The Perimeter (34 page)

Chapter Thirty Nine

As the warriors continued to point their weapons at the prisoners on the ground, a robed man stepped forward to take me. He chained my wrists and ankles while FJ looked on, a smile on his face, like a small boy on Christmas Day who just got his favourite toy. The robed man hoisted me over his shoulder and bundled me into the back seat of a black AV. FJ and three of his cronies got into the car and slammed the doors, two of them sitting either side of me on the back seat.

‘Wait half an hour and then move out!’ FJ called to the rest of his warriors out of the window. I prayed that meant that Grey’s men would leave and release the prisoners unharmed. But then the AV engine started up and we drove toward the exit in convoy with another two vehicles, leaving me to only guess at what would happen to my home once we’d gone.

With some relief I looked over my shoulder through the back window. The prisoners still had guns pointed at their heads, but at least FJ had given no order to execute them. For now, the hostages would be the only means of Grey’s men getting out alive. No one from the perimeter would risk attacking the warriors while Pa, Luc and the others were in danger, but I wasn’t so sure about the gypsies.

I winced as the AV bumped and crunched its way out through the entrance. Rolling over the mounds of dead bodies. We drove for a short while, my mind blank and unfocused. I couldn’t let myself think about what was about to happen to me. All I knew was that it would be extremely unpleasant and then it would end. Images of Luc forced their way into my mind; of the life we would never have together. But I pushed them away. Snowflakes began to fall once more, melting against the dark glass of the windscreen. No one spoke.

After a while, I didn’t know how long, we stopped. And now I started to feel scared. My heartbeats skittering and jumping, my skin cold and shivery. Doors opened, letting the icy wind blow through the vehicle and I was dragged outside, made to stand on the snowy ground before these hooded creatures. The only face exposed was that of the boy. His pale skin illuminated by the headlights. Slivers of snow swirling in the beams.

I tried to get rid of my fear. To be defiant and uncaring, but I couldn’t quite manage it. My chin wobbled and I pressed my lips together to stop from crying. Please, I told myself, don’t give him the satisfaction. I thought about the lives I was saving by doing this. That by giving myself up, I had brought about the end of this pointless fight.

Ever since that time in the clearing, when I’d had FJ in handcuffs, he had wanted his revenge. I’d humiliated him and I doubt he’d ever been in that situation before. He needed to restore his ego. Humiliating and killing me would help him achieve that. Perhaps this was all this had ever been about. I wouldn’t have been surprised.

The robed men began to whisper their weird chant and one of them stepped forward, drawing a sword out from beneath his robes. The sight of that gleaming metal threatened to send me over the edge. I had assumed they would shoot me, and that was bad enough. But seeing the sharp edge of that blade sent chills down my body, making my knees soft. I couldn’t let myself collapse. I forced my body to remain upright, clamping my teeth together and squaring my shoulders back. I made myself stare FJ in the eye. I would not flinch and I would not beg for my life.

* * *

Jamie’s hand trembled slightly as he held the sword. The girl was young and beautiful. Her eyes fierce, like a cornered cat. He would swing his blade and watch the flame in her eyes die. She would crumple to the ground and he would see her face in his nightmares. Was this really the way to salvation? Or was this the way to hell?

But what else was there for him? This was his life now. And the girl had threatened their existence. She had kidnapped their Father and now he was likely dead. She had dragged them across the country on a mission of death and destruction. If it wasn’t for her, he might now still be in the kitchen garden, his hands deep in the good black earth. Growing things instead of killing things. He was resolved. This girl needed to die, so that all things could return to their natural order.

His brothers’ chant swelled to fill the night sky. Rising above it, Matthew’s voice came clear and strong. Jamie latched on to the words, waiting for the order to kill.

‘Jacob,’ he said. ‘We will do to this girl what she has done to Our Father. And we will feel no remorse. Only joy that we are free from her hatred.’ As he spoke, Matthew came forward to stand at Jamie’s side. ‘And once this is done we will return and finish off the rest of them. We will burn that place of evil to the ground.’

‘You can’t!’ she cried out. ‘You gave your word.’

‘Hush,’ Matthew said. ‘It’s no longer your concern. You will not be here to worry or cry.’

Jamie tensed his arm, preparing to do what had to be done.

‘But first,’ Matthew continued, ‘she must know the person who ends her life.’

Jamie glanced across at his new leader, confused.

‘Girl!’ Matthew cried. ‘This good disciple has undergone a transformation. Like you, he used to be nothing.’

At this, the girl narrowed her eyes and shot Matthew a venomous glance.

‘He was a common thief. A murderer.’

Jamie bristled a little at the use of the words ‘thief’ and ‘murderer’. He had stolen through necessity and killed by accident. But that wasn’t important now.

‘Before this man discovered the light, he killed a girl. A young innocent girl.’ Matthew stared at Riley, a slow smile spreading across his face. Jamie was disturbed to realise Matthew was enjoying himself. That he wanted to draw this out and make her suffer before she died. Jamie wasn’t so keen on having his sins made public either. But there wasn’t much he could do about it.

