*Well, we won"t know for certain until we"re at the gates," Charlie replied.
As Liz retuned to look at the approaching convent, a sleek shadow darted out from the tree line, crossed the road and disappeared into the field on the other side. From the size of it, Liz took it to be a fox. Then with a rustle, another larger shape broke cover to sprint across their path after the fox. Even in the darkness, Liz could just make out the s.h.a.ggy blond coat of the mangy Golden Retriever they had encountered when they had first begun their trip. Liz hoped the dog would catch its meal, despite what she had witnessed the pack do to the man in the field, this starving dog had attacked and claimed the Dead woman"s corpse without giving them a second glance. She wondered if they could somehow catch the poor beast. Just like Jackson was doing, it would be good to have a guard dog and this one either knew the difference between the living and the Dead or it was old enough to remember human companionship.
*Did you see that?" Liz asked.
*Yep," Charlie replied, *looks like that mutt"s decided to stick around for a while."
Finally the high stone walls of Lanherne loomed before them and they waited by the first gate to be let in. Liz turned to make sure the Reverend was still with them and sure enough, they had pulled their cart to a stop just behind their own. She could hear the Reverend and his wife talking quietly in their cart. From the rhythm of the speech she thought they may be praying but each time she got a hold of a word, the rest would be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the wind.
*When we go through, the gates will close behind us," Liz called to the cart parked behind them. *We get checked for the Dead before we"re let into the Convent proper and when we"re in, the gate will then open for you to be checked."
The praying sounds stopped abruptly as Liz spoke but there was no indication that they had understood what was going to happen. Looking up at the walkway she recognised the bulky shape of Phil at the winch. She could tell from the movement of his shoulders that his thick muscular arms were beginning to turn the handle that slowly opened the gate. With a creaking sound, the large gate before them began to swing open. Once it was wide enough Charlie urged Delilah forward with a gentle clicking sound. She did not need to be told twice. The faithful mare knew she was home and that a feed in a warm stable awaited her. Watching the gate slowly closing again behind them, Liz thought she caught a glimpse of the Reverend"s dark shining eyes watching her through the front view slit of his cart. As the gate closed with a *clunk" sound, the holding area was suddenly awash with torch light. Phil"s smiling face appeared in a halo of golden flickering light.
*Clear," he said, once he had checked none of the Dead had followed them in. *Welcome home Liz, glad to see you got back safe. We"ve missed you."
*Glad to be home," she replied with a smile.
Waving up to him, she jumped down from the cart checking the undercarriage for Dead hangers on. Seeing that this too was clear, she gave Phil the signal that all was ok and the inner gate slowly began to open. With each turn of the winch handle the gate opened wider for them. Liz could feel her tense muscles slowly relaxing more and more with each centimetre the gate moved. With a sigh the tension left her body. She had survived another trip among the Dead, to come home safe and sound to the people she loved.
Leading Delilah by her bit, Liz guided her through the inner gate. Once they were through, Phil began to wind the winch in the opposite direction, closing the gate behind them.
*Thank you for getting us home," Liz said, patting Delilah"s muzzle softly.
As if knowing what Liz had said, Delilah gave a gentle snort and pushed lightly against her hand.
*Elizabeth! So glad you managed to come back safe to us," Lars said, walking up to unhitch Delilah and take her for a good rub down and feed, *and Imran and Charlie, are they ok too?"
*Yes Lars, it was a real s.h.i.tty trip but we all came home in one piece. We"ll be having a meeting about everything later. So come up to the Refectory when you"re done with Delilah."
*Oh, that doesn"t sound like good news," he replied, as he began releasing Delilah from her harness.
*It"s not," Liz said, just as a small body ploughed into her, almost knocking her to the floor *...Hey, hey, careful."
The small body, all blond curls and happy giggles looked up at her.
*Lizzy, you"re home! I"ve missed you so much. Did you bring me anything?" Anne said, throwing her small arms around Liz"s waist.
*Perhaps... " Liz said thinking of the box of cake mix they had found, *though Sister Rebecca will have to cook it first. Have you been good for Alice and Mohammed?"
*Yes of course," Anne replied, though Liz doubted that she was being strictly truthful.
*Mmm... if you say so," Liz said, ruffling her sisters hair *can you let everybody know there"ll be a meeting in about an hour and ask Sister Claire to come out, we"ve got some new livestock for her"
*Oooh, what have we got? Not more goats I hope," Anne replied, scrunching up her face.
*No, pigs," Charlie said, as Imran pulled the small crate containing Stinky and Rat-bag out of the cart.
