Authors: Colin Griffiths
The kick Steve received took the struggle out of him, and as he struggled for breath, Tony took hold of him covered his mouth and nose until the last breath of Steve Duce faded away, the pain in his groin not allowing to kick out, the last thing he saw was the No. 64 bus, Tony had never killed a man before and stood shocked at his own actions as he looked at the body on the floor, he held his hands out in front of him as if they weren’t his hands that had just killed a man, but they were his hands and as he looked at the dead man on the floor, he knew there was no going back, he had to kill for a reason, and Steve Duce had to die for one as well, he would ensure that would happen.
The three girls stood opened mouthed, Lily and Ivy not expecting that reaction from Tony, Delyn just looked and cried wonder what the hell sort of place she had come to, she had just been a witness to a murder, and two girls she had never met before were preventing her from running away, she wanted her dad so badly at that moment.
‘Help me’ said Tony to the girls and the three of them lifted Steve back into the mini bus, behind the driver’s seat whilst Delyn just looked on and cried, she wanted to run but had no idea where to run to, they shut the mini bus door,
‘Please come with me’ said Tony as he held out his hand to Delyn, she didn’t take it, she looked scared, Tony could see she was in a state of shock, he didn’t blame her, he was also in shock, he thought all of them were.
‘Please go with him’ said Ivy, it’s not safe for you here’
‘Before the whole Town wakes up’ added Lily,
Delyn reluctantly took his arm, not seeing any alternative, as Tony led her to the car lot, he told the two girls to go home and say they had been there all night,
‘Where’s my dad’ Lily asked before leaving,
‘I’ll explain later, but I didn’t see him come to no harm’ he paused ‘I really think he got out’
As the two girls walked back home to sneak back into the house, neither of them quite believing what they had witnessed, it was murder by no other name, in an ordinary world that was bad enough, in Underwood they both dreaded to think what the consequences would be, they snuck back into the bedroom, it appeared they had not been caught, Eileen was asleep on the sofa, 3 empty bottles of wine were on the kitchen table, it had looked as if she had passed out, Nathan was fast asleep in his room, Rebecca went to her own house and found her own mother and brother asleep, both girls went into their separate beds for some much needed sleep, but neither girl slept, they couldn’t stop thinking of the dead man at the top of the town.
Tony and Delyn walked briskly to the car lot, Tony had to get her out of sight, Delyn by now was in a state of shock and was crying all the way, Tony just led her by the hand, he would have to explain later, he needed to get her to his secret room before they were seen, they were 200 metres away from safety when from around the corner appeared one of the towns police cars, Sandra Skellam pulled up alongside Tony and a girl she did not recognise, she kind of guessed where she might have come from, she stepped out of the car as Tony and Delyn stopped, Delyn saw an opportunity,
‘Please miss he’s kidnapping me’ she screamed as she struggled to break away from Tony’s grip, Tony let the girl go and Delyn stood by the police officer for protection, the look of fear not as strong as it was.
Sandra ignored the girl and looked at Tony’s face, it was full of fear but he also had a look of sheer determination,
‘Is she from where I think she is’ asked Sandra, but she already knew the answer,
Tony nodded
‘Quick get her inside’ said Sandra, Delyn shed more tears as she was ushered into Tony’s garage, not quite believing that the police woman was in on whatever it was that was happening to her, she was sure now she was about to die, she hoped it would be quick. She thought of her mother and father.
He gestured for Delyn to sit on one of the patio chairs that he had taken inside the workshop out from the storm, he went to the fridge and got a beer, He offered one to Sandra, she refused, he offered one to Delyn, she took it, her mouth was dry, she gulped heavily on the beer as did Tony, then Delyn sat looking at the bottle in her hand, hoping it hadn’t been poisoned, Sandra waited until they both had a good drink.
‘What’s happened’ She said ‘is this who I think it is’ pointing to Delyn, Delyn just looked on, she thought for a moment she had been mistaken for someone else and she went to protest, Sandra put her own finger to her lips and Delyn said nothing.
‘A new resident’ said Tony bitterly, he gulped down some more beer, finished the bottle and grabbed another, and he drank it down in one.
Sandra looked at the young lady, the pretty girl with a tear stained face and muddy clothes and her heart immediately went out to her, she stroked her head in a manner that told her everything was going to be ok, but Sandra knew it wasn’t, not unless Tony had an idea,
‘What you going to do with her’, Delyn prayed it would be quick and painless.
