The Dust: Book Two - Pursuit (5 page)

Down below Elaine Smith and Derek Crayford were fighting each other. Rolling around the carpet like two wild cats they both sunk their teeth into each other and Elaine Smith raked at Derek Crayford’s eyes.

‘Stop it, stop it!’ Amber shouted. ‘grandad stop them.’

Cyril Meadows then turned around and looked up at his granddaughter, bits of flesh fell from his mouth and then he grinned, his teeth all stained blood red. He hissed and spat in Amber’s direction and then gave out a manic cry.

Amber started to cry. ‘grandad don’t do that.’ She paused as he went back to gnawing on whatever he had found.

‘I love you grandad.’ she so wanted to climb down and give him a hug, he wasn’t well. She went back into the loft and looked back out of the window.

‘Please come home Grandma.’ She whispered.

Cyril Meadows tore another piece of flesh from the bone and swallowed it whole. He turned to look at Elaine Smith who was now sat straddled across a dead Derek Crayford, he watched as she shoved her fingers into his eye socket and ripped out his eyeball. She smiled at Cyril and then popped it her mouth and crunched down.

Cyril looked down at the decapitated head of his dead wife Joyce and copying Elaine Smith he jabbed his fingers into her left eye and scooped out her eye ball. Studying it for a few seconds he then balanced it on the end of his bleeding tongue, as quick as a flash it disappeared and the lump slid down his throat.

***

‘You have to be joking?’ Roger couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

‘I promised that girl I would look after her and I promised her I would not lose another teddy bear. I already left one in York and she was inconsolable about that. That little girl has lost everything in her life so I’m not going to let her down this time. I’m going back to get Rufus if you like it or not, if you want to continue then do so.’ Angel went across to Lou Pepper who was crying in the back of the truck.

‘There is no way we are wasting three hours in retrieving a lost teddy bear.’ Roger looked at Jake.

‘She is adamant mate.’

‘You can’t be fucking serious?’ Roger threw his hands in the air. ‘You condone this?’

‘It’s not a case of condoning it, the fact is she’s going back. You know Angel just as much as I do mate, she has made her mind up.’

‘This is fucking mental, seriously Jake this can’t happen.’

Jake held his hands out to try and appease Roger. ‘Let me go and talk to her.’

Jake walked across the dirt track to where Angel was comforting Lou.

Before he could open his mouth he was met by a verbal volley. ‘Don’t even try and talk me out of this, you or that selfish twat, I’m not going to listen. Just look at her for fucks sake.’ She nodded towards Lou who was sobbing into her bare hands.

‘Stop swearing Angel.’ Lou blurted through the tears and dribble.

‘Can’t we get another one?’ Jake thought he might give it a little go. ‘There will be plenty of shops when we get nearer a big city.’

‘I want Rufus.’ Lou lifted her head and her bloodshot eyes looked over to Jake. ‘Alice gave him to me and I said I would look after him forever.’ She then buried her head back into hands.

‘Well?’ Angel looked at Jake angrily. ‘What would you do if this was your little girl?’

‘Me and you.’ He said. ‘We go back, get the bear and come straight back.’

Angel let out a deep breath and for a split second a smile appeared. ‘Hadn’t you better clear that with the Lord of the manor's best friend?’

‘No need, we leave in ten minutes.’ Jake walked back to Roger.

‘Are you going to get Rufus back?’ Lou stuttered through her sobs.

‘We are honey, just like I promised.’

Jake gave Roger the news. It didn’t go down well but there was nothing more he could say. Both men decided that the position that they had found themselves in wasn’t safe so they got the road map out Rossiter had given them and looked for the nearest settlement.

‘Oxton is only ten minutes away.’ Jake pointed a few millimetres from the crease.

Roger shook his head, he still couldn’t believe what was happening.

Jake patted him on the shoulder. ‘We'll make the time up, I promise.’

‘It’s taken an hour to get here.’ Roger muttered. ‘Another two hour round trip, then it will be dark. The day is written off.’

Before Jake could reply Roger had walked away and was sat in the truck waiting.

‘What’s the plan?’ Angel asked.

Roger was silent so Jake who had now climbed into the passenger seat turned around to the two girls. ‘We are going to Oxton, a small village just ten minutes from here. Roger and Lou will find a safe house and then we will go back to get Rufus.’