Just then, Matthew pulled Jamie’s hood back so that his face was exposed to the girl. Jamie tried to remain expressionless and mask his surprise, but it was difficult. He took a steadying breath and focused on the Latin words which streamed from the mouths of his brothers.

‘Riley,’ Matthew continued, ‘I would like you to meet your executioner, Jacob. He was once a vagrant called Jamie and he’s visited your home before, haven’t you, Jamie? Last summer I believe.’

Jamie was confused. What did all this have to do with the girl standing before him? Why was Matthew talking about this now?

‘Jamie killed Skye,’ Matthew said to Riley. ‘Jamie killed your little sister. And now he’s going to kill you. Perfect symmetry wouldn’t you say?’

The blood rushed to Jamie’s head and his heart boomed in his ears like dynamite in a cave.
This
was the sister of the girl he’d killed. That’s what all this had been about. That’s why Matthew had chosen
him
to end her life. It was all so that Matthew could witness the total shock and devastation on the girl’s face when she met her sister’s killer. So he could break her before she died. Wipe the defiance from her eyes.

And sure enough, her eyes clouded and dimmed. She stared at Jamie in horror, her mouth open.

‘My sister,’ she hissed. ‘You! You killed my sister?’

Jamie felt as though he’d been punched in the stomach. He needed to end this now, unwilling to witness the raw pain and hatred on her face a second longer. But at the same time, unable to tear his eyes away.

‘Do it now, Jacob,’ Matthew commanded, triumph in his voice. He took a few paces away to give Jamie enough room to manoeuvre his sword.

‘Please,’ Jamie said, ‘it wasn’t like that. It was an accident.’

‘Jacob, follow your orders,’ Matthew said.

But Jamie ignored him. He had to tell the girl what really happened. That he wasn’t a cold-blooded murderer. ‘I was hungry, homeless,’ he said to her. ‘There was a hole in the fence, so I crept into the poolhouse and fell asleep. Your sister found me. I was scared. I panicked. She screamed and I tried to calm her down. I tried,’ he sobbed, tears running down his face. ‘I told her I wouldn’t hurt her. Tried to stop her running off. But she wouldn’t listen and it all went wrong. She fell back through the door. There was glass everywhere. I’m so sorry for what I did. I never meant to hurt her.’

‘Liar,’ Matthew cried.

‘No, I’m not lying. That’s what happened, and the girl’s sister has a right to know the truth before she dies.’

‘Fine,’ Matthew retorted. ‘Good. She knows. Now cut off her head.’

Staring at the girl, Jamie took a step back and held his sword out to the side, ready to slice down onto the white of her neck. Her face showed fear now, but there was nothing he could do about that. Jamie steadied his legs, making his stance wide and solid as he prepared to deal the blow.

‘Thank you,’ she said, her voice barely audible above his brothers’ chanting. ‘For telling me. I always wondered what really happened . . . I forgive you.’

‘What?’ said Jamie.

‘I said, I forgive you.’

‘Kill her,’ Mathew said through gritted teeth. ‘Or will I have to do it myself?’

Jamie took a breath and swung
the sharp blade down to her throat. He stopped short by a hair’s breadth. Swung it back the other way and made a clean slice through skin and bone and sinew.

Matthew’s head was cleaved from his shoulders and landed in the snow with a crimson thud. His robed body toppled to join it. His face stared up from the ground; even in death it wore an expression of demented arrogance.

The chanting stopped and the night was silent except for Jamie’s own heavy breaths. No one moved.

Jamie turned his eyes away from the bloody pile and looked instead at the girl. She was drained of colour, breathing hard. He couldn’t believe he had the girl’s forgiveness. It was more powerful than any of the boy’s hollow words. Matthew was supposed to have been a man of God, yet this stranger, this sister to a murdered girl, had more of a Christian heart than Grey, Matthew, or any of their men. Jamie saw things clearly for the first time.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jamie said again. ‘I didn’t know she was your sister . . . It was an accident. I honestly never meant to hurt her.’ Those words felt so good. He wondered why it had taken him so long to say them. If only he had stayed after the accident. He could’ve said sorry back then. Saved all the nightmares and remorse.

Skye. The girl’s name had been Skye. It had suited her.

Had this war simply been about punishing a girl? About revenge? Jamie felt used. He realised Matthew hadn’t really cared about rescuing James Grey. He hadn’t cared about his warriors, who had trained for him and bled for him. Bled for their beliefs. For a way of life. In the end, it had all been about ego. About a boy’s self-importance.

Jamie hadn’t wanted to believe it. Had wanted to believe in a good way to live. In a higher purpose. But Grey’s church was a sham. A lie. The dream shattered around him like so much broken glass.

Jamie’s head began to pound. He let his dripping sword fall into the snow. Pulled out his pistol and held it to his temple. The cold metal barrel soothed the dull pounding in his head.

