Dead Days: The Complete Season Two Collection (34 page)

Riley stared at the spot where Anna had stood. “I suppose you’re right.”

Chapter Four

Riley and Pedro walked down the main road of Heathwaite’s Caravan Park, away from the caravans and towards the front gates; towards the leisure centre. Even though they were supposed to be planning a way to distract the guards around Claudia and Chloë’s temporary prison, they hadn’t exchanged many words. As they walked down the road, their breath frosting with every breath, Riley realised just how silent this place was compared to normal. Nothing but the distant buzz of the mob surrounding the caravan.

“So Anna’s gonna go in there, set um free, then what, bruv? Cause that’s the part I’m strugglin’ to work out.”

Riley knew Pedro had a point. It was all fair and well Anna unlocking Claudia and Chloë from their cuffs. But if they couldn’t find a way to get those guards away from the caravan somehow, the plan was pretty much useless. Rodrigo wouldn’t let them just walk out of the site, no way. People would recognise their faces. They had to think. Fast.

“I mean there’s only two ways we’re gonna get them guards from around that caravan, I’m tellin’ you.”

“And what two ways are they?”

“Well, first option is killin’ ‘em‌—‌”

“Out of the question,” Riley said. “They’re good people. They’re just as innocent as Claudia and Chloë.”

Pedro shrugged. “Won’t be sayin’ that when they’ve got their dicks in them girls’ mouths, I tell you.”

Riley ignored this remark. But killing them wasn’t an option. He was trying to flee a war, not start another. “And the other option?”

Pedro shrugged again. “Well, we need to catch their attention with summat more distracting than them two women in the caravan.”

“And what’s more distracting than that right now? Cause I can’t think of anything.”

Pedro tilted his head over to the front gate. “It’s clear out there, eh?”

Riley nodded. “What are you suggesting?”

Pedro brushed his fingers through his beard, which seemed to be getting more stubbly by the minute. “If it’s clear out there, then maybe we can open them gates temporarily or summat. Just summat to distract ‘em‌—‌make ‘em worry. And before they have a chance to even realise it’s us who did it, we’ll be gone over that hill.”

Riley contemplated Pedro’s idea in his head. It was dangerous, that was for sure. Any idea that involved opening those gates and leaving Heathwaite’s at risk of an invasion‌—‌whether from creatures or humans‌—‌was dangerous.

But it wasn’t a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.

“What about Donald and the other gate guards?” Riley said. “All fair and well putting the frights into the caravan guards a bit. But these gate guards‌—‌all four of them. What are we supposed to do with them?”

Pedro sighed. He glanced at Riley then turned away again, shaking his head.

“Don’t suggest killing them again. We’re going to do this without anybody ending up hurt or‌—‌”

“Perhaps we could just put ‘em to sleep,” Pedro said. “Old cloth round the mouth. Fluothane, it’s called. Works pretty good too.”

“And where would we get some of that?” Riley asked. All fair and well
knowing
a kind of sleeping chemical, finding it in the next half an hour was a different matter altogether.

“When you got ‘ere. When you hurt your leg. They used some of this stuff to put you to sleep while they cleaned your wound up. And I might’ve…‌‌y’know. I struggle sleeping, like. With all that’s happened. And it works good, like I say. So I’ve got some in my van. Should be good to use. Should be safe.”

Riley nodded. This plan was coming together fast. They could knock Donald and the gate guards out swiftly with this chemical that Pedro had sneaked. Open the gates. Create a bit of a panic and force the guards around Claudia and Chloë’s caravan to go and shut them. Force the mob, terrified, back into their caravans. And all the while, they could make their escape through the side gate. It could work. It really could.

But there was another problem.

“How do we open the first gates? Only the gate guards know the code.”

Pedro smiled. He tapped his nose. “Pop a few glasses of whisky down a fellow comrade and he’ll tell you anythin’, bruv. 6-5-7-4-2. Bet my left bollock on it.”

Riley nodded. “You go get that chemical then.” He sat down on the step outside the leisure centre and stared out at the front gate, the guards stood around it like they were guarding Buckingham Palace or something. “I’ll meet you back here as soon as possible. Don’t want to come with you‌—‌it’ll look too suspicious if anyone’s watching. So meet back here. Then we’ll move onto the guards.”

Pedro nodded. He looked at the gate then back up towards the caravans.

