Josh washes up, looking at himself in the mirror as he does. He thinks he looks okay, but he dwells for a moment, staring at himself, psyching himself up ready for his dreadful task.
The two women are waiting for him as he exits, Alice has a look of concern on her face and her attempt at a reassuring smile is not convincing. The other woman smiles a relaxed smile at Josh as he comes out, oblivious to the whole situation.
“Can you hold this for me please?” Josh asks Alice, as he holds up his rifle.
“Of course,” she replies, taking it and putting it over her shoulder and behind her back with hers. “Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Catherine is sitting on a tall wooden chair at one of the small square tables scattered around the lounge, facing the entry. Her phone is on the table in front of her. She is worried to death but no matter how many times she glances down at the phone, the screen stays black. She forces herself not to switch the screen on again in case she has missed a message from Andy; it’s been sitting there, in front of her and she would have seen any message come through. Emily and Stacey are behind her on one of the couches, with their backs to the entry watching the TV screen mounted on the wall. Thankfully, they had managed to find something on the TV that wasn’t the news. Catherine barely notices what David Attenborough is saying and what animal he is talking about, but it is keeping Emily occupied, at least for the time being.
Every time someone enters the lounge, Catherine’s hopes rise only to be dashed. She was expecting Andy’s mission to be finished by now and that she would have heard at least something off him, even if only a message telling her he was okay or what was happening. Asking any of the military staff on duty here is useless; they won’t help at all. All they say is to wait and they will update her as soon as there is anything to report.
The compulsion to check the phone wins and she presses the screen on. All it tells her is the weather forecast and that hasn’t changed either. She picks up her phone, her impatience for news now overwhelming. She is going to get some answers.
She squeezes the phone into her front pocket, leaning back in her chair to ease it in and is just about to get up when Josh comes into the lounge.
Catherine’s smile at seeing Josh and then Alice enter the lounge, fades quickly when Andy doesn’t join them. Her stomach tightens as she recognises the agonised look on Josh’s face. She finds herself unable to get out of her chair as foreboding grips, the blood draining from her face.
Josh and Catherine’s eyes meet across the room and his body stops working too as he comes to a standstill. An eruption of emotion threatens to explode from deep within him. He is teetering on the edge. He must gather his strength, and he has to do it now, but he feels it slipping away.
Emily comes into Catherine’s mind and she forces herself out of her stupor; she buries her emotion, forcing herself to face the tragic news that Josh is clearly struggling to handle. Catherine falls out of the tall chair, her legs wobbly, the room spinning. She is on her feet though and some strength comes back to her. She wants to reach Josh before Emily realises he has returned, to take him back out to the corridor so that he can tell her what has happened. Catherine must prepare herself, to be ready to be there for Emily. Her own feelings are of little consequence right now.
“Josh!” Emily shouts from behind Catherine.
Oh no, Catherine thinks and spins around to Emily, to tell her to wait there while she speaks to Josh. It is too late, however, as Emily is already springing over the back of the couch to run to her brother.
Catherine watches as Emily runs straight across the room and jumps into Josh’s arms. He picks up his sister and pulls her close, her head going to the side of his as she wraps her arms around his neck. Josh looks across to Catherine, his eyes red and swelling.
Stacey comes around, standing next to Catherine, and asks, ‘What has happened?’
“Where is Dad, isn’t he with you?” Emily asks her brother. But he doesn’t answer, can’t answer. “Josh?” she questions again and pushes herself up, looking at her brother. “Josh, what’s wrong, where is Dad?” Emily asks again, her voice cracking, instinctively knowing something is terribly wrong as she sees her brother’s face.
Josh, struggling to talk, looks at Catherine, asking for help and she goes over to them. Emily is getting more upset by the second and desperately keeps asking where her Dad is.
“Emily, Josh is upset, let me talk to him for a minute to see what’s wrong; is that okay? Catherine tries to soothe.
“I want to know where Dad is,” she protests.
“I know, sweetie, but why don’t you let me talk to him so that I can find out what has happened for you?”
Emily protests again, but gradually she relents and lets Catherine lift her off Josh.
“Good girl,” Catherine soothes.
“Come on, Em, why don’t we wait over on the couch so Catherine can see what’s wrong with Josh?” Stacey says, next to them. Eventually, Emily agrees and they both return to where they sat watching TV.
Josh has already moved away, trying to hide how upset he is from his sister and has sat on another couch near the entrance. Alice follows