Tony grabbed another bottle and gestured for them both to follow him, he got Sandra to help him move the furniture above the hatch, Tony went down first, followed by Delyn and Sandra, at this time Delyn was sure she was being taken to a torture chamber, her body went cold as she shivered, the fear building up inside her making her want to scream, Sandra noticed this and drew the girl closer to her,
‘I swear no one’s going to hurt you, we are here to protect you’ it offered no comfort to Delyn, if they were protecting her than why were they taking her to a torture chamber, she tried to scream but Sandra put a hand over her mouth.
Delyn looked around at the underground home, it was not at all what she was expecting, there were no torture chambers, no instruments of terror, in fact it looked like a nice comfortable basement home, she felt a little better, just a little.
Tony handed Delyn a dressing gown and told her to go and have a shower, Delyn did pleased to see that the door had a lock on the inside, she locked it and got undressed, the shower seemed to wash some of the demons away, just some, as she showered Sandra and Tony sat on the sofa,
‘What is this place’ asked Sandra as her eyes scanned the underground building,
‘An old basement I converted’ he turned to face Sandra’ you’re not going to turn that girl in are you’
‘Of course not, but you can’t keep her here forever’
‘I don’t intend to, I’m going to get them out and the kids from Hawthorne, and then Sandra saw something in Tony that she had never seen before, not fear, or determination, he was angry, he looked like a man who has had enough and Sandra liked that look.
He told her of his and Peter’s plan and last night was a test, they weren’t expecting a new resident, he told her Peter had gone but he wasn’t sure where, Sandra listened without saying a word until Tony mentioned Peter missing,
‘He wouldn’t leave his family’ said Sandra, even though she had only known him a short time,
‘I know’ said Tony ‘he’s either died or he’ll be back, I like the second option, either way I’ve had fucking enough of this place’ he spat his words out like venom,
They just sat for a moment, until Tony spoke,
‘There’s something I haven’t told you’
Sandra just raised her eyebrows as if to say you’ve told me enough,
‘I’ve killed Steve Duce’
Now Sandra stood up her face was startled,
‘Why the fuck did you do that’
Tony stayed seated, he finished the last of his beer,
‘He was going to take her, I had to stop him, and he’s taken his last resident to the sheriff’.
‘I had better go and try to clean it up then, and Tony rose to his feet and they shook hands and their eyes met and both could see the bond they had just formed in those eyes, then Delyn came from the shower, clean and fresh, her natural beauty shone and both Sandra and Tony realised what a catch she would have been for the rulers of Underwood and how right had they been to save her,
‘Can you tell me what’s happening please’ her voice was croaky and she was shaking.
‘What’s your name sweetheart’ asked Sandra
‘Delyn’
‘Sit down Delyn, I’ve got to sort some things out, then I’ll come back Tony will explain.
And that’s just what Tony did.
His whole body seemed to ache as he awoke, for a moment he couldn’t comprehend why he was lying on the side of the road, then suddenly as if he was hit by something hard, it all came flooding back to him, and a total feeling of terror overcame him, he remembered undoing his chains and being swept into the air, hurtling towards what he thought was certain death, the breath being sucked from his lungs, only it wasn’t, he was alive, he sat up on the pavement, his clothes were damp, which was surprising as he expected them to be soaked, he looked up into the sky, the sun was beating down, then it all came back to him, he recalled seeing a car, in it sat a young lady, he remembered flying past her, trying to shout for her not to go into the woods, he now realised by that stage it was probably too late, she had already been caught up in the storm and somehow passed through, he then stood up, nervous of his surroundings, he looked all around, this wasn’t Underwood, he could see roads in the distance, what looked like to be a motor way, he looked up into the sky, he could see a trail from a plane, he could see the churchyard that they had passed on the way into Underwood, the one that scared them all, now it looked just like an ordinary churchyard, he looked towards the road to underwood, there were just trees, it was then his heart missed a beat as it suddenly dawned on him, he was on the outside, his family were not, they were still stuck inside that crazy place, he had to get back in, but he guessed he would have to wait for a storm, there was a way out after all, he had found it, he had to give himself time to think, to work it out, he searched his pockets, his wallet was still in there, he wondered whether his bank accounts were still in order, he could see no reason why they wouldn’t be, they had been missing for only 10 days, they were on holiday after all, he started walking the 2 mile walk to the Magor services, all the time thinking of his wife and children and the tears streamed down his cheeks when he remembered seeing something else in the woods, he wasn’t sure if it was just a vision an image, but whatever it was Peter knew it wasn’t human.
