THE CLEARING (11 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Liss

*

Liss heard a knocking sound. She looked down and realised her right leg was trembling, vibrating against the chair leg. She pressed her palms down on her knee to try and keep it still.

The prisoners on the platform had their eyes cast downwards except for one – a young woman who cast filthy glances at James Grey. She looked as though she wanted to strangle him, her hands flexing open and closed.

But Liss’s attention was pulled toward the end of the line-up, where a terrified girl stood. She knew that girl. It was Chloe. Her pretty face bruised and hollow, her ash blonde hair all gone; shorn away to nothing.

So she hadn’t escaped as Liss had previously thought. No. She had been here in the Cathedral Close all the time. A prisoner.

One of the shackled girls let out a sob which echoed around the cavernous cathedral.

Grey left his stand and walked over to where the prisoners stood. He carried the loud speaking device in his hand, trailing a black wire behind him.

‘Look at these, the faces of traitors,’ he said, his voice booming as he gazed out across his congregation. ‘Remember these faces. They are faces of sadness and fear and confusion and anger. These are the emotions which mark out a traitor. If you feel these emotions, you may tremble, for your fate will seek you out.’

Liss’s other leg began to shake and she pressed her forearms down against her thighs. She was sure Grey must know about her intention to escape. She was convinced he was about to have her hauled up to join Chloe and the others.

Annabelle had shoved her thumb in her mouth and her eyes had glazed over. Liss felt bad as she knocked the young girl’s thumb away, worried that it would draw attention to her.

‘These foolish females would seek to destroy our way of life,’ Grey continued. ‘Given the chance they would leave our walls only to return to wage a war against us all.’

‘That’s a lie!’ one of the women shouted. ‘We only want to …’

‘Silence, traitor, or I will cut out your tongue.’ Grey slapped her face with the back of his hand.

Liss felt as though he had slapped her own face. She put her hand to her cheek but quickly let it drop back into her lap.

The woman opened her mouth and then closed it again.

‘I have prayed for an answer,’ Grey said, lowering his voice and bowing his head. ‘And I have wept at the answer I received.’ He lifted his head as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

 ‘Say goodbye to these traitors for this is the last day of their earthly lives. We must sacrifice a few for the good of the many. Their only sentence can be a merciful death. We will pray for their souls.’

At this, the congregation dropped to their knees. Liss followed suit and pulled Annabelle down with her. As Grey recited his prayer, Liss had to clamp her jaws together to prevent her teeth from chattering. Grey had said this was the last day of the prisoners’ lives. That their sentence was death. Did that mean he was going to. . .

‘Amen,’ Grey said.

‘Amen,’ they all repeated and rose to their feet.

When Liss looked up at the platform, the prisoners had been joined by four cloaked figures with swords at their belts. One of the figures pushed at a shackled girl, trying to get her to walk, but none of the prisoners would move. Eventually, all six were dragged by their chains from the Cathedral, screaming and sobbing, stumbling and falling. Liss had to turn away. She couldn’t bear to see the disbelief and terror in Chloe’s eyes.

The congregation appeared calm and apparently unaffected by the display they had witnessed.

Liss wondered if FJ sat somewhere behind her. If only she could run and find him. They could make a plan to get out of this nightmare place.

Grey moved back to his spot behind the stand, his eyes glittering.

‘We must put this unpleasantness behind us. We must move forward.’ He paused. ‘And the best way to do this is to welcome our blessed initiates into our family.

‘Today, five hundred young souls are to join my church and I am so happy and filled with the light of the Lord.’ He smiled. ‘You will come forward one at a time and I will name you.’

Liss realised she would have to go right up close to this man. She didn’t think she would be able to do it. All the girls were now on their feet. The first row was being led up by one of their teachers. How could she face Grey? Surely he would guess that she too was a ‘traitor’? And what about Annabelle? What if she couldn’t keep her face blank? Liss inhaled deeply.

‘Annabelle,’ she muttered under her breath. ‘Annabelle.’

The younger girl turned to her, her eyes still glazed, her thumb back in her mouth. Liss pulled her hand away again.

‘You mustn’t speak or cry or look at anyone,’ Liss hissed. ‘Do you understand?’

Annabelle nodded. There was nothing more Liss could do but hope the younger girl would understand the importance of what she’d said.

Up on the platform, Grey was telling each girl which name they would take, then he placed something around each of their necks. The lines of girls were moving fairly quickly now. In turn, they were named and then each left the building via a side exit.