Lou Pepper cheered. ‘Thank you Jake, thank you Roger.’

‘No problem.’ Jake didn’t smile but gave Lou a wink. The whole idea
was
madness but he wasn’t leaving Angel and Lou behind.

Chapter Six

‘Shall we kick the door down?’ Archie stroked his chin sizing up the large front door.

‘We could just knock, you never know someone might be in.’ Harry James looked over at Lonny.

‘Listen to your friend Archibald, he always brings a little sophistication to our outfit. Smash the door down indeed, look at this place!’ Lonny clipped Archie around the back of the head. ‘What was this place called again?’

‘Wisteria Hall.’ Harry James answered.

Lonny nodded. ‘I could live in a place like this.’ He opened the door and jumped out of the cab. ‘Let’s knock the door and find out who's at home.’

The three amigos stood and waited at the large wooden front door as Lonny thumped it three times. A minute passed and Lonny thumped it twice more.

‘Let’s kick it down.’ Archie was fidgeting chomping at the bit.

Lonny looked at the young ragamuffin, he reminded him of himself a little bit at the same age, maybe he had more brains than Archie but the drive was definitely the same.

‘I can hear footsteps.’ Harry James moved his head a little closer to the door.

Archie sighed, he was looking forward to a bit of action but that now looked doubtful.

‘Who is it?’ A woman’s voice shouted from the other side of the door.

Lonny’s face lit up, another female. ‘We were wondering if you would be so kind to help us.’ He put on a softer accent, nearly sounding meek and mild.

The door clinked and clunked and opened slowly. ‘How can we help?’

We
Lonny thought to himself,
how many were there?

‘We need some food and water for our survivors.’ Harry James stepped forward.

Lonny looked at him with surprise. ‘Thank you Harry, would it be possible if some of our women use your toilet, freshen up and maybe take in a little water?’

Janet Rossiter looked at the three faces standing in front of her, she was unsure about them especially the older one with his teardrop tattoos. If there were women to look after though that was a different thing. ‘How many women?’

‘Archie, let the girls out.’ Lonny sent the young lad back to open the truck up. ‘About fifteen of them I think.’ He looked back up to Janet who was standing on the doorstep.

‘Okay please follow me.’ Janet then turned and walked back down the hallway shoes clicking on the polished floor.

Lonny followed closely and then came Harry James, Archie and the bedraggled posse of female survivors shuffled along bringing up the rear. They eventually congregated in the field just in front of the big barn, Janet told them to stay put whilst she went in search for her brother.

‘What’s happening Iris?’ Hannah looked around at the open fields and took in the fresh air, it had been a long time since she had been in the countryside.

‘I don’t know my lovely girl but I like where we have ended up.’ Iris caught her reflection in the orangery glass, they did look a pathetic bunch.

‘I sure hope this is our new camp.’ The Mediterranean woman with the Geordie accent walked over to talk to Iris.

‘Don’t bank on that.’ Iris smiled. ‘By the way what’s your name?’

‘Sarah, Sarah Hardcastle.’ She fiddled with her dress sleeve. ‘And yours?’

‘Iris O’Neil.’ She gently shook Sarah’s hand. ‘Well Sarah the one thing I do hope is that we can have something to drink and eat. Poor Hannah here hasn’t eaten for two days.’

The conversation was interrupted when Janet returned with her brother Charles Rossiter and her nephew Henry.

Lonny Gold walked over and held out his hand. ‘Hello sir, nice to meet you.’

Charles Rossiter shook Gold’s hand but quickly made a judgement on the man in front of him. The gold rings, the tear drops etched on his skin and the greasy curly hair. This didn’t quite add up to someone doing a charitable deed such as rescuing women from the streets. ‘What do you want?’ He said coldly.

‘Something to drink and eat if we could please squire.’ Lonny looked over Rossiter’s shoulder to the kitchen window and the array of fresh vegetables piled high on the Belfast sink.

Rossiter looked over at the group of women, they did look a rum bunch. ‘Well some water and some sandwiches I can offer but then I must ask you to be on your way, things around here aren’t what they used to be.’

‘Of course sir, that’s very kind.’

