The Perimeter

  It was all very well for Pa to say these things, but he didn’t understand that I was in love with Luc. His whole world wouldn’t come crashing down if Luc disappeared. He wouldn’t spend the night feeling physically sick with worry. I wanted to yell. To defy him. But I stayed calm on the outside and told myself to wait until morning. Then, if Pa still did nothing, I would do something myself.

  I lay in the darkness, wide awake. Ma was in bed and Pa was still working, although he’d managed a catnap earlier, down in the stores. It hit me that today was Christmas Eve. The day when Liss was supposed to trade me for her parents. The day FJ was planning to attack our home. What if his army breached the fence? What if this was the last night I would spend in my house?

  I glanced at the clock – 5.45 am. The deadline had already passed for Liss’s trade. Did that mean FJ would be on his way here now? There was no way I was going to fall asleep. My whole body felt edgy. Antsy. Unable to stay still, let alone sleep. I closed my eyes again, but my brain was so hyper that I immediately snapped them back open. It was no good. I unclenched my fists and tried to take calming breaths, but my heart beat too fast, like war drums.

  I sat up and swung my legs out of bed, deciding to go next door and see if Rita had heard anything. She was always up early. Maybe Luc and Eddie were back already and I was lying here worrying over nothing. I quickly pulled on some jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, tucked my Magnum into my waistband and padded down the stairs. I slipped my feet into some boots and grabbed my coat and keys, remembering to scrawl a note for Ma on the chalkboard. When I opened the door my heart sank.

  Snow.

  White whorls already settling thick on the ground. Please let Luc be home already, I said in my head, over and over again. If he wasn’t, this weather wasn’t going to help them at all. I pulled the door shut behind me and was consumed by the muffled hush of early morning.

  My boots squeaked as I walked down the path and the cold seeped through to my skin, my toes tensing in complaint. The road outside was pristine white, the night sky lighter than it should’ve been at this hour, filled as it was with spinning flakes. As I trudged next door, I didn’t dare let myself hope they were home. But turning into the Donovans’ driveway I saw a couple of lights burning and my heart lifted. Maybe . . .

  Rita answered the door, a look of heart-breaking expectancy on her face, quickly replaced by a sad smile. So they weren’t back then. I instantly felt guilty for getting her hopes up.

  ‘Can’t sleep either?’ she said.

  I shook my head.

  ‘Come on in.’

  Following her into the hallway, I eyed the travel bags stacked against one wall. She saw me looking.

  ‘Just in case,’ she said. ‘It’s always better to be prepared. I’m going to load up the AVs. You should do the same. Plus a large rucksack with emergency provisions, in case we have to leave on foot.’

  ‘You really think it’ll come to that?’ I asked, an unsteady feeling creeping over me.

  ‘No. I don’t. But for the one percent chance that it might happen, you’ll be glad you prepared for it.’

  My mind was buzzing. The thought of actually leaving the perimeter for good was about as terrifying as it could get. But . . . being made homeless by an arrogant seventeen-year-old boy?

  ‘I could kill Eddie for going out,’ Rita said, ushering me into the kitchen. ‘He really didn’t have to; we could’ve managed on our existing supplies. But he’s always got to be the big man and go for the prize, the grand gesture. And to take Luc with him was just plain irresponsible . . . They were supposed to be back by now.’

  Her outburst surprised me. I’d always thought Eddie and Rita were equally tough, supporting each other in everything.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Ignore me. I’m worried, that’s all. They’ll be fine, like they always are. And when they get home, I’ll murder the bloody pair of them.’

  ‘Why do you think they’re not back?’ I asked, sitting at the table and resting my chin in my hands.

  ‘I think maybe something’s happened to one of the vehicles and it’s taking a while to sort out. The weather isn’t going to help.’

  ‘You don’t think . . . FJ?’ I said.

  ‘No. Eddie went east and stayed off the main routes. If FJ’s coming, he’ll be coming from the north.’

