Holy Island Trilogy 03 - The Final Countdown (9 page)

A few moments later a tall male nurse, with blond spiked hair tipped with red, was at his bedside.

Looking up at him, Danny muttered, ‘What happened?’

The nurse smiled and said, ‘Oh dear, you tell me, love. I only know that we had to pump your stomach, my love. Well, not me exactly, the doctors, you know, and I wasn’t on duty anyway…But because you were in serious danger of suffering alcohol poisoning, they had to do it. And trust me, love, you don’t want that, it's damn awful.’ He shivered, emphasizing just how damn awful alcoholic poisoning is.

Danny took a moment to think this through. His question had been about the blood-red tips on the nurse’s hair, only the daft sod hadn’t got it. Then he said. ‘When can I get outta here?’

‘The doctor will be round at ten o' clock, my love. Rest assured he’ll let you know when you can go.’

‘Well, how soddin' long do they usually keep people in for? For that sort of thing?’

‘It depends, my love.’

‘On what?’

‘Doctor will want to do some tests.’

Danny felt like screaming. It was like talking to a fucking machine that was obsessed with love.

‘OK, let's get this straight. One, I’m not, nor ever will be, your love. Two, so just get my clothes now, will you?  Three, 'cos I’m outta here. Like right now.’

The nurse tutted and gave an exaggerated shrug. ‘Sorry, no can do, my--’

‘I’ve said I’m off, OK? Feeling fine. And you ain't the coppers, so you can’t keep me here if I don’t want to stay. So for fuck's sake, where the hell’s me gear?’

‘I’m sorry, but your clothes were in no fit state to be worn. They’ve been incinerated. You’ll have to get a family member to bring some fresh ones in.’

‘For fuck's sake.’

The nurse frowned down at him. ‘Please, sir, be respectful of all our other patients.’

Danny glanced over at the old man, and guessed rightly that he was doing his best not to piss himself laughing - even though his sniggers were getting louder. He gave him the same frown the nurse was raining down on him.

He spun his head back to the nurse. ‘So when’s the fucking doctor coming in, then?’

‘An hour or so, probably, though he may be running late.’

‘He’s always running late,’ the old man put in.

Throwing him a glare, the nurse turned back to Danny. ‘Would you like some light breakfast now? We have some lovely cornflakes this morning,’ he smiled. ’Toast, strawberry jam, or perhaps there may be some very nice scrambled eggs?’

‘An hour? A fucking hour?’ Danny almost shouted. He swung his legs out of the bed. ‘No way, mate, am I hanging around for an hour, never mind the "so". I know how long "so’s" take. And you know what you can do with your fucking very nice scrambled eggs.’

‘Please, you’re disturbing the other patients.’

‘And the lovely cornflakes, and the other stuff you said. 'Cos there ain't no argument… I’m off. Gone. Have a good life. In fact, you’ll run now, if you know what’s good for you.’

‘Please, sir, the patients.’

‘What patients?’ Danny waved his arm, taking in the fifteen bed ward. Every bed was taken up with sleeping old men.

‘You couldn’t disturb this lot if you tried to, you bloody fool. They wouldn’t hear a fucking brass band in full swing marching through this fucking dump. They’re all in the knackers yard, fucking waiting for God. What the fuck am I doing in here amongst this lot, anyhow? I’m hardly drawing me pension.’

‘It was the only available bed. And if you don’t get back into bed, I’m calling security.’

‘Yeah, well, call them. Go on, I dare you. And before they get here, tell them I said to fuck right off.’

The nurse pursed his lips and flounced off out of the ward. Danny turned to the old man, who was now purple.

‘Best friggin' entertainment I’ve had in a month, mate,’ he said before, unable to control it any longer, he burst out laughing, and alternatively gasping for air.

‘You got any clothes I can borrow?’ Danny asked him. ‘I’ve really got to get outta here, like five minutes ago.’

‘Hmm…I have, though I doubt very much if they’ll fit you, bonny lad,’ he wheezed.

‘Whatever. I really need to be gone.’

‘Why? In case "them" come looking for you? Sorry, couldn’t resist it.’ He laughed again. ‘Here, son,’ he pointed to his locker, 'take whatever you want.’

Danny gritted his teeth and moved quickly to the old man’s locker. In moments he was dressed in a pair of dark grey trousers, two sizes too small for him, and a dark brown cardigan with holes in the sleeves, and one pocket hanging on by a few threads, which smelled strongly of a mixture of pipe smoke and wet dog.