*Charlie! Imran!" Anne cried, running to the solider and throwing her arms around him Liz watched Charlie gather Anne up in his arms, giving her a tight hug and a kiss. For Anne, Charlie was the father she had never known and although Liz would never forget the love their real father had showered onto her, she too looked upon Charlie this way. She had already lost one father to the Dead and the thought of losing Charlie in such a manner made her feel physically sick.
*Hey, mind if I get a go?" a voice said walking into the orange glow of one of the torches.
Charlie looked up, a smile on his lips and a playful glint in his eyes.
*Mind if I say h.e.l.lo to Alice, pipsqueak?" Charlie said, patting Anne on the back, never taking his eyes of the beautiful woman slowly walking towards him.
Giggling, Anne made a kissing face and released Charlie to give Imran a welcome home hug too.
*h.e.l.lo" Charlie said, with a softness in his voice Liz rarely heard coming from him.
Alice was standing directly in front of him now, her eyes slowly taking in every detail of his face.
*h.e.l.lo," she replied, almost whispering, and then she leant forward touching her lips gently to his.
Losing themselves in each others embrace, they kissed. In that moment there were no raiders, no murdered families, and the Dead did not walk. All the horrors they had witnessed over the last few days were washed away with that kiss and the world was full of hope again. As Liz watched two of the people she loved most in the world, find love themselves, she felt a warmth blooming through her chest. Perhaps things were going to be alright after all.
*Later," Alice whispered in his ear, a smile on her lips.
Giving her a final squeeze and a kiss on her forehead, Charlie released her.
*Later," he echoed, giving her a quick wink.
With a loud creaking sound, the gate inside gate opened allowing the Reverend"s cart to enter.
*The O"Briens?" Alice asked, looking at Liz.
Liz gently shook her head and with that single gesture Alice knew the O"Briens were no longer alive.
*Oh, no..." she said, looking up at Charlie. *What happened?"
*Raiders got to them before we did, but that"s not all. The Penhaligans are gone too," he replied, hating to see to the mix of fear and sadness in Alice"s eyes.
*So who are our guests?" Alice said, nodding towards the strange cart with its horse on the point of collapse.
*A Reverend, his wife and their new baby," Charlie said, watching the cart pull up along side their own *Anne can you go get Sister Josephine. She should meet our arrivals."
Nodding, Anne ran off to find the Mother Superior and tell everyone on the way there was a meeting later. The side hatch of the Reverend"s cart opened with a bang as Ruth jumped down to the courtyard surface. Turning, she held up her arms for her husband to pa.s.s her their baby down. Ruth was shorter than Liz had expected and with her pale complexion, delicate face and clear blue eyes, Liz thought all she needed were wings to complete the look and she would be the embodiment of a fairy. A fairy though, that had given birth a few days ago, as Liz could see Ruth"s stomach was still distended under her clothes. The Reverend pa.s.sed the baby to his wife, a little roughly in Liz"s opinion and then jumped down himself. Standing next to his wife, the contrast between them was visually jarring. Towering over his shorter wife, the Reverend must have been well over six feet tall. The two new arrivals looked around at their new home, seeming to examine and take in every detail. Nathan was looking back up at the gates winch mechanism when Charlie walked over to him.
*Well, this is our home Reverend. Welcome to Lanherne," Charlie said. *This is Alice."
*h.e.l.lo" Ruth said, adjusting the baby in her arms so she could shake Alice"s hand, while Nathan only nodded and gave her an odd smile, his attention firmly on Imran as he gave Liz a quick kiss.
*Welcome to our home," Sister Josephine said, as she appeared from the shadows with Sister Claire and Nadine to greet the new family. *I"m Sister Josephine, the Mother Superior of Lanherne Convent, this is Sister Claire our farming expert, and this is Nadine, she"ll need to check you for infection and lice, I"m afraid."
*Mother Superior," Nathan said, clasping the old woman"s hands in his own, *I am the Reverend Nathan Moore, my wife Ruth, and our child. You need not fret, as I told the Sergeant, we are untouched by the d.a.m.ned. Our Lord has watched over us and judged us worthy of his protection. Our souls are pure."
*Oh," Sister Josephine said, a little taken aback by the strangers reply. *And does your baby have a name?"
Glancing briefly to his wife, the Reverend said *We have not yet decided what to name the boy... but the Lord will guide us when He is ready"
*And don"t worry about lice, I was a nurse so I know we"re not infested, but you"re welcome to check if you wish" Ruth said, smiling from one of the women to the next.
