The Perimeter (29 page)

Chapter Thirty Four

The gunner fired once more, puncturing the second set of gates. He continued shooting at the metal, but as he reloaded, he was hit by an enemy bullet and collapsed over the gunstock. The warriors around him dragged the body away and he was swiftly replaced by another.

The next shooter took over, and soon the inner gates were shot from their hinges, the left hand side of the wall crumbling as the sniper continued blasting chunks out of it.

Turning his head, Jamie saw The Voice of the Father all but laughing out loud. And Jamie had to admit he was impressed. They had lost a few brothers today, but they had achieved so much. And soon they would have what they came for.

‘Let me go and fight now,’ Jamie cried.

‘No,’ Matthew replied. ‘You are my disciple. You’re needed here with me. Let my warriors finish this. Your turn will come later.’

Now that the gates were taken care of, rows of soldiers began to advance on the perimeter in earnest. Enough of the wall had crumbled that sections of warriors had begun to try and force their way inside. However, it wasn’t yet possible. They were taking too much fire from beyond the gates and from shooters up on the wall to get close enough. It was apparent they still needed to demolish more area to enable their army to get through. Jamie realised that too many brothers had moved in on the wall for the gunner to be able to get any more decent shots. He would be unable to fire without killing their own warriors.

Relentless gunfire came at them from within the perimeter, raining down on their men at the base of the fence. Their warriors were being hit too hard and if they didn’t do something soon, there would be nothing but a pile of robed bodies at the foot of the fence.

Something whistled across the sky, dropping into the settlement. A huge explosion rumbled beyond the wall. Screams. Flames. Smoke. Jamie exhaled in relief. That should give them something to think about. Another whistle. Another explosion. Grenade launchers firing death into the sky. This was going to be too easy.

Just then, Jamie winced at an ear-splitting blast in front of them. He witnessed a scene of utter devastation – burning vehicles and warriors zigzagging out of harm’s way, while many more lay lifeless and bleeding on the ground. More than one of their vehicles had been hit. But it was hard to see how many due to the density of flames and smoke streaming upward. The enemy obviously had their own explosives.

Another blast shook the earth in front of the perimeter and more of their brothers fell. But as the life left their bodies, still more swept forward to replace them. Residual smoke snaked and curled into the frigid air.

The noise of detonations and the acrid stench of smoke gave Jamie a painful spike of memory back to the day his parents had been killed on the ferry. His mind projected long-ago images of twisted metal and gushing water. Of flames and of the unseeing bloody faces of his mother and father. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to reset his mind and flip it back to today. When he finally snapped them open again, he saw the smoke and snow and warriors once more.

‘We need to pull back,’ Jamie yelled to Matthew. ‘It’s not safe for you to be so close to the explosions.’

‘No,’ FJ said. ‘I want to watch.’

More grenades were being lobbed from the wall, taking out tens of warriors.

‘They need to force their way in there,’ Matthew said. He turned to one of the men in the back. ‘Go and tell them,’ he snapped. ‘Tell them to send in more of my warriors. Overwhelm the wall. Get in there and find Our Father. Find the girl.’

The disciple bowed his head and left the AV. He skirted around the back and Jamie saw him disappear into the surging mass of warriors behind them. He waited, impotent and impatient, to see what would happen next.

* * *

Within minutes, I had reached the end of the tunnel and brought the bike to a stop. Another steel door loomed ahead and I cursed. I hoped it wasn’t locked. Dismounting, I turned off the engine but left the headlight on. Then I slid the metal door bolts across with some difficulty. Pulling down the handle, I tugged at the door, but it wouldn’t shift. Perhaps the key was on the bunch. I prayed it wasn’t one of the ones I’d left behind for Luc, or my plan would be ruined. He would have returned to the tunnel by now. He’d have read my note. Would probably be running after me. But by the time he got here, I hoped I’d be long gone.

Taking the bunch of keys from the ignition, I tried one of the others – a lever mortice brass key. It went into the lock and turned with a beautiful clunk. The door still wouldn’t budge, so I tried a couple of the Yales in the other keyhole.

Bingo.

The heavy door finally eased open and a stream of icy air rushed into the tunnel. I gave a shiver and used my rucksack to prop the door open. Then I wheeled the bike through before hastily locking the door behind me.

I now found myself in the pumping station Luc had told me about. It looked like it had been abandoned for years. I’d been okay while I’d ridden through the tunnel – the noise and speed had distracted me from its dark confines. But this place with its rusted pipes and scuttling, dripping sounds freaked me out. Despite having a serious case of the creeps, I angled the bike to get a better look at my surroundings. In the corner, a ladder rose up to a circular hatch. I kept searching. There must be an easier, wider exit here, otherwise what was the point of the motorcycle?

I wheeled the bike alongside the pipework and turned a sharp corner. There, before me, a steep narrow ramp led up to a door in the wall. I exhaled in relief and left the bike for a minute while I went up to have a closer look at the door.

What would I find on the other side? Pa wouldn’t have sent Luc and me into any kind of danger so I was fairly confident the exit wouldn’t lead anywhere too bad. As expected, the door was locked and bolted, but I quickly found the correct keys on the bunch. I pushed at the door and it opened; slowly at first before being suddenly tugged from my hand by a sharp wind.