‘You haven’t got--’

The old man held out a ten pound note before Danny could finish what he was going to say.

Gratefully, Danny snatched the tenner. ‘Thanks, mate. I’ll get it back to you, that’s a promise.’

‘Don’t worry, son, seems you’ve got enough problems. And trust me, it was worth it for the entertainment value. Beats betting on two raindrops on the window in this morgue.’

Danny looked around the ward and pictured a bunch of old men staring at the window, gambling on which raindrop would hit the bottom first, and shuddered.

‘Thanks again.’

‘OK. Now get going. Turn left through the door and then first right. That’ll bring you out the back way, ‘cos the security guards will no doubt be on their way here. Trust me, Nurse Soft Shite will have gone for them.’

‘OK, and thanks again.’

‘Get out of here, will you? And be careful. Some of your babbling last night made sense.’

For a moment Danny stared in amazement at the old man. ‘You believe me?’

‘You don’t get to my age and live through two world wars without hearing a thing or two that ain't your regular run of the mill stuff. I remember one time in the trenches...’ For a moment, his eyes glazed over. Then he sighed and went on, ‘Never mind, bonny lad. But a bit of advice. Always keep an open mind, that’s my motto. A closed mind learns nowt… Now get the hell outta here.’

‘I’m gone.’

‘OK, son. Careful you don’t burst outta them trousers, mind you.’ He laughed loudly again.

Danny took off at a run, and turned the corner just as the security guards arrived. He reached the exit and looked quickly both ways. As he stepped through the door, he spotted a bus just outside of the wall, which was only a few metres away, but easily well over two metres tall. Although his instinct was to go for the wall, he knew he’d never be able to scale it in these pants. He ran for the steps he’d spotted to his right and took them two at a time, but he was too late to catch the bus.  It pulled away as he jumped over the last step.

‘Damn.’ He shoved his hands into his pockets, wondering when the next bus was due. He sincerely hoped it came well before the black clouds over to the east arrived.

Leaning against the bus-stop pole, he watched an old woman in a red coat cross the road.

‘Looks like it's gonna rain again.’ She smiled at him as she stepped inside the shelter.

What’s with the fucking weather? Danny thought. Jesus! You can practically guarantee that a perfect fucking stranger will make some comment about it, for fuck's sake!

‘It’s gonna piss down,’ he snapped, staring at her.

She shrugged, taking no notice of his angry tone. ‘Probably. You can smell it in the air, can’t you. We’ve had more rain this year than I’ve ever known. But then you’ve had a lot of rain in your life recently, haven’t you?’

‘What?’ Danny was taken aback. Talking about the weather with a stranger was one thing, but personal stuff? No way. Anyhow, how does she know what’s been going on, unless she’s one of…Them. Oh God, she must be.

‘Never mind. Here, Danny.’ She held out her hand.

Danny stared at the brown envelope she was holding as if it was going to grow teeth and bite him. Then it suddenly dawned on him that she knew his name. He shivered, feeling cold all over.

She is one of them…Gotta be.

Gotta get away from here, he thought, starting to panic as he looked wildly from side to side, and shaking inside as he wondered which way to run.

‘Danny.’

‘What?’ He paused a moment and stared at her.

‘Take it. Trust me, it's from a friend.’ She held the envelope out again. ‘Take it.’

‘Why should I trust you?’ He stepped quickly back.

‘I don’t blame you, after all that’s happened lately. But if I said that I know Shelly, or rather some very good friends of mine know Shelly, would you please take it?’

He shook his head, looking even more suspiciously at her as he thought, Shelly… Shelly is to blame for all this… Don’t you know that? Oh God, where is she?

‘Shelly needs you, Danny, she really does. Without you, my friends don’t think she’ll make it.’

‘She…you know where she is?’

And why wouldn’t she know where Shelly is, for fuck's sake, she knows who I am. He shook his head in disbelief. This whole thing just gets weirder and weirder by the day.

The woman nodded. ‘In the envelope is your passport and a plane ticket to Heathrow, where you’ll be met and taken by car the rest of the way to Shelly in Norwich. In a few minutes, there’ll be a car arriving here to take you to Newcastle airport.’

