“It’s quite old. Seems some of the older vehicles are still drivable.”
Tom and Andrew were now roughly six metres away from the nearest of the group, Colin.
Colin moved a little closer. “Are you carrying food and water?”
“We have some, enough for our families,” replied Tom warily.
“That’s a bit greedy, eh, lads?” Colin looked over his shoulder, and the three by the bikes moved forward, forming a semi-circle opposite Tom and Andrew.
“Look,” said Tom, “we don’t want any trouble. We just want to get some fuel then be on our way.”
“We could always sell you some petrol.”
“We need diesel. Is there some still in the garage’s tanks?”
“Sure,” responded Colin, “there’s loads.”
Tom and Andrew looked at each other, both knowing that he was lying. There would have been thousands of long vehicle queues right across the country and drivers taking their cars far and wide, desperate to get their vehicle tanks topped up. Tom felt the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen again, and he knew they had to get out of there, and quick.
“That’s OK,” Tom answered. “We’ll leave the fuel to you and just leave the village.”
Tom took a step back, Andrew following suit.
Colin took a step forward, the other three copying their leader. “Now, that’s not very polite, is it, boys? We offer them some of our valuable fuel, and they just want to do a runner.”
Tom heard sniggers and muffled laughter beneath their scarves, balaclavas and makeshift clothing. He looked across at Andrew and continued to back away, keeping the barrel of his gun pointed low, but aiming in the direction of the men blocking their way forward. Andrew also backed off, his shotgun mimicking Tom’s.
“Wait!” called the man whom Tom had now classified as a thug and thought would fit in well with the Reynolds family. “We’ve not finished our discussion.”
“We’ll leave you in peace,” responded Andrew. “And be on our way.”
Both men took another few steps backwards.
“He speaks. You might want to reconsider. Take a look behind you.”
Both Andrew and Tom spun round, fear gripping both of them when they saw their wives and children standing at the front of the Land Rover, guarded by four people. Tom wasn’t sure but they appeared to be four males. Mary’s desperate need for the toilet had been the chink in the armour, the vehicle door open long enough to allow the four men access to the Land Rover, seizing Lucy’s shotgun, and taking Tom’s and Andrew’s families hostage.
Tom swung back round towards Colin, who he now felt sure was the leader of the group, or was it gang, and raised the barrels of the shotgun, aiming it directly at him.
“I wouldn’t do anything foolish now. All we want is your food and water. Oh, and your vehicle, and you’ll be free to go. Can’t be fairer than that, can we, lads?”
The men with Colin grumbled their agreement.
“But we need that to survive,” gasped Andrew.
“So do we,” the gang leader hit back.
“We can’t survive without food,” pleaded Tom.
“We’re not animals. We’ll leave you something to get by on.”
“And what if we don’t give it up?” Andrew challenged him.
The man held up his arm and waved it in the direction of the Land Rover back up the road. Both Tom and Andrew quickly turned, seeing Maddie brought to her knees with an arm violently twisted up her back. A scream reached their ears.
“OK, OK, you’ve made your point. Tell them to stop.”
A grin obvious beneath his scarf, Colin looked at Andrew, and he lifted his left arm this time and waved it. Maddie’s arm was released, and she was allowed to stand again.
“Glad you’ve seen sense. Now, this is a bit of a stalemate. Yes, you’ve got the guns, but we have these,” he waved a knife in front of Tom’s face, “but more importantly we have your family at knifepoint. We could easily kill all of them before you could stop us. Yes, we could be killed as well, but I can guarantee you that your children won’t survive.”
There was silence for three or four seconds, Tom’s mind racing, searching for a solution to get them out of this and keep his and Andrew’s families safe.
The leader broke the silence, his voice menacing. “You’re running out of time, Grandad. Do you want me to make your mind up for you?” He went to lift both arms up when Andrew shouted, “Stop!” Andrew then placed his shotgun on the floor and looked at Tom, the pain in his eyes clear. Tom knew he had to follow suit. The options that had raced through his mind moments earlier were now obsolete. He too bent down and lowered his gun to the tarmac road. He stood back up, his shoulders drooping, and turned to check his family were still there.
“Good, good. Now move back ten feet. We don’t want you changing your mind just as things are going so swimmingly now, do we?”
Tom and Andrew shuffled back as commanded, defeat sapping their strength, leaching away any thought of action.
“Danno, Shifty. Get the guns, now.”
One from the leader’s left and one from his right, moved forward warily, still uncertain that Tom’s and Andrew’s capitulation would continue. Without taking their eyes off the two intruders, they crouched down and picked up the two shotguns. Only then did their demeanour relax, and jokes started to flow between them.
“Cut it,” snapped Colin. “Let me have one.”
Danno reluctantly passed him the shotgun he had in his possession. Colin then indicated for the rest of the gang to bring the men’s families forward. The minute they arrived the two children attached themselves to their respective fathers’ sides, seeking their protection. Their mothers joined them.
Tom knew they were in deep trouble the minute the leader spoke next. “Right, you two women get over here.”
“Yeah,” sniggered Danno, “fed up of fucking those two slags.”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” snapped the leader angrily.
“You said you wanted our food and Land Rover,” responded Andrew, his voice shaky.
“We do,” said the leader. “But we want some fun first. Then you can go on your way. Now, take your kids over to the steps leading up to the hall. Move it!”
Tom started to move towards the steps, Mary clutching his coat as her mother was prevented from joining them.
“You can’t do this,” growled Tom angrily, shaking Mary off and making a beeline for Lucy.
The butt of the shotgun hit him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, forcing Tom to drop to his knees.
Bang.
Colin fired a shot into the air and bellowed at Tom and Andrew, “You fuckers try anything again and I promise you that your kids’ll suffer.”
Bang.
Glen dropped his drink, the mug bouncing off the mudguard of the Land Rover, the contents splashing over his combat trousers. His HK weapon was immediately up and at the ready. “What the hell was that?”
Rolly had also reacted, dropping to a crouch, lifting his gun, and quickly scanning a 180-degree arc to his front. Greg and Plato, who had been adjusting the equipment in the back of the trailer attached at the rear of the Land Rover, also dropped to the ground, ready to react to any potential threat.
“Not far away,” responded Rolly. “Shotgun, I think.”
“Yeah,” called Plato. “One o’clock from your position.”
Bang.
“Definitely a shotgun,” confirmed Greg. “It’s bloody close as well, a hundred metres maybe. Do we investigate?”
Glen thought for a moment before he spoke. “I reckon. We need to know what’s going on in this godforsaken world. Rolly, Plato, stay here and protect our stuff. Greg and me will take a look-see.”