  ‘Waiting’s painful,’ I said. ‘Can’t we send out a search party? I’ll go.’

  ‘Eddie won’t want that, but if they’re not back by the time it’s light, I’ll go myself. The thing is, everyone else is needed here. With FJ so close . . .’ Rita came and sat opposite me. ‘Luc told me you and he finally got it together.’

  Annoyingly, I blushed; surprised Luc had mentioned us to his mother. ‘What did he say?’ I asked.

  She smiled. ‘Just that I had to keep an eye on you while he was gone. He wouldn’t have said anything else, but I prised it out of him. We mothers have a way of doing that you know. I’m happy for you both.’

  I didn’t know what else to say, so I just gave her an uncomfortable smile. I guess she realised I felt awkward because she stood up and changed the subject.

  ‘I don’t know about you,’ she said, ‘but I’m sick of this. Let’s go down to the guards’ house and see if we can’t get a birds-eye view of our men coming home. If there’s no sign of them, we’ll take a four-wheel-drive and go and get them ourselves.’

  I scraped my chair back, relieved we were finally doing something. ‘What about Liss and Annabelle?’ I asked. ‘Aren’t they upstairs?’

  Rita nodded. ‘We’ve put a guard up there, just in case.’

  ‘They wouldn’t betray me.’

  ‘I don’t think so either,’ she said. ‘But it doesn’t hurt to be over-cautious. Come on, let’s go.’ She pulled on a sweater and scarf before donning her thick navy parka. Pa had done a deal a few years ago for a job-lot of these cosy coats and we had enough of them to last several lifetimes.

  Rita and I left the house and walked briskly down the road, our feet sinking into the thickening snow. Slipping on a hidden kerb, I lunged for Rita’s arm with a squeal. She steadied me and we walked arm-in-arm the rest of the way. Everything looked so surreal and pretty. We rarely got snow this far south, so it was an oddity. Pity we couldn’t enjoy messing about in it. The timing sucked.

  * * *

  The drive was uneventful. The night too dark to see beyond the glass of the AV’s tinted windows. Nothing but his own faceless reflection – a hooded creature. Jamie recited the warriors’ chant in his head, trying to remain calm and focused. Not thinking about what he was tasked to do; simply trying to conserve his energy and keep his mind and body fresh and ready for whatever lay ahead. The trick would be to stay awake inside the warm thrumming cocoon of the AV.

  How far would they have already marched? His brothers from the arena. Would they have reached their destination yet? Jamie realised he didn’t even know exactly where they were supposed to be heading.

  South.

  That’s all he’d been told. South could mean anywhere. It was a long coastline.

  An hour passed. Two. The road was so rough and pitted they had to crawl along, but it was comfortable enough. Too comfortable – Jamie would have preferred to march or ride. It would’ve kept him sharp, rather than lulling him to sleep.

  Another hour gone. The darkness outside was dissipating, the sky pale. But it couldn’t be morning. Not yet. Jamie suddenly realised the reason for the lightening sky. It wasn’t dawn. It was snow clouds. He hoped they’d reach their destination before it fell to earth. Driving in a snowstorm would be tricky. And it would make finding their foot soldiers almost impossible.

  Just as he was having these thoughts, their driver slammed on the brakes. Jamie looked up to see the brake lights of the truck in front as it slowed to a halt. Luckily Jamie’s AV hadn’t been travelling very fast, but even so, he braced himself as they skidded out to the side, finally stopping on a grassy verge a couple of inches from a spindly tree,
leafless and shivering. The lead truck had stopped up ahead. Someone was getting out of the vehicle and walking toward them. A disciple. They remained in the AV and waited. A rap on the window and the driver wound his window down a little way. The bitter scent of snow flew into the vehicle.

  The disciple stood at the window. ‘We have caught up with our brothers,’ he said, pointing to his left. ‘Follow us and take the next turning.’

