Jackie chuckled. She sat on the grass and prompted him to do the same. “I can only imagine. What is it like out there? Is anyone left at all?”
He answered her question with a sigh. “I’m sorry. It might be different elsewhere, but there’s nothing left outside this forest that I saw.”
Jackie stared at her hands for a moment, then shook her head and looked at him. “I don’t believe that. There has to be other people out there because there’s us.”
“People used the same logic about finding intelligent life in the universe, but did you ever meet an alien?”
“I never met a man from Peru, but I know they exist.”
Kamiyo considered that might no longer be true, but he didn’t voice his thoughts. “I just think you’re better off not worrying about the world beyond this forest. What you have here is all that matters. You need to survive.”
“That’s what we’ve been doing all this time!” She leant over and pinched a nut from his plate and chewed on it. “We’ve done a fine job of it too, if I say so myself.”
Kamiyo took a nibble of the dried fish. It was largely tasteless, which was nice. The tinned peaches and cold baked beans he’d been living off were at times hard to swallow. It was nice to get something down with little effort. “Where does everyone sleep at night?” he asked.
“Upstairs in the cabin mainly. There’s a conference room where we all bed down together. There are the tents outside too, which you will have seen. Some of us sleep in those during the hotter nights, but it’s getting chillier now. So yes, we all bed down together in the cabin. Rather cosy to tell you the truth.”
“That needs to stop. People shouldn’t share enclosed spaces wherever possible. Spread out into separate rooms and set up more tents. Sleeping in groups is unhealthy in these conditions. You’re already getting sick.”
Jackie smiled, but it seemed strained. “If you think that’s best, doctor. The younger children were all supposed to sleep inside the cabin during the original camping weekend so that’s what we came prepared for.” She sighed. “Only the teenagers brought tents. We’ll figure something out. Any other suggestions?”
“Not at the moment. The biggest threat to this camp, aside from the demons, is infection. Maybe I can cultivate some penicillin, I’d need to look at your supplies first. We need to keep sterilised water at hand, boil bed linens once a week, set up a latrine far away from camp. Maybe up in the castle?”
“We already set one up when the toilets in the cabin stopped working. It’s an area at the edge of the woods.”
“Good. Look, I’m not saying I’m an expert, Jackie. Far from it. But this might be last piece of civilisation left on earth. We have to protect it.”
“It’s not going to matter though, is it? The demons will find us. Perhaps not today, but eventually. What chance do these children have of growing old?”
“Probably none.” Kamiyo hated to admit it, but pleasantries were dangerous. It was better to face the dangers of the world with a lucid mind. “The only thing to do now is make what life they have left as comfortable as possible. It might be years before the demons find this place.”
Another person approached and Kamiyo looked up to see Philip. “How’s Bray doing?” he asked. “I only stepped away for a minute to get some foo-”
“He’s good, Philip. His fever has come down a little since we brought him outside. A couple days and he might be on the mend.”
Philip deflated like an old balloon. “Thank heavens. What about Carol and Michael?”
Kamiyo glanced at the other boy and the woman. Carol didn’t look good. “I have the same prognosis. We just have to keep them settled and cool. Fingers crossed, the infection will burn itself out soon. I’m sorry I can’t do more.”
“Poor Carol,” said Jackie. “She devoted her life to these kids. Couldn’t have any of her own, bless her. She’s our mother hen.”
Kamiyo watched the sleeping woman and once again feared she would fall victim to the odds. Death might find her too weak to resist its bony grasp.
“So how did you end up here again, doctor?” Philip chose not to sit and instead hovered over them. His greying hair was still as dishevelled as ever, and his broken specs hung slanted from his ears.
Kamiyo didn’t want to admit he’d been fleeing demons only mere hours ago, and it felt absurd to be in this place now, sat beside a picturesque lake beneath a castle on the hill. All notions of demons and monsters now seemed ethereal and unreal. These people didn’t need to know demons had come so close to their sanctuary, so he decided not to tell them.
“I was just trying to keep out of sight,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve been travelling alone, and it’s safer to keep to the countryside. Tell you the truth, I entered the forest and got lost. I found this place totally by accident. It’s still hard to believe that you’re all here. I never thought I’d ever see children again.”
Philip didn’t seem to accept fully what he heard, and his eyes narrowed behind his specs. “Seems a tad unwise to wander into the largest forest in the UK. You might have died out here if you hadn’t found us.”
“I had no idea the forest was so big. I’m not from around here originally.”
“Neither are we,” said Jackie in a lighter tone. “We travelled from Smethwick. Philip here owns fifty sandwich shops throughout Staffordshire.”
Philip rolled his eyes. “I own four, Jackie.”
Kamiyo smiled. “Still impressive. I’d give everything I have for a Ploughmans with mustard.”
“Ha! You help Bray get better and I’ll give you a lifetime’s supply when things get better.”
Kamiyo smiled. Did this man truly believe there was a ‘better’ ahead? These people were dangerously sheltered. How would they react if demons attacked? Would they stand around kidding themselves