*A nurse! Oh, you don"t know how glad I am to hear that," Nadine said, clapping her hands together, *I was dreading playing doctor for Emma"s delivery. Where is Emma by the way?"
A look from Charlie and the momentary joy fell from Nadine"s face. Sister Josephine and Claire crossed themselves.
*We shall pray for them tonight," Sister Josephine said, sighing. *Of course you"re welcome to join us, Reverend."
*I"m afraid we need to have a meeting with everyone first, Sister," Charlie said *I think they need to know what"s been going on out there."
*Yes, yes of course," Sister Josephine replied nodding.
She trusted Charlie completely with their safety and would never question his judgement on such matters.
*Well why don"t you both follow me, I"ll find you a room and then you can meet the others in the Refectory later," she said, leading the Reverend away by his elbow, *and tomorrow you"ll both be able to see how we keep things running here."
As he was led away by Sister Josephine, the Reverend Moore"s eyes never left Imran and Liz, until Ruth, quietly saying his name, pulled his attention back to something the Sister was telling him.
*Oh, it is sad about poor Emma and her baby," Sister Claire said, as the new arrivals entered the convent building with Sister Josephine. *Well Charlie, you left to come back with a family and you did that I suppose."
*I think I"d have preferred Emma and Daniel," he said, mulling something over in his head. *Anyway... so do you know anything about breeding pigs? We"ve named them Stinky and Ratbag. I"m sure you"ll work out which is which soon enough."
*Pigs!... they"ll be a boon for our livestock and I see you"ve got more chickens too... marvellous," Sister Catherine said, looking over at the crate attached to the small trailer. *Is all this from the O"Briens?"
*No, the pigs are from Patrick at the Substation. Just the chickens and supplies are from the O"Brien place," Imran said, pulling down more of the supplies from the cart.
When he came across the small crocheted blanket Emma had made for her unborn child, he handed it to Liz.
*You want to give this to Ruth? It"s better than that rag she has the poor thing wrapped in now," he said.
Realizing the blanket would at least be put to good use, Liz nodded and decided to go in search of Ruth and her baby.
*I"ll send some of the others out to help carry this lot to the kitchens," she said, referring to the large pile of acquired stores. *See you later. I"m going to have a wash before we eat, I feel more than a bit grimy and I want to get this dried blood out of my hair."
Giving Imran another quick kiss, she walked off, the blanket held tightly to her chest.
Alice wanting to be close to Charlie still, helped him and Imran unpack the rest of the supplies stacking them in large piles by the cart.
*Why does she have dried blood in her hair?" Alice asked, as they continued with their task.
*One of those b.a.s.t.a.r.d Donaldson brothers, attacked her. Tried to rape her in fact and ended up Dead for his troubles, serves him right if you ask me," Imran said, becoming angry at the thought of what could have happened.
*G.o.d!" Alice said, as scenes of her own attack suddenly sprang into her mind.
Liz was one tough young lady but she would have to have a chat with her about it later, to make sure she was really ok.
*Need a hand?" Barry said, as he walked up to them with Adrian lagging behind him looking a bit sheepish.
*Thanks," Charlie said. *I think if we just get all this down to the kitchen, Sister Rebecca can tell us what she wants where."
Charlie noticed Adrian had a nasty looking black eye and a split lip. From the way Alice looked at him he a.s.sumed something had gone on between them. Looking at Alice, she gave her head the slightest shake to signal they would talk about it later. It was clear that whatever had happened, she had dealt with it, and Adrian had certainly come off worse for the encounter.
*Will you help me with the piglets Adrian?" Sister Claire said, her eyes flicking between Adrian and Charlie. *Oh, and Imran you can just release the chickens, they"ll soon find their way to the hen coop on their own. I"ll send Lars out to see the Reverend"s poor beast while I"m there too."
Though she could manage the small crate on her own, she knew what had happened to cause Adrian"s black eye and thought it best to get him out of Charlie"s way until Alice had talked to him. Taking one end each Adrian and Sister Claire carried the crate over to the stable, which would be the piglets new home until they got a little bigger. They would have to build a proper sty eventually but the stable would do just fine for now.
*Oh... and here"s something you might be interested in," Charlie said, handing Nadine the sack stuffed with the ambulance medical supplies. *I don"t think much of it will be life saving but who knows?"
Opening the sack, Nadine"s face lit up as she pulled out one item after another.
*Oh Charlie, you"ve no idea how useful this will be. The surgical kit alone is worth its weight in gold."