‘
I can’t leave them with that’
he thought ‘
I have to get back in’
He stood at the cash machine at the services with his card in his hand, he wasn’t sure how long he had been stood there, he could not remember walking the two miles, he guessed his head was in such a whirl, he turned around to make sure there was no one behind him waiting to use the machine, there wasn’t, he put his card in the machine and paused for a moment, his mind momentarily blank as he tried to remember his pin number, it came to him and he entered the number, he pressed the maximum amount of £300, it seems an age as the reader said “we are dealing with your request” eventually the machine changed to “we are counting your money, please take your card” he took his card out and the money followed, he gave a big sigh of relief, not because he had money, the whole process made him feel human again, he was on the outside world once more, but he had left something behind that he could not live without, his family.
He walked into the service station, there was a sports shop inside, he bought some track suit bottoms and two sweat shirts, he paid on his card and was again pleased that the transaction went through, it wasn’t his usual attire but he had few choices at that moment, he booked a room in the adjoining travel lodge and again such a trivial thing as his cash card working made him feel real, but he knew he wasn’t real, there was still too much missing from his life, he went into the room to wash and change, it seemed a million miles away from what he had left that morning, but he knew only a short while away was a town called Underwood, a town no one knew existed, well not the one he had just come from, he went down the stairs to ask the receptionist where to hire a car, he felt he may need one, a taxi ride took him to Caldicot where he hired a SUV, he drove the 7 miles back to the travel lodge, had a KFC as he ate he begrudged himself every bite as he thought of his wife and children.
He went back to his room and lay on his bed, his head was still in a whirl, he checked the weather forecast on the tele, it said it was going to be fine and he threw the remote on the bed, he wanted some sleep, he needed to sleep to be able to think right, it was just after 9am, he set the alarm clock on the dresser for four hours later, he drifted into a sleep, he dreamt of wolves.
Delyn sat on the sofa, her upper half of her body jerking as she wept, she really could not believe the story that Tony had told her, that she had come into a secret town and they were looking for a way out, and that if she was ever seen she could be in danger, Tony didn’t tell her everything, he didn’t want to, he held her hand as he told her and this time she did not try to take it away, he got her to lie on the bed to try and get some sleep, exhaustion had overtaken both of them and Delyn soon slept, Tony wanted to sleep but he couldn’t just yet, he had to go and try to explain to the family in Hawthorne, and why Peter was not with him,
‘
Don’t know what I’m gonna say about this one’
he thought, and a tear came to his eye as he locked Delyn Brown in her prison as she slept.
Eileen, Lily and Nathan did not want to believe it when Tony explained what had happened, Tony tried to put it as positive as he could, but he knew Lily had seen some of it, he never mentioned what happened to Steve Duce, he hoped Lily wouldn’t, he wondered what was going on in her young mind, so much had happened so soon, he was surprised at the mental strength of the girl, her courage and determination would only drive him on.
Lily cursed her father inside own head, she thought he had put himself at risk and now he has left them alone and vulnerable, she wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t, deep down she knew that he was trying to save them, she did not believe he was dead, she didn’t feel it, her father would save her, because that’s what fathers do,
‘What will happen to us now’ asked Eileen who was trying desperately to stop the tears but on this occasion failed as she wiped them from her cheeks, Nathan sat on the sofa and sobbed, Lily went to comfort him, trying to reassure him that his father was safe and he would be back, but Nathan didn’t believe it, he knew what was in the woods and now it had taken his father, he hated those woods, he wanted to kill the thing that was inside it.
‘You will be kept here, Lily is the asset they want’
Lily heard her name being mentioned and came back into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her so Nathan could not here’
‘They aint fucking having me or Ivy’ she stood with her fist clenched, she screwed up her face,
‘I’m not going to let that happen’ said Tony as he put his arm around Lily’s shoulder,
‘Where’s the girl’ Lily asked’
‘She’s safe, come to the car lot tonight and you can meet her, she’s called Delyn, have you got any clothes that would fit her,’
Eileen gave Tony some of her clothes before he left, Tony would put them down the drain when he was sure no one was looking, he still had stuff to do, there was a vacancy as a driver available, and he wanted to make sure he got it, but first he had to see the doctor.
Sandra Skellam stood in the sheriff’s office, wondering why for the first time she was not shaking with fear, she still feared the man that sat before her, but today she was not afraid of him, she wondered if the man could sense that, then she was surprised at her own thoughts as she hoped he could, something had happened today, people had started to fight back, she wanted to be part of that, if there was going to be a revolution she certainly wasn’t going to miss it.