“I hope Anna’s pullin’ through, bruv. I really do.”

Riley bit his lip. His stomach churned up with nerves and anticipation. “Me too.”

Anna held her breath as she approached the mob surrounding Claudia and Chloë’s caravan. She could smell the collective sweat of these people‌—‌they reeked of anger and scapegoating fury. Daft bastards, the lot of them. Just so typically British, too. Desperate for somebody to blame, so go and blame a woman and her daughter. She’d loved to have thought that this was just a fault of the Heathwaite’s community, but she knew damn well from her time as a doctor that the desperate liked to blame factors way out of their control.

As she approached the steps of the caravan, she realised the mob was actually a little bit smaller than earlier. Obviously people had got bored, or they were waiting for something else to happen before tuning in to the human bear baiting, or whatever else they were going to do to poor Claudia and Chloë. Sick bastards. Sick, sick bastards.

She did manage to maintain a kind of smile as she approached the steps of the caravan. She twiddled the paperclip around in her pocket. She didn’t want to lose it. She didn’t want to get in there to find out that she didn’t even have the escape weapon. Escape weapon. That made her grin even more. Here she was with a fucking paperclip, and she was actually calling it an escape weapon. What had Riley even said, anyway? Shape it like a key, bend it to a right angle, twist and twist and twist…‌‌something like that.

And shit. If Riley had found his way out of some kinky handcuffs, she’d sure as shit be able to get Claudia and Chloë out of their current predicament.

“Wait there, Anna. Can’t let you in I’m afraid.”

James was holding his hand up as she approached the steps of the caravan. He was standing right in front of the door.

“James,” Anna said, forcing a sympathetic smile onto her face. “What Riley said…‌‌he was right. But only partly. I…‌‌I can’t believe these two would side with Mike. I‌—‌I need to hear it for myself. Hear their reasoning.”

James shrugged. His eyes wandered behind Anna at the small crowd of people, which the other caravan guards were pushing back gradually further and further. “No can do. I’d let you in but it int my decision.” His Northern English accent seemed to get thicker the stronger and tougher he wanted to come across, the “ain’ts” becoming “‘ints” and the like. “You’ll ‘ave to ‘ave a word with the boss if you wanna go anywhere.”

Anna’s face dropped. She felt her cheeks burning and her stomach turn.

“Sorry,” James said, raising his eyebrows. “Just the rules am afraid. All gotta follow ‘um.”

Fuck. She’d been flat out rejected, right there on the doorstep. She had no idea how much time Claudia and Chloë actually had before…‌‌well, before whatever commenced, whether questioning or something much worse. Knowing the collective nature and mentality of men, it wouldn’t surprise her if it was a bit of everything.

And then, out of nowhere‌—‌or at least, out of that part of her that was desperate, way beyond rational thought or contemplation‌—‌a warm tear dripped down her face.

It surprised Anna herself at first. She wasn’t one to cry willy-nilly. Didn’t get anybody anywhere.

Which could strangely work in her favour in a situation like this.

James shuffled from side to side when he saw Anna crying. His eyes wandered back over the mob and into the distance. “Anna, I said am sorry. There’s nowt I can‌—‌”

“I want to know why they went against me. Why they betrayed me. I…‌‌I need to hear it. I need to hear it from them first-hand before anything happens. Or I can’t support whatever it is you’re planning with them, James. I can’t support it until I hear it myself. I just need a minute with them. Just one minute. Please.”

James sighed. He rubbed his chapped, dry lips together, shuffling on the step even more uncomfortably.

“Just a minute, James. That’s all I need. All I need to‌—‌to hear it for myself. They owe me that much. They‌—‌”

“Make it fuckin’ quick,” James said, whispering right into Anna’s face. He reached for the handle and pushed her inside, checking to see nobody was paying any real attention.

The tears stopped the second James’s hand rammed her through the door, but fortunately it was too late for him‌—‌or for anyone‌—‌to notice.

She stood in the front room of the caravan.

Claudia and Chloë were sat on the floor, duct tape on their mouth, staring back at her. Their hands were linked to the cabinet handles with handcuffs. Tears poured down their bruised, resigned faces.

