Over the next few days, my family was tender and consoling. Mum brought me up comfort food, like warm chicken noodle soup or creamy mashed potato, throwing my windows open, ‘for fresh air’ amidst my half-hearted protests. My brothers tried to tempt me with chocolates and glossy magazines, and Dad just held me while I cried oceans. All I wanted was to hibernate under my duvet.
My family tried to discover exactly what had happened to Connor, but although they contacted the army and the police, nobody knew anything. Or if they did, they kept it quiet. The Press weren’t interested. Well, they were interested, but only in the angle that we had been harbouring a suspected terrorist. And they soon lost interest when there was nothing more to learn.
The media kept giving us more bad news. Thousands of people had either fled the country to return to their native homes, or had returned to Britain, to get home before the border closures came into effect, which they now had. Plenty of people were still stranded though, unable to get a flight or passage on a ship. And no one knew when the borders would re-open.
Like most countries, Britain was officially closed off to the outside world. For now, public transport had stopped running and petrol was severely rationed. A state of emergency had been declared. The summer was ending and the leaves were changing along with everything else.
Chapter Thirty Four
‘What are you talking about?’ Luc says.
‘Sshh. For God’s sake, man, keep your voice down,’ hisses Denzil.
‘Sorry,’ whispers Luc. ‘But where are you going? You can’t just leave us here. What are we supposed to do?’
‘I’ve got an idea,’ says Denzil. ‘I don’t like it. I’m gutted about it, but it’s our only chance.’
‘What?’ asks Luc. ‘What’s your idea?’
‘I could make out you took me against my will and now I’m escaping back to the barracks.’
‘But won’t they want to know why we escaped in the first place?’ I ask. ‘Why would we have thought we were in danger if it wasn’t for you telling us?’
‘Good point.’
‘How about you tell them that Riley heard soldiers walking past her window talking about how they were going to do us some serious harm?’ Luc says. ‘She panicked and came to fetch me.’
‘That would work,’ says Denzil. ‘Then you knocked out one of the soldiers and took me at gunpoint from my post at the checkpoint. I’ll tell them you tied me up in the back of your AV, but I managed to untie my ankles and throw myself out of the back of the moving vehicle. Sound believable to you?’
We nod.
‘You could throw them off our scent,’ says Luc. ‘Tell them you saw us stop and pull off the road. That we’re driving cross-country in the other direction, heading back down south.’
‘Yeah, good idea,’ Denzil replies. ‘Meantime, you stay put till dawn. By then I should’ve been able to draw them south, away from here. I’ll tell ‘em you’re probably heading back to Bournemouth, frightened out of your stupid minds.’
‘Hey!’ I say with mock indignance. ‘Are you sure there’s no other way? I don’t want to think of you going back there when you hate it so much.’
Denzil smiles and shakes his head. ‘We’re running out of time. It’s the only plan I can think of that’s got a chance of working.’ He looks at me and points at the jacket I’m wearing. ‘I’m gonna need that back.’
I shrug it off and hand it back to him.
‘We have to make it look authentic,’ says Luc.
‘No holds barred then. My life depends on it.’
We bind his hands together with rope and give his ankles rope burns, so it looks as though they’ve also been bound.
Denzil turns to Luc, ‘I’m relying on you to give me what you got.’
Luc takes a breath and punches Denzil hard on the mouth. I gasp and flinch. He’s bleeding from the lip, but he doesn’t make a sound.
Luc finds a jagged piece of metal from the warehouse floor and uses it to rip down one side of Denzil’s uniform. Luc rips the bottom of his t shirt and makes a gag for Denzil’s mouth. Lastly, Denzil rolls in the dirt.
We stand awkwardly silent for a moment.
‘Thank you Denzil,’ says Luc. ‘But you know you really don’t have to do this. We could all just make a run for it.’
‘Man, you didn’t just mess up my uniform and give me a fat lip for nothing. I’ve been with these sorry-ass soldiers for years now, a few weeks longer won’t hurt and then I can get to Bournemouth no problem. Anyway, I need you to escape so you can give me the job of highly paid guard with a chunky Christmas bonus.’
‘The job’s most definitely yours,’ Luc says. ‘Thanks, mate. Good luck. We‘ll see you soon.’
They shake hands and Luc presses some gold pieces into his hand.
‘To help you find your way back to us,’ he says.
I give Denzil a hug and kiss his cheek. He passes me the gag and I tie it around his mouth, mindful of the purple bruise and split lip.
He smiles, lifts up the garage door a fraction and rolls out into the dangerous night. All we can do now is sit and wait.
It’s quiet. Not once do we hear soldiers nearby. Hopefully Denzil has thrown them off our trail.
‘I’ll sleep in the front, you take the back seat,’ offers Luc.
‘No way. You’re definitely taking the back seat, you’re still recovering from your bang on the head.’ Luc doesn’t think I notice each time he winces at the pain the raiders inflicted. ‘Anyway, you need a decent night’s sleep more than I do. I already had some back at the barracks.’
‘Riley, if you don’t take the back seat, I’ll sleep on the stone floor outside.’
‘Urrgh, you’re such a gentleman,’ I huff, feeling guilty. But I know he will actually sleep on the floor if I don’t do as I’m told, so I climb into the back seat and make myself comfortable.
‘Night, Luc.’
‘Night, Riley. Sleep well… if you can.
‘Thanks.’
‘You did really well tonight, coming to get me in the mess hall. That was a horrible call to make, knowing whether or not to trust Denzil. I don’t know what would’ve happened if we’d stayed.’
‘I’m sorry I was such a wimp before. Leaving you to go and eat with those hideous soldiers.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘I would’ve hated me if I was you. But I was terrified, like I couldn’t function properly.’
‘Well, it’s a good thing you did wimp out and it turned out fine, so don’t worry about it.’
The rest of the night is long and strangely lonely. Denzil has left a big gap. Luc and I had quickly gotten used to his company. We feel terrible that he now has to return to his barracks, that his plans to save his family have to be put on hold. I pray he’s going to be alright, that he’ll manage his escape to Bournemouth soon. We owe him our lives.
Luc and I chat until we finally doze off for an hour or two.
Now early morning has crept up on us and I feel cold and stiff. I’m worrying about Denzil and wonder if he’s succeeded in fooling his colleagues.
It’s strange spending the night alone with Luc. I haven’t had much time to consider my feelings for him on the journey so far – we’ve had too much to think about and too much to cope with. Also, I’m regretting not being more direct with Denzil about Chambers. I should have pushed for more answers. Now it’s beginning to look like a lost cause on all fronts. Last night was probably the end of all my hopes.
We’ve blown our chance of finding out where Chambers was headed and, after spending a whole night alone with Luc, he doesn’t seem to be remotely interested in me. I thought fear and stress were supposed to throw people together, to bond them and help them to release their inhibitions. Sometimes it feels as though Luc doesn’t even like me, let alone anything else.