‘So you don’t know if we’ve had any new residents’ said the sheriff after Sandra had told him about the death of Steve Duce,
‘It doesn’t look like it sir, there was no vehicle’,
Allan Herapath cursed, he wanted new residents, and the velocity of the last storm should have brought some in,
‘I want you to search every house’
‘Of course sir, but no one would hide anyone, they know how important it is to have new residents’ she thought she sounded convincing but to her surprise she found that she didn’t really care.
‘Advertise for a new driver and send them to me, and tell that doctor I want to know the cause of death as soon as possible’ he banged his fists on the desk expecting Sandra to jump, she did not.
‘There’s one other thing sir’ Sandra said,
‘What is it ’the sheriff shouted, he had enough bad news for today, Sandra stood her ground at the sound of his voice, she wasn’t going to be intimidated, not today,
‘I had a call sir from 12 Hawthorne, it seems Peter Ford has been missing since last night’
‘Missing, what do you mean missing?’
‘According to his family, he was looking for a way out, they think he went in to the woods’
The sheriff thought about that, he had been feeling well today, he gave it some thought’
‘I’ll send the vicar around’ he shooed Sandra out of his office and Sandra left, feeling a lot better then she had for a long time.
Allan Herapath stroked his chin, he regarded Sandra as his best deputy but two men dead in one night was not acceptable, people shouldn’t be trying to leave Underwood, they should be queueing up to come in was his theory, he may have to look for a replacement deputy.
Tony stood in the doctors surgery looking at the dead body of Steve Duce and he suddenly become full of remorse looking at the man he had killed earlier in the day, Steve Duce wasn’t a likeable man but Tony thought ‘
wasn’t he a victim like everyone else?’
he didn’t deserve to die but he knew he had no choice, Steve would have surely taken the young girl to the sheriff who would immediately be put on the production line, Tony couldn’t allow that, Steve Duce became the victim of those particular circumstances.
‘How did he die’ asked Tony to the doctor who was trying to examine the body of Steve Duce who was laid out on a table, the doctor walked over to his desk and slumped in his chair, he was feeling hot and sweaty and he wiped the palm of his hands om his trousers, Tony could see the sweat on his brow.
‘How the fuck am I supposed to know, I’m a GP I got a fucking stethoscope’ he eventually said, he wiped his forehead with his hand.
‘Looks like a heart attack to me’ said Tony with no medical knowledge whatsoever, he was still looking at the body of Steve Duce.
The doctor got up from behind his desk and stood beside Tony, both men were staring at the dead body.
‘And how would you know’ he asked Tony with a hint of sarcasm, not taking his eyes off the body.
Tony turned to look at the doctor,
‘Because that’s the best way’ his stare was hard and the doctor turned to look at Tony he could see the determination in his eyes,
‘What are you up to’ the doctor asked him,
Tony’s expression did not change,
‘So it was a heart attack?’
The doctors eyes went from Tony to the body and back to Tony, he let out a sigh, a sigh that told Tony he didn’t want to do this anymore.
‘That’s exactly what I was going to put on my report’ said the doctor, he walked over to one of his filing cabinets, took out a blue medicine bottle and a packet of syringes and handed it to Tony, his expression had changed, there was a look of contempt on his face, Tony did not know how to deal with it.
‘If taken direct it will kill within 30 seconds’ he paused and there was a smile on his face, ‘however if injected into meat and that meat is eaten, it could be a slow and painful death’
Tony took the medicine and thanked the doctor, they shook hands and the doctor wished him luck, Tony went to open the door to leave the surgery when the doctor called him back,
‘Tony’
Tony turned around his hand still on the door handle, their eyes locked.
‘If it’s for who I think it is, I’d prefer the second option’
Tony nodded, so did he.
As he left the surgery he wondered what he had let himself in for, his partner in crime was gone, he needed an ally, he thought he may have one with Sandra the deputy and as he walked to see the sheriff, he just hoped and prayed that Peters remains had not be found, he wanted him alive, even though at this time he was of no use, he hid the poison in his clothing, ten days ago he was just a used car lot owner with no sales, drinking and smoking himself to death, now he had kidnapped someone, killed someone and was walking around with a concoction in his pocket that could kill in seconds, he wondered how it all changed, he smiled as he walked blaming his new friend, Peter Ford.