Liss wondered if the boys were also to be named today. If they were, Liss realised she wouldn’t get to see it, for she would already have left the building. If FJ was here, she would never know. But perhaps he would see her. Perhaps, once he knew she was here, he would come and find her. Unless he too was drugged. But FJ was smart – smarter than her. He would know about the soup. She was sure of it.

And now Liss’s row was ushered forward along the aisle and up a set of wooden steps. Onto the platform, where only moments ago the prisoners had stood in chains. Were those poor girls even still alive? Or had they been killed already? Liss gave a shudder and tried to clear her mind.

And now suddenly she was next in line.

Chapter Twenty

Riley

*

‘It’s you and me back on the road, Riley,’ Luc said, punching me lightly on the arm. ‘Except this time I’m with a blonde instead of a brunette.’

I grinned. He was referring to my rushed dye job. My brown curls had vanished, to be replaced with a pale blonde ponytail. Scissor Sue had done a great job and I had hardly recognised myself in the mirror. In the unlikely event that James Grey saw me, I was hoping he wouldn’t recognise me either.

While I was going blonde, Luc had gotten over-friendly with the clippers and now had army-short hair. I ran my hand over his head. ‘Feels like a mole,’ I said. ‘All velvety.’

The copter was here. A Eurocopter Panther, the only one Pa had access to that would seat all of us. Charlie Duke was piloting and his huge frame filled out one side of the cockpit. Luc could also pilot if he needed to and I decided that copter lessons were next on my ‘to do’ list.

Charlie gave us a wave. Fred and Jessie were already inside. Luc helped me in and I smiled half-heartedly at the couple. If we were going to be in each other’s company for a while, we might as well be civil. They smiled back, unsure and a little confused.

‘It’s me, Riley,’ I said.

‘Riley?’ Jessie said, frowning. ‘Oh, yes. It
is
you. Very nice hairstyle. Different.’

‘It’s so no one recognises me in Salisbury.’

‘Sensible idea,’ Fred said.

There was hope in their eyes. Barely contained excitement in the looks they passed between each other.

I considered what we were about to try and do – reunite these people with their children. It was a huge responsibility. Despite what Fred and Jessie had done to us, it was still the right thing to do. And in a weird way, it was something I needed to do. We’d had no luck finding Skye’s killer, but maybe if we could save these two kids, it would redress the balance a little. I needed to do this for Fred, for Jessie, for me and for Skye.

We strapped ourselves into the seats behind them and stowed our bags underneath. I slid my sunglasses off the top of my head down onto my nose, picked up the headset and slipped it on.

‘Luc,’ Fred said in greeting.

‘Hi,’ Luc said. Then the blades started up and after a few moments we lifted off from the helipad outside the guards’ building.

There was no one to wave us off and I was glad. I’d told Ma to stay at home. I didn’t think I could take another dramatic goodbye. I was still reeling from the last one.

Everyone else was busy fortifying our perimeter in case the unthinkable should happen and Grey reached Bournemouth.

I peered out of the window and saw the guards’ building receding, the H of the helipad, a couple of vehicles, some guards walking across the yard. And as we climbed higher I caught my breath at the shrinking roads of our perimeter, the trees and large square houses. Down at Coy Pond, the silver stream peeked out from beneath lush green foliage which merged into the dark woods at the southern boundary.

I’d never seen my home from this angle before. It looked like a toy town. I could see the full extent of the fence surrounding it; wire and metal glinting in the sunshine.

The demarcation line was incredible: Inside the perimeter, all lay neat and orderly. Straight tree-lined avenues, jewel-green lawns, elegant houses with turquoise swimming pools. And throughout, there was a sense of beauty and safety.

But outside the fence a wasteland sprawled out into infinity. Scrubby brown earth and low bushes. No roads. A pack of scavenger dogs trotting along. Clusters of dilapidated buildings. It was impossible to tell if anyone lived in them or if they were abandoned.

Our perimeter was truly cut off. A floating paradise island in a sea of desolation. Seeing it like that, it was a wonder we’d survived untouched for as long as we had.

As the copter tilted and banked north, I dragged my eyes away from home and stared ahead at the tall imposing outline of the Charminster Compound in the distance, with its towering brick walls and metal ramps. Beyond that, lay the road which led northwards. Pa and the others would be on that road. Perhaps we would pass over them. Perhaps he might look up and know it was us.

But as we left Bournemouth and continued on our journey, there was no sign of him down there. Maybe they were still inside Charminster trying to drum up volunteers. I hoped everyone would realise how serious the situation had become. I hoped they would want to join the fight against Grey. We wouldn’t be able to win this on our own. We needed numbers. Massive numbers.