Rossiter went to leave with his son when Lonny Gold had one more question to ask. ‘Has anyone else dropped by sir? A woman and a little girl, maybe a couple of men?’

Rossiter turned,
why would he ask that and how did he know the size of the group?
He looked at the two boys standing next to him, they didn’t seem to be the type Henry would go to the Rugby with and the whole situation just didn’t seem right. ‘No, we haven’t seen anyone here, not for a week or so.’ He then turned and walked back inside the house before Gold could ask anymore.

***

Amber Meadows removed the picture of her Grandma and Grandad from the wall to look at it a little closer. She wanted Grandma to hurry up, she had been gone all day and in a few hours it would be dark.

Looking back up at the wall, a ray of light shot through the plasterboard wall and into the loft space in which she stood. She couldn’t quite work it out, it looked so mystical. Amber tried to look through the hole but it was too small. She then tried to scratch away at the grey board but her small fingernail wasn’t strong enough. She went back into the eves of the loft and found a small plastic tool box, inside she found a flat head screwdriver. Amber then followed the light back to the hole, it was so small like a pin prick. Taking the screwdriver and jabbing at the plasterboard wall, the surface began to tear and then small bits of white plaster fell to the wooden floor.

The hole began to get a little bigger and the ray of light became wider but her work was soon interrupted when a loud crash came from the landing below.

‘What’s grandad up to now?’ Amber muttered and walked to the loft hatch. ‘grandad, stop that now!’ She shouted when she could see what he was doing.

Down below Cyril Meadows and Elaine Smith were trying to construct a crude type of ladder with a chair and a small vanity unit from one of the bedrooms. For now they were failing in their attempts to reach the edge of the hatch and their pale skinned prize but they would soon figure out a way to strike.

Elaine Smith caught a glimpse of young Amber and became very animated, howling and crashing into the landing wall and trying to thrust her head through the bathroom door, battering her bruised and bloodied forehead against the wooden panel time and time again until she fell to the floor. The demented madness seemed to be reaching new heights.

Amber stopped trying to talk to her grandad as she could see the mayhem that was taking place below her was unlike anything she had ever seen. Instead she became scared and ran back to her hole in the wall but this time she hacked at the plasterboard frantically.

Amber knew she had to get out of the house.

Chapter Seven

‘Are you on your own?’ Iris asked Sarah.

‘No that’s my daughter over there.’ Sarah pointed to a girl of about fifteen sitting in the field by the big barn. ‘Her name is Naomi.’

Iris smiled. ‘That’s a nice name.’

‘Do you think we are safe?’ Sarah whispered so the others couldn’t overhear her.

Iris looked around. ‘Not really, I don’t trust them. There is a severe troublesome undercurrent running straight under Gold’s boots.’

‘Why are there no men with us? I know for a fact we have passed some.’

Again Iris looked out for the two young boys, they were Lonny Gold’s eyes and ears and they seemed to just appear. ‘It doesn’t add up you're right but at the moment we have no choice. What’s the other alternative?’

Sarah nodded in agreement. ‘I wouldn’t want me and my girl out there, alone. Not with those savages running around killing everything in sight.’ She glanced at the large manor house and then the orangery. ‘We could stay here, we should at least ask.’

Iris shrugged, the new world they had found themselves in had no rhyme or reason. A few weeks ago the thought of just asking someone if they could live in their house because they felt they had been abducted was absurd. Everything had now become absurd. ‘No harm in asking I suppose, I'll try and speak to the woman. The man seems a bit pompous.’

‘Come on my beauties it’s time for something to drink and eat, fill your bellies.’ Lonny Gold’s voice made all the women turn their heads. ‘Our hosts have been very kind so please thank them when you collect your provisions.’ He then strode to the large wooden table ahead of Rossiter’s sister Janet and Harry James. A tube of paper cups were placed on top of a plastic table cloth and two large jugs of dark purple cordial were set down either side.

Harry James then put down two large platters of triangular cut sandwiches, lettuce falling from the sides. He quickly returned with a large wooden bowl piled high with freshly salted crisps.

The hungry women didn’t need to be asked twice and soon an orderly queue was formed and they tucked in with gusto.

Charles Rossiter then appeared from the side of the barn and walked up to Lonny Gold who was about to light up a cigarette.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’