‘No.’ Danny waved his arms at her. ‘Ain’t getting on no plane, with no strangers, and deffo not getting into no fucking car, and that’s a fact.' - remembering the last time he was in a car with strangers, and ended up in the monastery. ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ He backed right to the end of the bus shelter.

Then a sudden thought struck him. How the fucking hell did you get my passport?

Ignoring his question, she went on, ‘Danny, you’re on your own out here, but you have to trust somebody. Please trust me when I tell you that Shelly really needs you.’

‘You sure you’re not one of them… I mean, how can I trust you? ‘Cos you’re gonna tell me a whole bunch of lies anyhow, aren’t you…No, keep it.’

‘Danny, Shelly is on suicide watch.’

‘Suicide?’ His mouth hung open. ‘In Norwich?’

Patiently, the old woman went on, ‘Yes, Danny. You really must go. There isn’t much time until the families start looking for you, because they’ll have contacts in the hospital. In fact, they’re probably already here… Ah, here comes the car.’

Instead of looking at the car, which was pulling up alongside  them, he said, ‘You know about them, don’t you? I mean, you really know they’re real? All this isn’t some crazy fucking dream I’m stuck in the middle of…I’m not going nuts, am I? Please tell me I’m not gonna end up in the fucking nut house forever.’ He reached his hand imploringly towards her.

Thrusting the envelope into his hand, she said, ‘Yes, Danny, it’s all real, and you have no reason to doubt yourself. Trust me.’

Danny felt like laughing his head off. Trust you? Easy enough said, Mrs…but no way!

‘You’re mixed up in something so huge, they’ll do their best to shut you up. Even though you’re nothing more than an irritating piece of fly shit on a wall to them.’

‘Nice.’ Danny glared at her.

‘Just get into the car, and go see Shelly.’ She scuttled towards him and pushed him in the direction of the car.

‘Get off me.’ He batted his hands at her.

What the hell, he thought, who does she think she’s pushing, the old bat. I’m pissed right off with being ordered around by every fucking body. Seems it's all day every day now.

‘Danny, you have to go now. Trust me, there’s no more time left.’

Convinced she was one of them, he said, holding his hands out in a placating gesture, ‘OK, OK, I get it… I’ll go.’ His intention though was to run as far away from her as he could.

He looked towards the car. A large red Audi with blacked-out windows. He had no idea of who might be inside. Before he could move, the back door opened, cutting off his escape route. His heart gave a lurch.

Hesitating, he turned back to the woman. ‘You sure it’s not them? I mean, I don’t even know you. You could easily be--’

The next moment, he was grabbed by a pair of strong arms and dragged into the car.

NORWICH

CHAPTER TWENTY

Ella hurried outside into the bike shed. Climbing onto her bike, she made for the exit hoping against hope that none of the guards were hanging about. There was a certain one who looked like he’d never seen a bath nor a barber for God knows how long, who had his eye on her, and if things went the way he seemed to be wanting them to, then her position here would be untenable. Even for the cause she would never go down that road ever again. To be truthful, though, it would never be expected of her.

But it would be bad for all. Her job here had been instrumental in teaching them so much about the enemy, and so much was drawing to a head that to put a new girl in her place would be more than dangerous. It could be disastrous.

Looking right then left, she turned on to the road and headed for Norwich. Most of the road was tree-lined, with fields behind the trees. It was very quiet, as usual. She met one oncoming car, and was only passed by two cars the whole four miles. Her heart was in her mouth as usual each time a car passed, in case somehow she’d been sussed out and they had come after her.

Reaching the street where the safe house was, she pedalled quickly down and into the back yard. Opening the back door, she walked in and found Coral in the kitchen.

‘Phew,’ she said, removing her helmet. ‘I could really murder a cuppa, and I’m starving.’

‘Kettle’s still hot, love, and you can eat till your heart's content.’ Coral replied, making her way into the sitting room with a plate piled high with biscuits.

‘Who are those for?”

‘Guess.’

‘She’s arrived?’ Ella smiled.

‘Yup, and you’ll never guess what I did.’

On the way into the sitting room, down a long corridor with doors on each side, Coral told Ella about her practically jumping on Brother David.

‘Wow, you surpassed yourself this time all right.’ Ella grinned, picking one of the biscuits off the plate.

‘Don’t I know it.’

‘Yeah, well, don’t fret too much. He’s a monk. I know he’ll forgive you, it’s his job.’

‘Hello, Ella.’ Smiling, Aunt May rose from her chair as Ella and Coral entered the room.