Ben stretched as best he could in the boat. He suddenly felt more awake and unsure whether he would be able to sleep. “I’m just going to get some air,” he said.
His mum turned around to look at him, she seemed surprised that he was still there. She shrugged and got back to gently rocking Adam.
The day was dark, damp and cold compared to the hot house they had created inside. A low mist floated across the river and made it seem creepy and unwelcome. Ben took in a lungful of cool clean air and felt energised by it.
There were lights on in other boats. Coughs and sneezes were carried by the gentle breeze. He couldn’t see anyone else and he felt alone in the world.
He stepped onto the jetty and it wobbled beneath him. He felt a queer desire to get into his little raft and go for a row around the village. But at the same time tiredness engulfed him and suddenly even going back inside seemed like more effort than he could manage.
Something splashed in the distance. His first thought was that it was a duck landing on the water. Water birds were rare around the village because they were a sought after delicacy. If ducks had returned then it meant the whole village was out of action. It would make a welcome feast when they had recovered though.
He considered going in for his crossbow. Duck soup sounded like a fine dinner. Then he heard another splash and another, too regular to be birds landing. It took him a moment to realise that he was hearing paddles in the water. It seemed he wasn’t the only one abroad that afternoon.
The splashes got louder as the boat got closer. Ben was struck with a sudden desire to hide himself so that he could see who it was without being seen himself. He stood his ground though and soon enough the boat came around the corner and emerged through the mist like a ghost.
A yellow lamp burned dimly on the front of the boat and he could see two figures aboard. He watched and he waited, part of him convinced that they would pass by without noticing him.
Mumbled voices broke through the dense fog. He couldn’t hear what they were saying. About fifty metres away the boat changed direction and shortly after he realised it was coming towards him.
“Holla Ben,” said a voice, clear and awake it sounded as if it came from another world.
He put a hand over his eyes and peered into the gloom. A figure now stood on the boat waving at him. He raised his arm and waved back but it felt unnatural. The whole experience felt slightly surreal but he put that down to the stillness of the village and the fact that this was the first time he had been outside in two days.
The boat pulled up beside his dock and he grabbed hold to stop it moving off. The standing figure was Aaron and he climbed off before the boat was still. The other man was Anthony Kelly, someone Ben knew to nod hello to but who he had never shared a drink with. Between the three of them they got the boat tied.
“How are you?” said Aaron offering his hand. Ben shook it, a little baffled by their appearance. He wondered if he had arranged to meet them and then forgotten about it. “You know Anthony?” He pronounced it with a soft th.
Ben nodded and they shook hands. Then he waited for an explanation for the visit.
“We won’t keep you long,” said Aaron. “How are you holding up with the kids?”
“Okay,” said Ben.
“Karen sends her love.”
Ben just nodded.
“We’ve got a proposition for you,” said Aaron.
Ben became suspicious almost at once. “What sort of proposition?”
“No one knows these rivers like you Ben, we need someone who can navigate for us.”
He nodded. It wasn’t an uncommon request. Although he now worked reconditioning old boats and salvage he still occasionally got asked to help plan a journey for the people who had taken his place. Now and again he even went out with them but a simple trip would not have required a visit like this. He was suspicious. “What sort of trip?”
“I’m not going to lie to you Ben, it’s a long one.”
He said nothing and waited for further explanation.
“It’s London.”
He shook his head. “Not going to happen Aaron, not now.”
“Just listen for a minute,” said Anthony. “Just see if it sounds like it’s worth it to you.”
“I’m sure it’s worth it,” said Ben. “I just won’t be on the crew.” It would take weeks to get to London and he couldn’t be away from Mary and the twins for that long. Plus it was dangerous, no one really knew what was beyond Reading now, it had been years since they’d had news from that way.
Aaron sighed. “Just let me speak, you don’t have to decide anything today.”
“I’ve already decided,” he said.
“Humour me.”
He shrugged.
“We need drugs,” said Aaron. “We’ve got all this natural remedy shit but pretty soon people are going to get sick with something that can’t be cured with a few weeds.”
Ben thought about his mum, how she was losing her memory. He thought about Mr Cizent who was in his fifties and complaining about chest pain. “Why London?” he said.
Aaron looked at Anthony and Ben knew that they had done more than pluck the location out of thin air. They knew, somehow they knew that they would find what they needed there. “We’ve got a map,” said Aaron.
Once upon a time, Ben thought, his father had led him, Cora and his mother to Sanctuary based on a map. “If you’ve got a map why do you need me?”
“Rivers change, they burst their banks, they dry up. We need someone who knows the river with us if we have to change route.”
“And you can fight,” said Anthony.
“I’ve never…” he began
“Hunt then,” said Aaron. “We can’t carry enough food for the journey so we’d need to hunt along the way. Hunting isn’t much different to fighting.”
“You’re expecting trouble?”
“Biggest city in the country?” said Aaron. “I’m not going to lie to you Ben, the place is probably crawling with vamps.”
In his younger days, after his fathers death and before he settled down with Mary, Ben had proposed a trip to London. It had seemed like the logical next step. He had been taking longer and longer trips, staying out for weeks at a time.
The trouble with a journey to London then, as now, was that it couldn’t be done alone. The General at the time had been a woman called Esther. Esther barely tolerated the salvage operation. He had suggested to Esther that the trip might mean the discovery of communities similar to their own and if not then at least they would open a supply channel that wouldn’t be exhausted until long after they were dead. She wouldn’t be convinced.
“It’s a long way,” he said, “and dangerous.”
Aaron and Anthony nodded and he saw the similarity in the gesture. Were they brothers, he wondered.
He had to admit that he was intrigued by the idea and if Nicholas was prepared to support it maybe there was merit in it. He didn’t see eye to eye with Nicholas about much, but he had to admit the man was smart.
“Ben?”
He turned and saw his mum climb out the door. His heart dropped at the thought that something might have happened to the boys.
“There you are,” she said.
“Is everything okay?” he said.
“What? Yes of course everything’s okay. What are you doing out here?”
“I told you I was coming to get some air.”
“Did you?”
“We’ll leave you to it,” said Aaron.
He turned and saw Anthony untying the boat.
“Think about what we said.”
Ben nodded and they set off in the boat. He turned back to his mother who was standing there with an expression of ‘why did I come out here again’ on her face.