Aftermath

29

Short winter days and long nights conspired against all of them. In Chadwick, Cooper and the others spent much of the rest of the day collecting additional supplies, mindful that more than ever, they needed to maximize the usefulness of their time on the mainland. Taking more people back would inevitably reduce the space they had available, but at the same time, the potential increase to the size of Cormansey’s population also meant they needed to take as much as possible. They unpacked and repacked the boats, discarding anything unnecessary and loading the bulk of the supplies onto the Summer Breeze, the slightly smaller of the two. Both of the boats could carry ten people each, maybe more at a push. Working on the assumption that Jas and his inner circle wouldn’t be leaving with them, and with four spare seats in the helicopter, they worked out that they should easily be able to fit all their passengers and their belongings on board the Duchess.

They spent their third night on the mainland on the luxury cruiser again, as comfortable as before but, strangely, more subdued. Maybe the people back at the castle hadn’t shared their enthusiasm for island life? Donna was surprised. She thought a few of them would have turned up by now, at least.

“They’ll be here,” Cooper said, seeming to read her thoughts. “You know what it’s like when you’re leaving somewhere,” he half joked. “There’s always more to sort out than you expect.”

She smiled.

“I know,” she said. “I just want to get going, that’s all. I want to go home.”

*   *   * height='1em'>

At the castle, Driver had moved his tired old bus for the first time in weeks. He drove it out into the center of the courtyard where the helicopter had been standing hours earlier. He checked it over thoroughly, keen to satisfy himself that the vehicle would be able to get them all the fifteen miles or so into Chadwick. The distance was strangely daunting. In times past he’d have covered it in barely any time at all, but things were different now.

Another reason for shifting the bus into a more central position was to allow all those who wanted to leave to get their belongings (and any supplies they could half-hitch in the process) loaded up. There had been a steady stream of people getting on and off the bus for as long as it had been out in the open.

Jackson and Harte watched from a distance.

“First light and we’ll be off, okay?”

“Okay,” Harte said. “The sooner the better. Got any idea how many are leaving?”

“Thirteen or fourteen, I think,” he replied, “including you and me.”

“Good. Just Jas and his mates staying behind, then?”

“Looks that way. Jas, Kieran, Melanie, Ainsworth, and Bayliss, I think. Phil Kent’s undecided.”

“It’s probably for the best. No point in them coming if they’re not committed. Jas does have a point, but we’re all taking risks whatever we do now, and I know where I’d rather be.”

“As long as we’re all happy with our own personal decisions, that’s all that matters.”

*   *   *

Out of sight on the far side of the bus, Ainsworth, Kieran, and Jas were shifting boxes of supplies from the cafe kitchen and the back of two trucks and a van, stashing them away, locking them in the gift shop and museum.

“You sure we should be doing this?” Ainsworth asked.

“We need this stuff,” Kieran replied quickly. “There’ll be plenty more where they’re going tomorrow. It’s different for us. We’re not leaving here, so we have to make this last. This is our share. We worked for it and we’re entitled to it. We’re just making sure they don’t take what’s ours.”

“Get as much as you can move,” Jas said. “The more we lock away, the less there is for them to take.”

30

It was after eight before the sun rose fully, but as soon as there was enough light for people to see, the castle courtyard quickly became a hive of frantic activity. Those who were leaving grabbed the last of their belongings and stashed them on the bus.

By just after ten they were ready to load up the remaining food and other supplies. Jackson, Bob, Howard, and Harte walked over to the kitchen to start, but where they’d expected to find large stocks of provisions, they instead found just an empty space.

When she heard what had happened, Lorna began checking around the rest of the castle. She spotted the bulk of the missing supplies in the gift shop, hidden behind display racks and the counter.

“Over here,” she yelled, her voice loud enough to alert everyone who was awake. “I’ve found it all.”

Jackson and the others ran over to the gift shop.

“Who has the keys for this lock?” Harte asked.

“There are only two keys, I think,” Howard answered.

“I didn’t ask you how many there were, I asked you who has them.”

“Jas has got one,” Bob said.

“And I’m pretty sure Kieran has the other,” Howard added.

“Let’s get this door open. Some of that’s our stuff in there. I’m sure as hell not going to leave it all in there for Jas and his cronies to gorge themselves on when we’re gone.”

“That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Jas said. Unnoticed, he’d walked up behind them, flanked by Ainsworth and Bayliss.

“Come on, Jas, this is stupid,” Jackson protested. “We won’t take it all, but we’re entitled to some of this stuff. It’s ours.”

“It’s staying here. You’re going back into Chadwick, aren’t you, so you can get more. Remember, we’re stopping here for a while longer yet. We need this more than you do.”

“Yes, but not all of it. Christ, there’s only going to be a handful of you staying behind. And anyway, just a couple of days back you were telling us all how you were going to rape and pillage the whole country.”

“That’s in the future. Until then, we need those supplies.”

“And so do we!”

Jackson turned his back on Jas and shook the door but it wouldn’t open. He took a knife from his belt and started trying to force the lock.

“Go and find Kieran,” he said under his breath to Harte. “Talk some sense into him. See if you can get the other key off him.”

Before Harte could move, Jas grabbed hold of Jackson and threw him away from the gift shop entrance. Jas had a clear strength advantage, and Jackson was sent flying. He landed on the floor then got up, brushed himself down and ran at the door, trying to shoulder-charge it open. It was stronger than it looked and he simply bounced back off it, but he tried again, regardless.

“You’ll never do it, you fucking idiot,” Jas said. He was about to speak again when someone shouted behind him.

“Stop her!”

Jas spun around and saw that Lorna was helping herself to more supplies from the back of one of the trucks. She scooped up as much as she could carry and sprinted over to the bus. Following her lead, several others did the same.

For a moment longer Jackson tried to force the door. When Jas didn’t come at him again, he looked back and saw him running off toward the truck which was rapidly being emptied by Lorna and the others. Driver was standing in the middle of the courtyard, watching the chaos unfolding all around him, dumbstruck.

“Get the fucking bus started,” Jackson screamed at him as he ran past. “Let’s get out of here.”

Lorna weaved around Jas, slipping down onto one knee momentarily, just managing to hold on to everything she was carrying. She threw herself forward and scrambled up onto the bus, barely getting through the open door before Driver came storming up behind her. He clambered into his cab and started the engine, sinking into his seat with relief. He looked behind and saw that there were only a handful of people onboard. More were running over from the caravans, terrified that they were going to be left behind. Howard stumbled up the steps, his arms overloaded.