The Bitter End (21 page)

Nobody spoke of what had happened. If anyone had tried to talk to him about it Ben thought he would have got as far away from them as possible. He couldn't even bring himself to think about it yet. He wanted to forget that it had ever happened but he knew that he couldn't do that. He couldn't forget Aaron.

Anthony hadn't asked what had happened to his brother, there was no need. Six of them had gone into the tower but only five had come back. Perhaps that was everything he needed to know, or perhaps he blamed himself and thought that if he had been there he would have been able to do something to save him. Ben never asked and he never found out.

They talked of inconsequential things over the following days, avoiding the subject as if it could come back to get them. The worked on the boat and they ate, they slept a great deal. It took them four days to reach Sanctuary and none of them were ready for what they found when they got there.

15

It should have been mid-morning. The sun should have reflected off the water like a moving mirror. They should have been able to hear the laughs and shouts of the village children as they ran along the island and jumped into the water, threw balls to each other and dived beneath the surface. They found none of those things.

An unnatural twilight had descended over the village. It was quiet and even the water didn't seem to move. Ben stood at the front of the boat straining to hear something, anything that would assure him that life was how he remembered it. Joel switched off the engine and the Robinson Crusoe drifted into the village on the current. They passed empty boats that were decaying and looked as if they had been abandoned years ago. Ben had to remind himself that they had only been gone a matter of weeks.

Dark weeds climbed out of the water wrapping themselves over boats and piers, appearing to try and drag them under water. A shadow had fallen over the village and it smelled of death.

They drifted past Ben's boat and he felt a lump in his throat. The lights were off and he could hear no voices. But still he had to see for himself.

He jumped overboard and into the water. It felt too thick, more like slime than the river he had swum in since he was eleven. He heard Mrs Thresher call him back but it was too late for that now.

He pulled himself onto the jetty. Behind he heard the Robinson Crusoe start it's engine and begin to turn back towards him but he ignored it. He pushed open the boat door and went inside.

It was cold, dark and damp. He could see the shapes of furniture and other possessions strewn across the cabin. "Hello?" he said, although he didn't expect a reply. "Mary?"

All that he heard was the drip of water from his wet clothes onto the wooden floor. They were gone, Mary, Adam, Zack, all gone. He wanted to fall to the floor and cry but he couldn't move. He was frozen to the spot and left with no choice but to look at the devastation of his world.

He heard the door open behind him and in the light it let in he saw Zack's teddy bear on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. It was already covered with a thin layer of dust

(or something else)

and he clutched it to his wet chest.

"We can find them," said Daniel.

Ben nodded but he didn't really believe it. He stood there clutching the bear, the last thing he had left. All of his worst fears had come true.

"Come on," said Daniel. "It's time to go."

He didn't have the strength to argue so he turned and followed Daniel out of the boat. The Robinson Crusoe was waiting at the end of the jetty, the solemn faces looked at the floor as he approached.

Inside Mrs Thresher dried him and put him in clean clothes without saying a word. He stared blankly into space, his thoughts moving too quickly for him to keep up with. He couldn't even begin to think about what would come next.

He felt rather than heard the engine start again. The next thing he knew he was sitting with a cold cup of tea in his hands. It was like climbing out of a cave into the darkness.

Ben stood up. His legs felt weak as if he had been in bed for a month, everything seemed to spin around him. He walked through the boat, he could hear solemn voices above but couldn't make out what they were saying. He could hear the words well enough but they were like a foreign tongue to him now.

On deck he found the Threshers with Daniel, Anthony and Kris, huddled together in secret conference. They did not appear to know he was there. The Island loomed before them, darkened by the dull light within.

"Ben," said Kris with deep concern.

The others turned so that he wondered if she had been warning them of his arrival. The conversation they had been having ended. Mrs Thresher put a hand on his shoulder .

"How are you feeling?" she said.

He shook his head, how did she think he was feeling? What a ridiculous question to ask. He waited for someone to say something more meaningful but it did not appear to be forthcoming.

"Any sign of anyone?" he said. The words felt hollow but no one seemed to notice.

"There's a light in the Village Hall," said Daniel.

Ben nodded and they continued onto the Island in silence.

They didn't want him to come with them. They thought he would be a liability but he argued and in the end who could deny a man who has just lost his family. He didn't really want to go but staying on the boat didn't feel like an alternative

(drowning yourself in the river, that's an alternative)
 

so he went along.

Ben, Anthony and Daniel climbed onto the decking silently. Creeping weeds had spread between the cracks. The were so dark they were almost black but Ben could see they were red. Blood red veins carrying the poison through the village. He kicked a patch but they didn't break.

They entered the Village Hall in single file, guns drawn and ready. The place smelled of rancid meat.

"Hello?" said a voice. A girl, young. It was followed by a shuffling sound in the dark. "Is someone there?"

It seemed to Ben that whoever was there should have been able to see them. The room was dark but a lamp on the table in the middle gave off enough light for him to at see at least the shape of the person speaking.

Daniel walked towards the dark shape huddled on the ground by Nicholas's office. The girl heard his footsteps and moved away, further into the darkness.

"It's okay," said Nicholas, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's what they said," she said. The lonely desperation was evident in her voice. Ben wanted to tell Daniel to be careful but he couldn't.

He couldn't move and he couldn't warn his friend that she might have a weapon. they had been right, he was a liability and they should have strapped him to a chair and refused to let him off the boat.

