Vanished

by Eden Darry

  Terry nodded. Dani did look tired. Apart from the bruise there were dark circles under her eyes, and she was pale. Did she have the same dream as him? He doubted it. She wouldn’t be so keen to head north if that was the case. “These dreams. What happens in them?”

  Dani looked uncomfortable. Shifty. She shrugged. “I don’t remember them very well. There’s a storm. A…a flood. And then someone tells me to head north.”

  “That’s all?” There was more. She wouldn’t tell him. It didn’t matter, though. She wanted to go north and that was where Little Terry was. He wouldn’t have to drag her there.

  “Mr. Pratt? Do you have the dreams?” Dani asked.

  “No, love. I haven’t had any dreams.”

  Dani sighed. “I wish you would come with me, Mr. Pratt. I know your wife and your son are gone, but I’d like to have someone to go with. Just in case it really is only us left.”

  Terry looked at the girl again. She wasn’t old, not much younger than Little Terry when he disappeared.

  There was a good chance these dreams meant nothing. If Dani wasn’t having them too, Terry would put them down to the booze. He’d drunk enough to sink a ship, and a few strange dreams would be getting off light. But what if they did mean something? What if there was a chance he could get his son back?

  It would be at the expense of this girl, but who was she? No one, really. No one important. Little Terry was his son, his flesh and blood. If this woman, Rosemary Decker, was going to kill her, he’d make sure it was quick. If he was going to lead Dani to her death, it was the least he could do.

  “Okay, love. Yeah, I’ll go with you. Just let me clean up first.”

  Dani smiled with obvious relief. “Thank you, Mr. Pratt.”

  Terry nodded. “Give me an hour to sort myself out. I have to see if I can get off this fucking floor.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Loveday raced out of the copse and straight into Ellery, knocking her flat and landing on top of her. The torch hit the ground, cracked, and skittered away, plunging them into darkness. She heard Ellery grunt, then lie still. Ellery’s breath was warm against her ear.

  “Is everything okay?” Ellery’s voice was muffled and her lips whispered against Loveday’s neck where her face was mashed.

  “I’m so sorry.” Loveday struggled upright, kneeing Ellery in the crotch as she did so. Ellery oofed. “God, sorry about that too. I’m fine. Rocky ran off into the trees and I followed him. Then I spooked myself.”

  Loveday held out a hand to help Ellery up. She could barely make her out in the darkness. Even living in the countryside, she didn’t think she’d ever been in such utter darkness. She was grateful when Ellery clicked on their remaining torch.

  “Are you sure that was all it was? Are you sure it wasn’t—”

  “It wasn’t. I’m sure.” Loveday cut her off before she could mention the thing that stalked them in the village. She knew it was irrational, but she didn’t want Ellery to say it out loud in case it brought the thing to them. “I’m pretty sure it was a rat or something I disturbed. That’s probably what Rocky chased after to begin with.”

  As if he’d heard his name, Rocky came trotting out of the trees and chuffed good-naturedly at them before heading back into the tent.

  Loveday laughed. “Like he hasn’t a care in the world. I really am sorry I frightened you.” She couldn’t make out Ellery properly but thought she saw her shrug.

  “Don’t worry about it. You’re safe and that’s all that matters. We’d better head back inside the tent. We’ve a long walk ahead of us tomorrow.”

  Inside the tent, Claude barely acknowledged them as he reclined on Ellery’s recently vacated sleeping bag. Loveday watched as she gently moved him, climbed inside, and lay down.

  “Ellery?”

  “Yeah?”

  Loveday sighed. “I’m sorry. About before.”

  She heard Ellery shift, roll towards her. “Don’t worry about it. It’s dark out there and you got spooked.”

  “No, not that. I mean, I am sorry about that too, but it’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “Okay.” Loveday smiled at the confusion in Ellery’s voice. “What are you sorry for, then?”

