I knew she'd want me to be happy.
Dead World Rising (Book 1): Staying Human Page 21