I blinked at the daylight brightness outside. As my eyes readjusted from the gloom, I saw an empty snow-covered landscape. I had no idea where I was or which way I would need to go. I’d figure it out. I pushed the door as far as it would go, wedging it into the ground so it stayed open. Then I ran back inside and hopped back on the bike.

Revving it hard, I rode up the ramp to the exit and through to the outside. Into the cold still air, the sky an iron grey sheet. Dismounting, I glanced around. Then I pushed the door, easing it closed, pulling at it to check it was locked.

The exit had been set into the side of a low hillock, its exterior blanketed in grass and snow. If I hadn’t disturbed it, the door would have been completely camouflaged. I was impressed. Pa had done a great job. And to have kept its existence secret for all these years was a feat in itself. I grabbed a few handfuls of snow from nearby to try and cover it back over, but I couldn’t quite recreate the look of undisturbed snow. I would have to leave it. At least the exit was locked.

Guilty thoughts of Luc assaulted me, but I pushed them aside. My worst fear was that he wouldn’t forgive me. But I was doing this for him. For us. For all of us.

No time to linger here. I had to find my way to the Charminster Compound. If I kept heading in the same direction, I guessed I would reach it eventually. My hands were stiff with cold and I blew through my gloves to try and warm them. It was no good. I would have to resign myself to being freezing for a good while longer. A few flakes began to fall again. With any luck, they’d cover my tracks from the exit.

I sat on the motorcycle and steeled myself for a ride across the snow.

The wind cut into my cheeks and stung my eyes, making them water. My fingers almost froze in place on the handlebars and my legs were chilled to the bone marrow. Beneath the snow, rocks and potholes tried to fling me from my seat. But I clung on hard, and after only five or ten minutes of discomfort, the compound finally came into view.

I cruised alongside the wire fence of The Walls. There was no one around. No one even guarding the fence. Just snow-covered tents sitting amid brown slush. I hoped everyone was okay.

‘Hey!’

‘I looked up to see a man striding toward me from inside the encampment. I slowed and drew out my magnum, fingering the trigger. As he drew closer, I realised I’d met him before. It was the guy with all the facial piercings and the nose-hoop. He aimed a rifle at my head.

‘Keon,’ I said. ‘It’s me, Riley.’

‘Riley?’ He peered through the wire and relaxed. ‘Oh, yeah, I remember you. Nice bike,’ he said, lowering his weapon. ‘You here to see Lou again?’

‘I need to see Reece,’ I said, holstering my gun.

Keon raised an eyebrow and pointed at the gate further along the fence. I rode up to it and waited while he fiddled with the lock.

‘Didn’t expect to see you back here so soon,’ he said.

‘Is Reece around?’ I asked. ‘It’s urgent.’

Keon opened the gate and I wheeled the motorcycle through.

‘If it’s urgent,’ he said with a grin, ‘it’ll be quicker to ride.’ He took hold of the bike and hopped on, nudging me out of the way.

‘Hey!’

‘Get on then.’ He patted the space behind him. ‘Better hold on tight.’

I scowled, but did as he said, instantly regretting it as he pulled a ridiculous wheelie. I gripped his waist just in time to save myself from sliding backwards into the slush. He laughed and took off through the camp, spraying snow and mud in his wake. Curious faces peered out from huts and shacks, but I couldn’t worry about what people thought, I was more concerned with working out exactly what I was going to say to Reece when I saw him.

Turns out, I didn’t have long to wait. We reached the gathering place at the main marquee within a few minutes.

‘He’s in there,’ Keon said, skidding to a halt. ‘I’ll look after this baby for you.’

I got off, reached forward, turned off the ignition and pocketed the keys.

‘You’re no fun,’ he said.

‘Fuel’s precious,’ I replied. ‘It better be here when I get back, or Reece will have something to say.’

‘It’ll be here. I looked after your truck before, didn’t I? Kept it in one piece.’

I nodded and left him, pushing back the tent flap and stepping inside.

There was no way I could’ve come back here with Luc. Reece would never have agreed to see us, not after what happened last time. But I wished he was by my side right now. It would’ve made everything so much easier.

The marquee was packed with people. The air smoky and dense, slightly warmer than outside, thank God.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed me as I picked my way past families and groups huddled together for what little warmth could be found. Reece was sitting in his usual spot, surrounded by his cronies. To pull this off, I would have to be brave. I would have to lie and I would have to act my ass off.

One of Reece’s friends nudged him and pointed in my direction. Reece looked up and gave a triumphant smirk as I smiled across at him. He leant down and said something to his friend who laughed. I took a breath and walked up to him.

‘Riley,’ he said, taking my gloved hand. ‘Jesus, girl, you’re freezing. Come and sit by the burner with me.’ He twined my hand in his and led me over to the centre of the marquee. People made way for us as we walked and two men vacated a couple of floor cushions about ten feet from the huge stove with its blissful warmth.

Reece let go of my hand and sat down on one of the cushions. He patted the other and I sat facing him. He leant forward and peeled off each of my sodden gloves, placing them closer to the burner.  Then he took my frozen hands in his and started rubbing the skin, blowing on my fingers to warm them up. I didn’t like the feel of his calloused hands over mine, but I let him continue.

‘I’m glad you came back to see me,’ he said. ‘I’ve been looking forward to spending time with you.’