  “I was a total bitch earlier. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. Look, Loveday, I want you to know I would never do anything to…to, you know, make you uncomfortable on purpose.”

  Loveday heard her blow out a breath and felt horrible all over again. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was me who nearly kissed you.”

  “Oh. Well—”

  “I shouldn’t have. It was a mistake. What I mean is I won’t do it again. I like you, Ellery, but not like that.” It was a lie. A total lie, but she needed to nip this in the bud. Stop it before it even started. It was better for them both.

  “I understand.” Ellery’s voice was small, hurt. “Let’s get some sleep. It’s a long day tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Ellery?”

  “Yes, Loveday?” A hint of amusement in Ellery’s voice now.

  “Are we okay?”

  “Of course we’re okay. We’re more than okay. We’re good. Now go to sleep before I throttle you.”

  Loveday laughed. “Right, then. Night.”

  “Night.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  They had been trickling in since the early morning—Rosemary’s flock, as she was beginning to think of them. Bedraggled and hollow-eyed, they shuffled into the hangar.

  Rosemary watched them from her position on one of the platforms, and her insides warmed. These were her children now and she had a responsibility to them, to help them find their way to God’s light. Her followers had set up partitions on the far side of the hangar to make dormitories. One for women and children and one for men.

  Rosemary frowned as she observed a young man and young woman share a kiss. She turned to Chloe or Claire. “Those two”—she pointed at the couple who were now cuddling—“are they married?”

  Chloe-Claire consulted her clipboard. Each person was required to register their details when they came in. “No. They are a couple, though.”

  Rosemary just knew they were sleeping with each other. She wouldn’t allow sin to go unchallenged here. “I’ll hold a service in the chapel this evening. Make sure everyone is there. It’s time to lay down the rules. Make sure there’s a copy of the Bible for everyone. It will help them to fully understand how things are going to be from now on. God willing, our new world will look nothing like the old one.”

  Rosemary didn’t wait for Chloe-Claire to reply. It was time for her daily inspection of the Ark 2. Only God knew how long they would need to be on it, and everything should be just right. She climbed down the ladder to her left. There were ladders on each platform, each eventually leading to the ground. Rosemary wasn’t keen on them, but a lift had proved impractical. She would never admit it, but the ladders scared her. When she’d made the mistake once of looking down, her foot slipped, and for a second she saw herself falling, crashing over the edge of the platform below, and tumbling to her death. Lying broken on the hangar floor.

  Rosemary shook thoughts of her own mortality away and continued her descent.

  * * *

  Ellery breathed in the smoky air, then looked at her map again. She traced the A road they were on with her finger. For the past two days, the smell of burning had gotten steadily worse, and she was afraid there was a fire somewhere to the west of them. A big one.

  They couldn’t see any smoke yet, but there was a very real danger she would lead them into the path of it. Ellery doubted the fire brigade had survived, and so even a small fire would rage out of control if left unchecked.

  They still hadn’t seen any animals. Ellery worried that if they were still alive, the fire would kill hundreds of them if it raged unchecked. And what about those still trapped in houses or cages in gardens? It didn’t bear thinking about. It made her feel sick. And useless. She’d become a vet because she love
d animals. She should be checking the homes that now stood empty to see if any pets were inside, but there wasn’t time. And the time they did have was running out. She could feel it.

  They could start heading east, towards London, which would add two days at least to the journey but should take them far enough out of the path of the fire. She hoped. There was really no way of knowing. Ellery took a deep breath and looked at the map again.

  Loveday leaned into her from behind and looked over her shoulder. Ellery closed her eyes briefly and tried not to notice Loveday’s breast as it pushed against her.

  “Well? Figured it out yet, Bear Grylls?” Loveday poked her to let her know she was teasing.

  “I think if we head east we should link up with the M25. It’ll take us to the outskirts of London and then to the M1. We can head north again from there.” Ellery stepped away from Loveday on the pretence of putting her map away. Truthfully, she found it difficult to be so close to Loveday and keep her feelings in check.

