Aftermath

where the helicopter had been standing hours earlier. He checked it over thoroughly, keen to satisfy himself that the vehicle would be able to get them all the fifteen miles or so into Chadwick. The distance was strangely daunting. In times past he’d have covered it in barely any time at all, but things were different now.
    Another reason for shifting the bus into a more central position was to allow all those who wanted to leave to get their belongings (and any supplies they could half-hitch in the process) loaded up. There had been a steady stream of people getting on and off the bus for as long as it had been out in the open.
    Jackson and Harte watched from a distance.
    “First light and we’ll be off, okay?”
    “Okay,” Harte said. “The sooner the better. Got any idea how many are leaving?”
    “Thirteen or fourteen, I think,” he replied, “including you and me.”
    “Good. Just Jas and his mates staying behind, then?”
    “Looks that way. Jas, Kieran, Melanie, Ainsworth, and Bayliss, I think. Phil Kent’s undecided.”
    “It’s probably for the best. No point in them coming if they’re not committed. Jas does have a point, but we’re all taking risks whatever we do now, and I know where I’d rather be.”
    “As long as we’re all happy with our own personal decisions, that’s all that matters.”
    *   *   *
     
    Out of sight on the far side of the bus, Ainsworth, Kieran, and Jas were shifting boxes of supplies from the café kitchen and the back of two trucks and a van, stashing them away, locking them in the gift shop and museum.
    “You sure we should be doing this?” Ainsworth asked.
    “We need this stuff,” Kieran replied quickly. “There’ll be plenty more where they’re going tomorrow. It’s different for us. We’re not leaving here, so we have to make this last. This is our share. We worked for it and we’re entitled to it. We’re just making sure they don’t take what’s ours.”
    “Get as much as you can move,” Jas said. “The more we lock away, the less there is for them to take.”

 
     
    30
     
    It was after eight before the sun rose fully, but as soon as there was enough light for people to see, the castle courtyard quickly became a hive of frantic activity. Those who were leaving grabbed the last of their belongings and stashed them on the bus.
    By just after ten they were ready to load up the remaining food and other supplies. Jackson, Bob, Howard, and Harte walked over to the kitchen to start, but where they’d expected to find large stocks of provisions, they instead found just an empty space.
    When she heard what had happened, Lorna began checking around the rest of the castle. She spotted the bulk of the missing supplies in the gift shop, hidden behind display racks and the counter.
    “Over here,” she yelled, her voice loud enough to alert everyone who was awake. “I’ve found it all.”
    Jackson and the others ran over to the gift shop.
    “Who has the keys for this lock?” Harte asked.
    “There are only two keys, I think,” Howard answered.
    “I didn’t ask you how many there were, I asked you who has them.”
    “Jas has got one,” Bob said.
    “And I’m pretty sure Kieran has the other,” Howard added.
    “Let’s get this door open. Some of that’s our stuff in there. I’m sure as hell not going to leave it all in there for Jas and his cronies to gorge themselves on when we’re gone.”
    “That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Jas said. Unnoticed, he’d walked up behind them, flanked by Ainsworth and Bayliss.
    “Come on, Jas, this is stupid,” Jackson protested. “We won’t take it all, but we’re entitled to some of this stuff. It’s ours .”
    “It’s staying here. You’re going back into Chadwick, aren’t you, so you can get more. Remember, we’re stopping here for a while longer yet. We need this more than you do.”
    “Yes, but not all of it. Christ, there’s only going to be a handful of you staying behind. And anyway, just a couple of days back you were telling us all how you were going to rape and pillage the whole country.”
    “That’s in the future. Until then, we need those supplies.”
    “And so do we !”
    Jackson turned his back on Jas and shook the door but it wouldn’t open. He took a knife from his belt and started trying to force the lock.
    “Go and find Kieran,” he said under his breath to Harte. “Talk some sense into him. See if you can get the other key off