  The driver nodded and buzzed up the glass. They waited, their engine idling, while the messenger made his way along their convoy, passing on the news. Jamie flexed his fingers and went through his katas in his head, wielding his sword high and then low. Breathing through the movements. The driver put the AV in first and moved off once more, pulling back onto the road, headlights illuminating the rear of the truck in front. The lights from behind shone in through their rearview. They were all sticking close together now. No one wanted to get separated. Not here, so far from home. On enemy soil.

  Jamie wondered where exactly ‘here’ was. Were they anywhere near his old stomping ground, he wondered. The truck in front had its indicator on, flashing left. Jamie’s driver followed suit, a clicking noise signaling their imminent left turn.

  The exit twisted down and around a narrow overgrown path. Branches scraped at the windows and the ground grew pitted and bumpy. Nothing more than a rough dirt-track. Not meant for vehicles. Jamie’s teeth rattled together and he reached out to steady himself against the dash. After five minutes of this, the path finally led onto a wider path. They stopped and their driver switched off the engine.

  Jamie and the other disciples exited their vehicles and gathered by the lead AV. The Voice of the Father stood at the head of his men, hood draped about his shoulders, eyes glittering, illuminated by his vehicle’s headlights. He looked young and powerful. Beautiful. Their cavalry and foot soldiers stretched out back along the forest track, their dark cloaks merging into the darkness.

  ‘We are here at last with you, our brothers,’ Matthew cried, his voice cutting through the chill night air. ‘Four thousand of us ready to fight. To claim back Our Father, James Grey, who has been taken from us.’

  Four thousand. Jamie considered those numbers. It was an incredible amount of men. And when you thought about the level of training they’d undertaken, that made them ten times as deadly. The enemy didn’t stand a chance. They would be obliterated. And so they should be. How dare they kidnap James Grey. He’d done nothing wrong to deserve being taken. Jamie was suddenly infused with a righteous power. God would make sure justice was done and he, Jamie, would play his part in serving justice. He would destroy the people who had attacked their Holy Father. They would all pay.

  ‘We are only a few miles from our destination,’ Matthew continued, ‘but first I have somewhere I must be. When I return we will meet our enemy and do what needs to be done.’

  Jamie wondered what errand could call Matthew away so soon before they were due to attack. It must be important. How long would it take?

  ‘Stay vigilant while I am gone,’ The Voice said. He turned and got into an armoured truck. Four disciples followed him and with them they had . . . yes, they had prisoners. Two of them. A man and a woman by the look of them. Middle aged, weak, bound and gagged. Who could they be? Jamie felt a moment’s pity for them, before he remembered why he was here. To avenge a wrong doing. Those two people must belong to the enemy. If that was the case, they deserved everything they got.

  The disciples lifted the prisoners into the back of the truck. Two climbed in with them, the other two got into the cab. The engine started up and they drove away.

  Jamie watched the tail lights vanish into the pale night, feeling strangely vulnerable without his leader. And then he and the rest of them returned to their vehicles to wait.

  * * *

  The guards’ house had been transformed from an ugly red block to a picturesque dolls’ house covered in frosting. A cluster of guards huddled in front of the door, turning at our approach, thick flakes of snow landing on their heads and faces.

  ‘Riley!’ It was Pa. ‘What are you doing out here? I thought you were back at the house.’

  ‘Couldn’t sleep.’

  ‘Me neither,’ Rita added. ‘Any sign of . . .’

  ‘Sorry,’ Pa interrupted. ‘Eddie’s not back yet.’

  I felt Rita’s body sag. Mine did the same.

  ‘Did you go?’ Rita hissed the words to Pa, but he cut her off with a look.

  ‘Where?’ I asked. ‘Did you go where?’

  ‘Didn’t you tell her?’ Rita said.

  ‘No point her worrying,’ Pa replied.

  ‘Well, I think it’s a bit late for that,’ she snorted. ‘Things have gone past the point of worrying, Johnny, in case you hadn’t noticed. I think we’re now somewhere in the region of grave concern, heading toward all out panic.’