‘No!’ Skye’s sister cried.

She held his gaze as he squeezed the trigger.

Chapter Forty

Six Months Later

A heat haze shimmered off the ground, and dust swirled as the copter blades began to spin. In the cockpit, a notepad rested on my lap and I chewed on a pencil, ready to list out all the fence locations which still needed attention. The re-build was taking months, but it would be fantastic once it was done. Scrub that, it was already beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.

I couldn’t believe it was almost a year since Skye’s death. It felt like an eternity and also like no time at all. All those months I had spent dreaming of tracking down her killer and pulling the trigger. In the end Jamie had done it himself. But I hadn’t been glad or relieved. I’d only felt shock and sadness. I still saw his face sometimes. The haunted expression in his eyes. At least I knew Skye hadn’t been murdered in cold blood. That the whole thing had simply been a terrible accident.

On Christmas Eve, after witnessing the deaths of FJ and Jamie out in the snowy wilderness, Grey’s disciples had seemed lost. I had stood there, shocked and freezing, as their chanting ceased and they lowered their hoods. I had spoken to them. Reasoned with them and told them a ceasefire would be in all our interests. Told them I could broker a deal that would make everyone happy. They had been as stunned as I was by the turn of events and seemed almost relieved to have a solution handed to them. They took me up on my offer. Removed my chains and returned me to the perimeter.

When we got there, it was like everyone was waking after a dream. Grey’s soldiers had been driven out by the combined forces of mine and Reece’s people, a unifying moment that had not ceased since that day. The gypsies had helped us clear up, tend to the wounded and account for the dead. And we were forever in their debt. True to my word, we provided Lou, Reece and the gypsies with more than enough provisions for the winter and beyond. After all, without them we would have lost everything.

 One happy ending was that we discovered Fred and Jessie tied up in one of the trucks. They were suffering from hypothermia and we weren’t sure if Jessie would make it. But being reunited with Liss and Annabelle gave them all the incentive they needed to get better.

In the weeks which followed, Grey’s church dissolved and his warriors scattered. They had no leader. We’d cut the head off the snake, literally. As word spread, more-and-more children were reunited with their parents. But there were also hundreds of orphans to be cared for and Reece was still searching for his missing sisters. Many people had been lost. Friends, families, allies. No one was untouched.

Here, now, in the sparkling sunlight, the whole thing seemed like a distant dream. A hazy nightmare of winter and destruction. I smiled at Luc and he grinned back at me as we took the copter up into the soft blue sky. Being reunited with my parents, Luc and the others was the best feeling I’d ever had in my life. Luc and I did everything together these days. Told each other our deepest thoughts. No more miscommunication and lies. He forgave me for leaving him in the underground stores. Understood why I’d done it. But at the same time I had to promise to never do anything like that again. I had to trust him. And I realised I did. I trusted him with my life.

We banked north, away from Talbot Woods. We would start by listing out the places which needed the least work and move outwards. Nothing like this had ever been attempted before, but Pa said it was time, and most people agreed. The perimeters and compounds were the places which had the most to lose, but Pa argued that we couldn’t go on like before. If we did, things would only get worse. The country would never heal. Would always stay fractured.

I peered down at the green lawns and the grey roads of my home. Construction was already well under way and the wide new road now ran from the old entrance straight out into the heathland toward Charminster. Our northern and western fences had been partly dismantled already, and we were making good progress re-building our new southern boundary, which would run for twenty miles from Bournemouth, here in the east, to Puddletown in the west. From there, the boundary would stretch northwards for forty miles, along the old A354 up to encompass Salisbury. The eastern boundary would complete the triangle, from Salisbury back down along the Wessex Way to Bournemouth. Many of Grey’s people had fled Salisbury, but the ones who’d stayed were offered the chance to be part of our new way of life. They accepted without hesitation.

My heart gave a leap of excitement as I looked down from the air to see new villages and houses without fences around them. To see rectangular fields of crops and animals, where once was only dangerous scrubby heathland.

This new region was to be called Wessex and would have its own government and its own police force, made up of representatives from each of the old settlements. No more perimeters, compounds or guards. No more lawless stretches of wasteland. We were going to aim for a new kind of civilisation with a new set of laws. A vast island of safety.

A few people from the perimeter said it was too ambitious. Too perilous. That all we needed to do was rebuild a stronger fence to hide behind. But thankfully, enough of us were ready to try a new way.

Maybe, if this worked, we could extend our boundaries further, and keep on extending until we reached the very edges of our nation. Then we would have no need of fences and no one would be left outside. We would reach a day when the whole country was free. When we could walk alone and unarmed, without fear of being attacked.

Wouldn’t that be something?

THE END

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‘Thank you for reading my novel. I’m an independent author and rely on word-of-mouth recommendations. If you’ve enjoyed the Outside Series, perhaps you’d tell your friends about it and consider posting a short review on Amazon or elsewhere online. Thank you so much.’

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