“I‌—‌I don’t have long in here,” Anna said. She walked towards them and crouched down right in front of them. “So I can only say this once‌—‌to both of you. We’re getting out of here. I’m going to set you both free and we’re going to get out of here with you. Riley and Pedro are working on a way to distract the people outside this caravan. When they’re gone‌—‌and only when they’re gone‌—‌you run down that hill as fast as you can, get into the woods as soon as you can, and head towards the metal fences. You’ll see them as soon as you hit the woods.” She pulled out the paperclip in her shaking hand and stuffed it into the side of Chloë’s handcuffs. She twisted it, just like Riley said, then twisted in the other direction, making a key-like shape. Easier said than done, this was.

All the while, she continued talking: “We’ll meet you out there and then we’ll go. I’d take you myself, but it’s too risky. We only have one shot at this. One shot to get out and away from here. And trust me‌—‌I don’t care what Mike or Rodrigo or Father fucking Christmas told you for that matter‌—‌the only way we’re going to be safe is if we get out of here.”

Chloë watched Anna with wide, understanding eyes as Anna’s shaking fingers twisted the paperclip even more. Fuck. Why wasn’t it working? Why was none of it working?

She heard a bump outside. A bump at the door that made her freeze, right there on the spot. She spun around. Just a stone or a rock or something like that. Nobody was coming inside. She still had time. She still had a shot.

“It’s…‌‌I’ll unlock your cuffs,” Anna said again, twiddling the paperclip around Chloë’s handcuffs, her heart racing. “Then you wait until it’s all clear out there. Which it should be very soon. You just‌—‌”

Her speech was cut off by a large snapping sound. She heard it before she felt it, and felt it before she saw it.

But when she looked in her hands, she understood.

The paperclip had snapped in Chloë’s handcuffs. It was wedged inside the lock. What remained in her fingers was nothing more than a stub of metal.

She looked up at Chloë and then at Claudia. Chloë looked confused, but Claudia’s face hadn’t really changed. She had that same defeated look in her bleary eyes.

The paperclip had snapped. More footsteps outside the door. Fuck.

“I…‌‌I’ll just need to‌—‌” Anna started to speak, not quite knowing what she needed to do, or what she
could
do.

That’s when Chloë pulled her hand from the cuffs.

The cuffs dropped back against the cabinet.

Her wrist was free.

Anna stared at her for a few seconds. Claudia’s eyes widened, hope flickering up inside them.

“That’s…‌‌that’s right,” Anna said as she moved Chloë’s hands behind her back. “Now just wait here. We need‌—‌I need to find a way to get your mum out. I need to find a way.”

Anna looked around the living room of the caravan. Her head spun. There had to be something in here that she could get Claudia free with. Chloë’s hands were free‌—‌that was a start. But she had to finish the job. She couldn’t just save one of them. Saving one of them wasn’t enough. They couldn’t leave anybody behind.

Anna rose to her feet and yanked open a drawer above the cabinet that Claudia was still tied to. She looked inside. Nothing but cloth, medicine‌—‌all kind of equipment like that. She opened the next drawer. Her head pulsated with tension. She had to get this done. She had to be quick.

And right there in the next drawer, Anna saw exactly what she needed to see.

It was a long, thin needle. Thicker than the paperclip, but with enough luck it should pry Claudia’s wrist free from the cuffs. She held it in her hand. Let out a shaky breath and shut the drawer of the cabinet.

“Okay, Claudia. Just you now. Just…‌”

Her speech trailed off. It was the way Claudia’s eyes were staring at the door. The way Chloë was rooted to the spot, trying her best not to show her freed hand.

It was at that moment that Anna felt like she was being watched. She felt somebody else’s presence in the room, right there with them.

She turned around slowly. Tension built up in her stomach. Sweat built up on her forehead and under her arms and all over. She held her breath. Kept on turning. Slipped the needle behind her back and out of sight.

James was standing by the door. He had a gun in his hand. He was looking right at Anna, eyebrow turned, serious frown on his face.

“I gave you a minute,” he said. “Wanna tell me what you’re doing in that drawer or are we gonna ‘ave to ‘ave a chat with Rodrigo about this?”

Chapter Five

Pedro kept his head down as he walked back from his caravan. He’d found the Fluothane by the side of the sofa. Must’ve dozed off after slipping some in his whisky, or something like that.

Speaking of whisky, he’d been sure to sneak a bottle along in his rucksack. Wasn’t gonna be all pretentious and pretend he knew the type‌—‌whisky was whisky at the end of the day. If it got him hammered and kept him warm through the night, then it was alright by him.