Philip moved up beside Jackie and glared at Dr Kamiyo who was standing next to Hannah. “We were fine here until you people came. You brought the monsters. Our children are dead because of you!”
Jackie put a hand on his arm. “Philip, that isn’t helping. We need to focus on today, not yesterday.”
“No,” said Ted. “You need to focus on tomorrow. It’s nothing but dumb luck that’s gotten you people this far, and that luck has run out. You all need to be ready.”
Eric rubbed at his forearms nervously. “How?”
“By moving into the castle,” said Hannah. “By preparing to fight.”
“And by building defences,” said Ted. “You have all you need to make it a job for any demons to get at you.”
“You mean like the ones you brought last night?” Philip yelled.
“He saved us,” argued Nathan, who was sitting alone on the reception desk while the other teenagers and children stood on the opposite side of the cabin.
“He endangered us,” said Philip. “He and his friends led the demons right to us. I heard Kamiyo say so himself.”
Ted shrugged. “Maybe we did bring the demons. Maybe we didn’t. Tough shit either way, ain’t it? You gunna do something about it or what? Because I promise, pissing and whining ain’t gunna help.”
Philip stepped up to Ted. “How about I start by sending you back the way you came?”
“Suits me fine,” said Ted, and he turned around and headed for the exit. In no way did he need this shit.
A little girl rushed to block his way. It was Milly, the grieving child he had spoken with earlier. “No, please,” she begged. “Don’t go out there!”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“Because you fought the monsters last night. I watched them get Reece, and no one came to help,”—she glared at the others in the room—“until you did. You killed the monsters before they hurt anyone else. If you leave, who will be here next time?” She put her hands on her hips and tried to look stern, but she ruined it a moment later by saying, “There are no wasps here, I promise.”
Ted knelt in front of her and then pointed a finger at Hannah. “That young lady right there is ten times more dangerous than any demon. Stick close to her, and you’ll be fine.”
Hannah waved at the little girl and smiled.
“But I don’t want to stick close to her. I want to stick close to you!”
Ted swallowed, a sudden thickness in his throat. He studied the three-dozen children packed into the room—all were terrified. Terrorised. Then he looked at the adults, who seemed little better. If they couldn’t get their act together by the time the demons next came, they would all be slaughtered.
Forty children dead.
Could he walk away from that?
Ted moved away from the doors, and released a long, drawn-out sigh. Then he clonked his hammer down on the floorboards. It got everyone’s full attention. “When all this started,” he began, “I was a builder. The very day it started, when the monsters spilled out of those gates, I was building a block of toilets for a primary school. Nobody had any clue what was happening, of course. People just knew they needed to panic. Cars started piling up in the road, people looted, and then the monsters came and started eating people. The teachers at the school were some of the bravest individuals I ever saw. They moved the children into safety and contacted the parents—but most of the parents never arrived. Instead, the demons came and waited them out. I saw a hundred kids get eaten alive while everyone stood around in shock, telling themselves it wasn’t happening. Me and the five guys on my crew wanted to stay and help, but we were terrified—no different to all of you last night. We ran, leaving those children and teachers to their fate.
A month later, the guys on my crew beat off a dozen demons without a single loss on our side. Only thing that changed was we knew we had no choice but to fight back. There was no point in running or screaming. No one was going to save us but us. That’s the learning curve of survival, people. You need to learn it fast.”
Frank flapped his arms. “How? How do we get experience without facing the monsters? Dunno, if yow noticed, but I ain’t exactly built to battle demons. Unlike Lord of the Rings, Dwarfs aren’t all that handy in a fight. If you have anything useful to share, I’m open to suggestions, kidda.”
Ted sighed, wondering if he was being unfair to these people. They were just doing their best, and it wasn’t their fault whether or not it was good enough. “You all need to listen. Not just to me, but to Hannah and the good doctor here. We know how to survive. Listen to what we tell you and you might have a chance.”
Frank crossed his arms, grumpy yet obliging. “Fine by me.”
Philip shook his head in disgust and disappeared into a side room. A few of the older teens followed him. Eric appeared in two minds but stayed put.
Jackie stepped forward so that she was right in front of Ted. She stared at him hard, drilling into him with her eyes. “Okay. You three can call the shots, so long as you stay here and help us.”
Ted could barely believe what he was agreeing to, but he knew there was no turning back now. “First thing we do is move up into that castle. The camping trip is over, people. Time to embrace the Dark Age.”
Hannah glanced at him with a smirk on her face. He didn’t know why, but he got the impression she thought she had won.
Ted took his hammer and went outside. There was work to do.
24
DR KAMIYO
Dr Kamiyo looked out
