‘Did the caretaker not give you any power?’
‘He wanted sex’ she could not believe she had just said those words but somehow she thought that it would have no bearing on her current position, the vicar did not show no reaction to her words.
Andy put his hand inside his coat pocket, took out a voucher, he handed it to Eileen, she hesitantly took it off him, as if doing so would make her one of them.
‘This one’s free’ he told her, ‘just put it in the meter, next time you need to think about taking him up on his offer’ Eileen shivered ‘should last you a few days’ he added.
The vicar got up, put his clipboard under his arm, he held his hat with the other and started to leave, ‘that will be all for now’
‘What happens if we go into the woods’ Lily asked, already thinking of ways to get out of Underwood, Andy met her eyes, Lily could see the grin on his face, it frightened her and she took a step back.
‘Certain death’ he told her,
He left through the front door, stood at the top of the path, the residents who were out on the streets were few as there were only 8 houses occupied in that close, nevertheless they stopped whatever it was they were doing when they saw the vicar, Andy stroked his chin, ‘must get home for a shave’ he told himself, and that’s what the vicar of Underwood did.
Peter paced his cell, in the prison that he had been impounded in, for wanting to protect his wife and children, it all seemed a bit like a dream, or rather a nightmare that he could not wake from, and in his nightmare he had stepped into a horror movie and become a bit part actor, but no matter how hard he tried he could not wake from that dream, he just wanted to get out so he could start to make things right again, he was startled by the door opening again, and it made him take a step back, he thought the sheriff had come back, maybe to torture him, to kill him, he would fight him, fight to the death if he had to.
He was pleased when he saw the bartender there, he wasn’t sure why that pleased him, he just seemed less threatening then the sheriff, and he had come across more friendly that anyone else he had met, but he was still a resident of Underwood, a place where no one could leave, maybe the guy in front of him could give him some answers.
Craig opened the letter box flap in the cell door and passed Peter a sandwich and a bottle of water
‘thought you might need these’ he told him, he had a forced smile on his face, he had a look of a man who didn’t want to be there, Peter recognised the look and suspected his own face told the same.
Peter took the sandwich and water, he nodded his thanks, Craig sat on the chair, Peter took a bite out of his ham sandwich, it was surprisingly good, and neither man spoke for a while, he sipped the water as if he hadn’t drunk for a day and for some surreal moment Peter regarded it as a dying man’s last meal, he coughed as he swallowed the water, and the only thoughts he could think of was ‘I’ll go down fighting’
‘What is this place’ Peter asked from inside his cell,
‘It used to be public toilets, still got a bit of a pissy smell about it’ answered the bar tender,
‘I mean this place, Underwood’ what is it’,
Craig knew what he meant, he was trying to avoid the question, because he wasn’t sure what answer to give, it had been a long time since they had new residents, he particularly didn’t want any new residents, he hated meeting new people just to watch them go downhill and perish, he swore he would never get close to new residents again, he chose his words carefully.
‘If you’re male and live by the rules, it’s a fine place to live’, as he said it he realised he had not chosen them that carefully, he chastised himself and looked away so as not to catch Peter’s eyes.
Two things stood out to Peter in what he had just heard “live” and “male”, he shivered not for the first time that day, probably not for the last.
‘And if your female’ asked Peter,
Craig wished he hadn’t come here now, he licked his lips, wishing he had brought himself some water, he shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, Peter offered him his drink through the hatch, Craig took it, took a swig and handed it back,
‘It’s not a good place for young women, particularly your daughter’s age’ Craig himself shivered, forever thankful that he had no children, or at least none he could call his own, his memory went back to when he was younger, memories that would not die.
‘They are breeding machines, they are impregnated and the babies are taken away’ he paused ‘well some are taken away’
Peter thought of Lily, his face went white, he had to get out, he had to get to Lily, and Craig noticed his ashen look,
‘How old’s your daughter’
’14, 15 next month’
‘She looks older’
‘That’s her age’
‘Then providing the vicar believes that she will be okay until she’s 16’ he spat out the words as if cursing them.
Somehow that brought a little comfort to Peter, but that comfort just compounded the situation he had found himself in, there was no way he was going to be in Underwood for that length of time, to even think of it seemed ridiculous.
‘What happens to the babies’ he asked, not really wanting to know the answer,
Craig shrugged again, unsure why he was telling him all this, he felt uncomfortable in doing so, it wasn’t his job, he was just the barman, ‘some you see about, some you never see around’ he told Peter.
Peter grabbed his cell bars with both hands as if trying to prize them apart, his nostrils flared, he gritted his teeth,
‘And how do you leave Underwood’
Craig stood up, there was an uneasy grimace on his face,
‘They say the woods, but you really wouldn’t want to go in the woods’
Peter came back immediately ‘what’s in the woods’ he asked Craig,
Craig’s expression changed, his shoulders sank, and for the first time Peter noticed Craig looked a beaten man, ‘no one’s ever lived to tell’ he said,
They both stood in silence, trying to take in what was just said, it was as if Craig had not heard it before, but of course he had, he never wanted to speak about the woods, it had taken so much away from the town’ he offered his hand to Peter through the bars of the cell, Peter accepted the gesture and they shook hands,
‘We are not all bad around here’ he told Peter and Craig turned to leave, Peter called his name, Craig turned around,
‘Could someone check on my wife and kids’ he pleaded,
‘Sure’ he answered, and Craig left the prison, hating every inch of the town he lived in.
Chapter 5
The wooden floor sports hall was full of the residents of Underwood, when the courts stood all able bodied residents were expected to attend, most did to scared not to, but some didn’t, that was mainly those who were not bothered with the consequences, to the far end of the sports hall was a stage, beside the stage was a metal cage, raised from the ground on a temporary platform, it had brought back a lot of bad memories for some of those that stood there and watched, the others had somehow managed to blank it from their minds, but sometimes it would come back to haunt them, inside the cage stood Peter Ford, the newest resident of Underwood who had the audacity to punch the ruling sheriff, and as people looked on most had only a secret admiration for the man that stood before them, some wished they had the same courage as the man who stood caged like a wild animal, in the short time Peter Ford had been in Underwood he had gained a lot of respect as the news of him hitting the sheriff spread, he had gained a lot of friends and admirers, but it was the enemy’s he may have had that will come back to haunt him, that’s what everyone was thinking in the hall, there were no martyrs in Underwood, just sacrificial lambs.