I glanced back. Jessie appeared nervous. She gripped her husband’s arm and he took her hand. Then I turned to look across at Luc who was deep in thought. After a while he noticed my gaze and smiled.

The journey took much less time than I thought it would. As Charlie brought the copter down, I didn’t feel nearly prepared enough to meet up with Connor again. What on earth would I say to him? At least we’d have more pressing issues to deal with than Ma and Connor’s messy history. I decided to ignore the emotional stuff and concentrate on doing the job we were here to do.

We finally set down in a field on the edge of a wood. Charlie killed the engine and after a while all was quiet. We were a couple of miles south west of Salisbury, praying that none of Grey’s men had seen us land. Charlie had flown in over the least populated areas, but the noise of the copter would have carried so we were all a little on edge.

‘Stay put for a while, till we know it’s all clear,’ Charlie said in his thick Dorset accent. ‘Keep the doors closed.’

And so we sat and waited. There was no sign of Connor yet, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t come.

‘Here,’ Charlie said. ‘He turned around and handed us a cloth bundle over the top of his seat. Inside were some green pears. ‘The missus picked ‘em fresh this morning from the garden. Last ones of the season.’

‘Thanks,’ Luc said.

We took one each and I offered them to Fred and Jessie. We sat quiet for a few minutes, munching our pears. They were perfect – sweet and tart.

‘Any chance of using nature’s facilities?’ Fred said after a while.

‘I suppose,’ Luc replied. ‘One at a time though. And watch your backs. We don’t know who might be outside.’

‘Or
what
,’ Charlie added.

‘What do you mean ‘
what
’?’ I asked.

‘I believe he’s talking about the wildlife,’ Fred said.

‘There used to be a safari park near here,’ Luc said. ‘But the animals aren’t behind fences anymore.’

‘What? Like a zoo? How come I’m the only one who doesn’t know this stuff?’ I asked.

‘I guess you never needed to know,’ Luc replied.

I thought back to the time I had stopped outside Fred and Jessie’s farm a few weeks ago - It had been dark and I’d heard a creature howling. Maybe there had been wolves nearby. Perhaps it was a good job I hadn’t known about the wildlife back then. I’d been freaked out enough as it was, without adding wild creatures into the mix.

‘So what animals are we talking about?’ I asked Luc. ‘Lions?’

‘And tigers and bears . . .’

‘. . . Oh my.’

Luc grinned at me.

‘There are a few big cats left out there,’ Fred said. ‘But most of ‘em got shot. We sometimes see monkeys in the trees near our farm.’

‘For a couple of years there were zebras and bison,’ Jessie said. ‘But you don’t see them these days. I think they were probably killed off.’

‘The wolves are the main problem,’ Charlie said. ‘They bred fast and there’s a lot of them round these parts now.’

‘So?’ Fred said. ‘Can I go and find a tree?’

Charlie opened his door and climbed out of the copter. I held my breath, almost expecting a pack of wolves to descend on him. But he came around and opened Fred’s door without a wild animal in sight.

‘Rest of you lot, stay put and keep the door closed.’ Charlie said. He took Fred a little way off.

Once they were back inside, I decided to brave the wildlife and go and find a tree of my own.

‘My turn,’ I said.

‘I’ll come with you,’ Luc said.

‘No you won’t.’

‘Okay, but stay in sight,’ Luc said.

‘I don’t think so!’

‘Take this then.’ He offered me a revolver.

‘Got my own,’ I said, tapping my side. I scanned the vicinity for some privacy. We were adjacent to a wood, but a thick high hedge meant I wouldn’t be able to get to it easily. I spied a small copse of trees a few hundred yards away.

‘Those trees are too far away,’ Luc said following my line of sight. ‘Stay closer.’

I was mortified. This was way too embarrassing. But the trees were a long way away and I didn’t think I’d be able to pee and shoot straight at the same time, should the need arise.

Dusk was creeping across the meadow and if there were any hungry wolves or big cats in the area, I imagined they would be on the prowl right about now. That settled it. I would do what Luc suggested and pee close by.

I got out of the copter and scooched around the back. At least we were right in the corner of the field and so I had the hedge behind me and the copter’s tail in front. But before I had the chance to worry further, there was a rustle and snap from behind.

In the split second I turned around, a dozen thoughts flashed through my mind: wild animals . . . raiders . . . attackers . . . no it’ll be nothing, just my imagination . . . Grey’s men . . . wait, it must be Connor. . .

But when I finally did turn around, I found myself staring at a face. And it was a face I recognised.

Not Connor.

It was somebody I didn’t think I’d ever see again.