"It's alright," said Daniel, as if talking to a scared animal.

"Who are you?" said the girl. She sounded less frightened but not by much.

"My name's Daniel McGill."

"Mr. McGill?" she said.

"That's right. Who are you?"

Ben watched her stand, leaning against the back wall for stability. When she stepped closer to the lamp he could see her face and he felt his stomach churn.

"Margaret," said Daniel. He paused, Ben thought to collect himself. He had seen what Ben had seen; the girls face was streaked with blood and where here eyes had been there were dark empty sockets. Ben had to force himself not to turn away. "Who did this to you?"

She made a sobbing sound and Ben thought about her eyes again. Did she still have tear ducts? Was she still capable of crying? "It was the General," she said, "everything was the General."

16

Daniel sat with Margaret while Ben and Anthony searched the rest of the building. They found nothing of any use. As far as they could see the place

(the whole village)

had been suddenly abandoned. Ben found that having something to do, and thinking about poor Margaret rather than his family, made him feel a little better. It cleared his head and by the time they had got her back to the Robinson Crusoe he felt like he could think again. First though Margaret had to tell them what had happened while they were away.

She sat in the largest, most comfortable chair. Mrs Thresher had not skipped a beat when she had been presented to her. She had taken her to the bathroom and washed her, dressed her in clean clothes and brushed out her hair. She had wrapped a flowery scarf around her eyes before sitting her down. Now she made tea for them all while Margaret told them what had happened.

"It was three or four days ago when the sky went dark," she said. Ben noted that she had lost all of the cocky superiority she had displayed when questioned about Kirsty's disappearance. He was sorry to see it. "Just in the middle of the day suddenly there were shadows everywhere and when you looked up like bugs or something were blocking the sun.

"More of them came and in an hour it was like night. No one knew what to do, we were all scared. Some people went to the General but he wouldn't see them." She shook her head and the end of the scarf swished through the air like a ponytail. "I don't know, I wasn't there."

"Where did everyone go Margaret?" said Daniel, his voice calm and reassuring.

"He took them," she said in short sobs. "But I wouldn't go." Her mouth was twisted in an anguished wail as she remembered what had happened to her. "So he did this?"

"Nicholas?" said Ben.

She nodded, her mouth still moving as if she was trying to speak but nothing came out. Mrs Thresher put an arm around her shoulders and held her tightly.

"Why would Nicholas do that?" he said. He didn't mean to make it sound like he thought she was lying, he genuinely wondered.

"He just did alright," she said, thrusting her chin towards him. She seemed to stare right at him and knowing, as he did, that she had no eyes beneath the scarf made him feel very uncomfortable. "Because I wouldn't go with all the others."

"Where did they go?" said Daniel.

She shook her head again. "He changed."

"How did he change Margaret?" said Daniel.

"He was ... it was like he wasn't really there but he was, it felt strange being around him, like you could feel him inside you." She shook her head. "It sounds stupid."

It didn't sound stupid to Ben. It sounded like how it had felt to be in the presence of the King and that scared him. Had something happened to Nicholas, a man with his own little kingdom? He felt weak, his heart was beating too quickly.

Hadn't Nicholas always claimed to be a member of the monarchy? He had always assumed he was lying but maybe that wasn't so. There was a twisted swirling mess of thoughts surrounding the ideas that were forming in his head. They seemed at once perfectly common sense but at the same time so outlandish as to be ridiculous.

"We have to go to the dam," said Daniel.

Ben looked up and saw that he was speaking to Joel. The conversation with Margaret was apparently over because Mrs Thresher was talking to her in a quiet voice now.

"I don't expect you to come. You and yours have done enough. Seems like this is our fight."

"Don't be a fool," said Joel. "We've come this far together haven't we? Of course we'll come."

Daniel smiled and Ben felt sick. He couldn't even look at the two boys who had been volunteered for the job by their father.

"We'll take a smaller boat, leave the girls here."

"Oh no you won't." They all looked up, surprised to hear Kris speak. She looked uncomfortable having them all stare at her but she went on. "We can take another boat, that's fine, but you're not leaving me behind again. Not this time. This is my home too."

"Of course," said Daniel. He paused as if expecting Mrs Thresher and Margaret to announce their intention to come along as well but of course they didn't. The idea that Mrs Thresher would wield anything stronger than a rolling pin seemed quite ridiculous and Margaret must have know that none of them would allow her to go. "Alright then," he said. "We'll need a boat."

An hour later they were loading weapons onto Ben's small raft. He had stored it wrapped in plastic behind his home and the weeds hadn't got to it. There was barely enough room for all eight of them and he would have been glad to leave Kris and the boys behind but they were determined to come along.

They checked and double checked the wooden weapons. Ben once more slung two quivers of feathers on his back and carried a longbow. They left weapons behind, they would have sunk the raft if they'd tried to carry them all, and gave Mrs Thresher and Margaret a quick explanation of how they worked, just in case. They also left instructions that, at the slightest hint of danger, they were to start the engine and get as far away as possible. Under no circumstances were they to come looking for them

It was half a days journey to the dam but in the permanent night it was difficult to tell how much time passed. Daniel and Joel tried to start spirited conversation but it was clear no one was in the mood and the journey passed in silence. Except for the sound of the oars in the water and the black wings above them.

Ben watched the place he had called home since he was eleven years old slip away behind him. In its own way it was cathartic. The place he had called home was already gone, leaving it behind on the river was like leaving it behind in his mind.