Like a child on Christmas morning, Nadine could hardly contain her excitement. Due to her skill in memory retention, it had fallen on her to take up the role of medic for the community but knowing, and doing, were two very different things. She was terrified each time someone came to her with a cut or feeling unwell, that she would make it worse rather than better. She would still check and double check every detail in the books they had, before she felt comfortable enough to act. So to have actual medical supplies could only make any situation better. Picking up the sack she scurried off to the infirmary to make an inventory of the precious new supplies.
*So, any trouble while we were gone, Barry?" Imran asked, handing him a large box of the O"Brien"s supplies from the cart.
*No, it"s been the usual. Four or five of the Dead turned up each day, nothing we couldn"t handle. It got a bit tricky when a Dead man in a crash helmet turned up. Eventually Michael and Cam knocked him over and drove metal spikes through him, pinning him to the ground like a b.u.t.terfly, so they could take it off to kill him," he replied, while he and Imran carried boxes into the convent. *So was it really bad out there?"
*Isn"t it always," Imran said, pushing the door open with his backside, *We"ll tell you all about it later at the meeting, but needless to say, people have died out there for no reason... no reason at all."
After half a dozen trips the cart was finally empty, the new chickens had successfully found the coop on their own and Lars had taken the Reverend"s horse into the stable for a well needed feed. In the kitchen, Sister Rebecca was busily taking note of the new items, filling the shelves in the store room. She would write down each item as it came out of a box, adding it the inventory list, whilst Nicky and Sally arranged them on the shelves. Knowing exactly what you had and how much people could eat, was a key part in surviving in this new world. They were lucky at the Convent, that although food was obviously rationed, the portions were enough so that you wouldn"t notice.
*I think I"ll make up the cake mix now, Charlie," Sister Rebecca said, as she put the two small boxes to one side. *Celebrate you all coming home safe, and I hear that Mrs Moore is a nurse, now that"s something to celebrate in itself if you ask me. She"ll be able to take some of the pressure off Nadine."
*That"s if they stay," Charlie said, pouring some boiling water into a large bowl.
Liz wasn"t the only one who wanted a quick wash before dinner.
*Why wouldn"t they want to stay," Nicky called from the store room. *It"s a d.a.m.n site better here than out there?"
*They"re a bit heavy with the h.e.l.l and d.a.m.nation, real G.o.d Squad types," Charlie replied, *no offence Sister, but I don"t know if they"re going to fit in."
Sister Rebecca waved off his comment, not at all offended. When the Dead had first arrived in the world, the Mother Superior had gathered all the Sisters in the Refectory to discuss what they should do. Together, as one, they agreed they would open their doors to all that needed their help. No matter who they were or what they believed, the Carmelite Sisters of Lanherne would not turn anyone away who came seeking sanctuary from the Dead. They had only asked three people to leave the convent in the past seven years and that was because they had either stolen from the stores, or had attacked another member of the community. In the early days one of the younger Sisters had been raped by a man they had welcomed into their home. The sisters had waited until the man had collapsed drunk one night and then carried him out beyond the walls to fend for himself among the Dead. When the man had woken the next day to find himself outside, he had begged to be let back in, but the Sisters turned a deaf ear to his cries and eventually he went away.
*But they"ve got a baby, surely they wouldn"t risk it," Nicky said, thinking she would"ve walked through fire to save her son and would do so for Justin too.
*I think it may be a case of pushing their beliefs on us a bit too hard, that"ll rub people up the wrong way. But hey, who knows, perhaps they"ll keep it to themselves," he replied, shrugging his wide shoulders.
*Would one of you mind carrying this to the bathroom for me?" he continued, gesturing to the bowl of hot water.
There wasn"t much he couldn"t do with just his one hand but lifting the bowl up to fill the tank above the bath had proved a bit too tricky for him to manage.
*Sure," Sally said climbing down from the ladder in the store room.
The way she brushed that little bit too close to him, made Charlie think Sally may be hedging her bets. If she was ever in need of protection, her liaison with Damian wouldn"t prove to be worth much when it came to fighting for her life. Of course Charlie would risk his life to save any of those who had found their way to Lanherne, so Sally really didn"t need to make this effort. But he suspected she had used her body as a bargaining chip for most of her life, and wouldn"t understand someone looking out for her just because she was a decent human being and not expect anything in return.
*Come on then," she said, a voice a little too sultry, as she picked up the bowl and headed for the bathroom set aside for the men.
Rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation he caught Nicky covering a grin with her hand.