No one could understand it, at first they thought the steelworks had blown up and created a suction and those who survived will say that’s what happened and it somehow threw the town Of Underwood off the planet, no one really believed it, but it’s what they wanted to believe as they could think of no other logical explanation, because trees don’t move, do they? Not as if there was any logic in the one they had.
As the people of Underwood took to the streets and the screams and shouts were in abundance, the teenagers In the army huts stood in fear, just like every other part of underwood the trees were spinning, but as the teenagers run out from their dens, something else was happening in the army huts, for they stood and watched frozen in fear as the ground in front of them opened up, at first they would swear they saw human souls being released from the hole that had appeared in the ground, whatever happened in that steelworks, the finest steel in the world made, today it had unearthed something that had laid dormant since the second world war.
Stronger than any Iron or Steel it had produced.
17 teenagers died that day in the army huts alone, by the hands of the monster that came from the ground as the Wolfe like animal fed on their bodies, they had tried to run, but with the woods spinning, there was nowhere to run to as the landscape changed continually, throwing their minds into utter confusion and throwing their bodies into the thing that devoured them, and as the awoken animal licked his lips at the first meal he had eaten for almost 40 years, he thought of the last three people he had seen, he would call on them to help him create the new underwood, for it was those who destroyed the last.
Next morning the carnage was not unlike an earthquake, the orange cloud was gone now and to everyone’s utter disbelief the landscape surrounding the town had moved, with no outside contact with the rest of the world, people had to burn their dead, under the instructions of the new resident of Underwood, Sheriff Allan Herapath, the Vicar would say some meaningless words as the body’s burned and the judge would punish those that didn’t obey, he was kept very busy in the early days.
That day a new Underwood was born, but it was so different from the old.
Chapter 13
Delyn Brown the pretty 18 year old Welsh girl from Newport had only just passed her driving test, and the curly haired freckled face beauty was a bit nervous in driving over to Bristol, it was her friend “Judith’s” hen night, she was a bit annoyed not being able to have the two days of from the hairdressers where she worked, for now she would have to travel there on her own and meet the rest of her friends there, Bristol was a good night out and the hotel they were staying at had some good reviews on trip advisor and she had cheered up a bit when she managed to leave work 2 hours early, maybe by the time she gets there and meet the others they would not have had to much to drink, though she didn’t like the weather that was approaching and as she sat in her bedroom applying the final touches to her make-up, the heavens opened and pelted the bedroom window with the rain, she jumped streaking her mascara down her cheek,
‘shit, have to take a coat’ she thought, she looked out of the window, it was really pouring down, she didn’t fancy driving in the rain and she thought about a taxi, she checked her purse, there was no way she could afford that, she had the hotel to pay for and drinks, she would have to take it easy, she grabbed her coat, checked she had her id , she said goodbye to her mum, thankful that her father wasn’t home as she knew he would have told her not to go, she thought about waiting for him to come home and ask him to take her, but that would be leaving it to late, she kissed her mum got into her ford focus and started the engine, she looked up at the skies, it didn’t look good, she hoped it would pass over, or at least she would be driving away from it.
‘I’m a good driver’ she told herself, ‘I passed first time’
Delyn Brown drove off into the rain towards the Severn Bridge to Bristol, she had a hen night to go to, and she was so looking forward to it.
Tony Griffiths stood in his car lot, as he had done nearly every night since he built the car lot that wasn’t allowed to sell cars, he was probably the best predictor of the weather that Underwood had, he had enough experience having lived there all that time, it was the behaviour of the tree’s, the lie of the sun and the movement of the clouds that told him a storm would be coming, just 8 days after the last, he thought it might be a bit soon, and if it was a daytime storm then that wouldn’t do, but it looked as if it was a few hours yet before the storm came, based on past experiences, by then it would be dark, by then they may be able to see exactly what happens when the storms come, he felt the excitement building up inside him, something he hadn’t felt for years, at that time he didn’t care if he lived or died, as long as he tried, someone had to do something about this fucked up world he lived in.
He went into his work shop, checked the chains and padlocks, they would do fine, he walked the five minute walk to Hawthorne with the chains and padlocks in a holdall, his pace was fast, the adrenalin flowed.
Peter answered the door and saw Tony stood there, his heart went into his mouth.
‘I think its tonight’ said Tony ‘let’s go check the place and hide these somewhere’ he added as he held up his bag, he had a big grin on his face, Peter could tell he was enjoying this.
Peter just nodded, said his goodbyes to his wife and children and the two of them walked to the top of the town towards the army huts with a determination to succeed, failure was not an option, and they soon arrived to the place where Peter said he entered Underwood.
Delyn Brown lived just a mile from the M4 motorway and despite the torrential rain she got on it quite easily, she drove cautiously but it appeared that so was everyone else, the skies were a mass of grey and looked threatening, the dark skies seemed to go on forever, she hoped it was clearer in Bristol, her adrenalin was high but she wasn’t sure that was because she had never driven in conditions like she was experiencing, or the excitement of the evening ahead, she crawled along at a snail’s pace, she had phoned her friends telling them she would be late, she wished at least one of them had offered to stay and travel with her and was quite upset when they hadn’t, she couldn’t miss out on this, Judith was her best friend, she would be there no matter how late it got, that’s what best friends do.
The overhead signs were displaying “accident” the next exit was at the Coldra roundabout, she would get off there and connect to the Severn Bridge at Magor, it would be easy, she was reasonably familiar with the area, she would get there, no matter what.
Peter and Tony stood at the top of the estate, the chains and padlocks hidden deep inside a bush on the waste ground beside the old army huts, which were to their left, no one was going to go up there, especially with a storm brewing.
‘So you say the road to Underwood is behind these trees’ said Tony pointing straight ahead into the trees,
‘This is where we were picked up, whatever is the other side of those trees can’t change, the road was here, I’m sure of it’ he paused for thought, licked his lips and then bit his tongue, he looked around, Tony’s eyes followed the same direction as his,
‘So if someone’s going to come tonight, they’re going to come here’ said Tony, he tried to recall where the entrance road to Underwood was before it changed, but the landscape had changed so many times it just boiled his mind.
‘You got any better ideas’ asked Peter, secretly wishing he had, because Peter was now thinking this was more like a childish prank.