  Loveday had been totally clear on what she didn’t want from Ellery and, since the first day when they’d almost kissed, had given no indication she returned Ellery’s feelings. She bent down to stuff the map in the front pocket of her pack. She closed her eyes and muffled a groan when Loveday trailed her hand over her shoulders.

  “Ellery? Are you okay?”

  “Sure. Why?”

  “I don’t know. You’ve been really quiet these last few days. Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

  Ellery opened her eyes wide in alarm.

  “The fire,” Loveday continued. “Are you more worried than you’re letting on?”

  Ellery sighed with relief. “I am worried about it. They can spread quickly, and I’m concerned we won’t get out of its path in time if the wind changes direction.” She stood and lifted her pack onto her back, tightened the straps.

  “You can share this stuff with me, you know. If you’re worried or scared or whatever. I’m not some fragile little doll you need to protect.”

  Shit, Loveday looked annoyed. “No, I—”

  “I know I’m not exactly a survival expert, but I am an adult. Okay?”

  “Okay. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Ellery said.

  “You didn’t upset me. You pissed me off.”

  “Oh. Right. I don’t mean to treat you like a doll. I’m just not used to sharing my concerns. That’s all.” Ellery looked at the ground. Conversations like this made her feel awkward. She didn’t have a lot of practice at them and was always worried she’d say the wrong thing and bugger everything up. Also, confrontation made her insides churn. When she was still at university and renting, her neighbour kept parking his car in front of her drive. Rather than speak to him about it, she’d moved house.

  She heard Loveday sigh, and there was that hand again, gentle on her shoulder. “Just, share stuff with me next time. Who knows, I might even be able to help.” Loveday squeezed her shoulder and Ellery looked up and smiled.

  “Yeah. Okay. Well, one concern I have is water. We need to find some more soon. If I remember correctly, there should be one of those huge out-of-town supermarkets around here somewhere.”

  Ellery had driven past it a number of times going back and forth from London. It was a superstore that sold clothes, electricals, and pretty much everything else you could think of. They were positioned just outside of towns, and there’d been a lot of opposition to them at first. They undercut local businesses in towns and killed off high streets. Shops in business for years found themselves closing down, unable to compete. Ellery hated them, but now, finally, they might prove useful.

  She estimated it would take them half an hour’s walk to get there. She wanted to push on for another few hours afterwards if Loveday was up for it. Assuming the role of leader wasn’t something she was entirely comfortable with. Sure, at work it was fine—it was her business after all. Outside of work she was used to fading into the background, and the fact that Loveday had easily handed over the reins terrified and honoured her in equal parts. Especially as Loveday didn’t seem the type to willingly let someone else tell her what to do. Ellery was determined to do everything possible to earn the trust Loveday put in her. And part of that meant keeping her growing attraction to herself.

  In the distance, grey clouds started to roll in, promising rain. They’d been lucky with the weather so far, but it was October, after all, and the rain would come more frequently. Temperatures were bound to drop as the days got shorter. Ellery remembered the dream from a few nights ago and shivered.

  Well, no point pondering. Better to get on and stay on the move.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Like a lot of people in the modern world, Terry wasn’t used to walking long distances. The first couple of days, they’d barely managed twelve miles. Only the thought of his son forced him onwards.

  He stank. He was constantly sweating. His feet ached, and his back screamed with every step. By the end of each day he fell quickly into an exhausted sleep, and thank God there were no more dreams.

  Dani, by comparison, was like a puppy. Boundless energy. He’d come close to belting her a couple of times, but the guilt of knowing what he was leading her to stopped him. Also, watching her young arse bounce around as she walked in front of him helped some. He was a man, after all, and even though she was sixteen, she was pretty much a woman—same age as Shirl when he’d knocked her up.

  They stopped for a minute by the side of the motorway. They were following the M4, hoping to link up with the M1. When Terry’d realized none of the cars were working—fuck knew what happened to the engines, but someone had done a number on them—he almost backed out. It was stupid anyway, going on this journey because a dream told him to. Little Terry was gone to Christ knew where with everyone else. Even so, what if? What if he could see his son again? Wasn’t that worth taking the chance?

  Terry mopped his forehead, tried to ignore the stench from his underarms as it wafted up and engulfed him. He couldn’t blame Dani for wanting to walk upwind of him.

  “Do you want to stop for the night, Mr. Pratt?” Dani asked.

  “How long have we been walking now?” All the fucking clocks and watches had stopped working as well.

  Dani shrugged. “A few hours, maybe. Over there looks like a good spot.” She pointed to a grass verge across the way.

  They’d picked up a couple of tents and some bits and pieces for the journey. Not much of a camper, Terry left most of the set-up to Dani—not that she had much of a bloody clue. He’d put a few cans in her backpack and sat now sipping from one while she put up their tents. He was running low and would need to restock soon.

  Suddenly, Dani looked up, head cocked to the side. The metal pole she held thunked on the ground. Terry turned his head in the direction she was looking. Nothing there. Bunch of useless cars crashed into each other and against the central reservation. Then he felt it. Those creepy fucking eyes. Watching them.

  Terry stood and tried to see where the bugger might be hiding. He cracked his knuckles and bounced on his toes. On the opposite side of the road were a small line of trees—a windbreak of sorts. Scraggly and small, they weren’t dense enough to hide a grown man, but his eyesight wasn’t what it had been. He squinted, strained his eyes. There. Between two of the healthier looking trees, something moved. A wave of coldness swept over him. It was watching them. Had probably been following them since they left the pub.

  Without looking at Dani, he said, “Stay here.”

  “But Mr. Pratt, it’s not—”

  “Stay here.” The irony of being worried about her safety wasn’t lost on Terry. If that nasty little peeper was over there, Terry was going to beat the shit out of him.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Loveday watched Ellery over the rim of her mug. She smiled slightly at Ellery’s furrowed brow and the way she rubbed her earlobe which was pinched between her two fingers. Loveday thought she was exactly the kind of hero she would put in one of her books. Not tha
t she would be writing one any time soon. Maybe never again. The thought hurt her heart. It hurt even more when she thought about writing a book using pen and paper. Because that was how it would be from now on.

  Ellery had been studying the map spread across her lap like it held all the secrets of the world. When they woke up this morning the faint smell of burning laced the air, and Ellery thought a fire might have caught somewhere to the west of them. Although they weren’t heading exactly west, they were going in that direction to pick up some motorway or other that Loveday had forgotten the name of, because, honestly, boring.

  “Has the map spoken to you yet?”

  Ellery looked up and grinned. Loveday’s breath caught in her throat. Ellery had a really good smile.

  “I think if we head east, it’ll be safer. We can pick up the M25—”

  Loveday held up her hand. “There’s no point naming them, Ellery. We’ve been through this. I won’t remember.”

  “But you drive. You must have been on motorways.”

  Loveday threw her coffee dregs out on the ground. “I followed a sat nav. You know, the little blue line? That’s it.”

  She squeezed Ellery’s shoulder as she walked past to rinse and repack her mug. And what was that all about? She’d taken to touching Ellery all the time—a shoulder squeeze here and a brush on the arm there—and since when was she so touchy-feely?

  “It’ll take an extra couple of days, but I think it’s worth it.” Ellery’s voice followed her.

  “If you think it’s for best, we should do it.”

  And that was another thing. Loveday was staunchly independent, always had been. Frustratingly so, she’d been told by various girlfriends. Yet here she was, following Ellery’s lead without question, and she was fine with it.

  Maybe because Ellery wasn’t dictatorial—in fact, she was the opposite. She was thoughtful and measured her words, and Loveday could see the wheels turning behind her lovely eyes as she gave every decision proper thought.