  Her attempt at humour didn’t fly with Pa, and he scowled before a look of resignation settled on his face. I raised my eyebrows for an answer.

  ‘Nothing happened out there anyway,’ Pa said to Rita. He turned to me to explain. ‘I went to the rendezvous,’ he said.

  His words slowly sank in. He had been to the place where Liss was supposed to have traded me for her parents. Pa continued:

  ‘I took some men. Set up an ambush. Thought we could rescue Fred and Jessie and take out FJ at the same time.’

  ‘And?’ I asked.

  ‘There was nobody there.’

  ‘Maybe you scared them off,’ I said.

  ‘We hid ourselves well,’ Pa said. ‘We waited for over an hour, but there was no sign of anyone.’

  ‘That’s bad luck,’ Rita said. ‘It would’ve solved a lot of problems if you’d got rid of FJ before . . .’

  ‘They must’ve spotted you,’ I said.

  ‘Yeah, maybe,’ Pa replied. ‘But then why didn’t they attack? If I was more ruthless, I’d have taken Liss along as bait. I should have done it. But it’s too late now.’

  ‘I’m glad you didn’t,’ I replied.

  ‘Let’s hope you still think that after today,’ Pa said. ‘When FJ’s army arrives and starts killing people.’

  ‘Do you think Liss was lying about FJ’s plan?’ Rita asked.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Pa replied. ‘She’d have to be a pretty good actor. And what would be the point?’

  ‘Maybe something happened to FJ and he couldn’t make the rendezvous,’ I said.

  ‘Let’s hope so.’ Pa said. He looked done in.

  I leant forward and kissed his stubbled cheek. ‘At least you tried,’ I said uselessly.

  ‘Come on,’ Rita pulled at my arm. ‘Let’s go up on the wall.’

  ‘What? Why are you going up there?’ Pa said.

  ‘Me and Riley are going on lookout duty,’ Rita said.

  Pa nodded. ‘Go on then. But if you see anything moving outside, I want you straight back down here, Riley. Okay?’

  Rita and I headed to the wall. The gun turrets were already manned, so we climbed the first ladder and made our way up onto a wooden platform. Twenty feet up from the ground, the platform measured about three and a half feet wide with a double guardrail at our backs. Snow covered the wooden boards, already about a couple of inches thick, light and fluffy under our feet. But if many more people came up here, it would quickly compact into treacherous ice.

  Rita and I were of a similar height and our heads just about poked above the snow-covered razor wire. The storm was slowing to just a few light flakes, but visibility was still poor. Rita took my hand and gave it a squeeze.

  ‘Come on, boys,’ she said, looking out across the land. ‘Where are you?’

  We gazed over to the east where the sky was lightening. That was where Eddie and Luc had gone, so it made sense that that would be where we’d spot them. But all I could see was white land, merging with white sky.

  ‘Where are they?’ I asked, trying not to let myself think the worst. Images of raiders, upturned vehicles and gun battles flew
unbidden into my head.

  ‘This is hopeless,’ Rita said. ‘I’m going out to find them.’

  ‘I’ll come . . .’

  ‘Your father won’t allow it,’ Rita said. ‘And he’s right. FJ wants you, so you’d be playing into his hands if you left the perimeter. You’d be putting everyone else in danger too.’

  She was right. I already knew that if I went out there, it would be an opportunity for FJ to get what he wanted without any effort. But it still didn’t make me feel any better about hiding away behind the fence.

  I turned my eyes northward and saw a low black cloud spreading across the horizon. A rain cloud? But it was snowing. ‘Rita,’ I said. ‘Do you see that rain cloud?’ I turned to her and saw her eyes narrow, her mouth clamp down in a hard line.

  ‘That’s not a rain cloud,’ she said slowly, enunciating each word. ‘That’s an army.’

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Less than an hour later, Jamie heard the sound of an engine bumping down the track toward them. He exited the AV and held his finger on the trigger of his gun. Several other disciples left their vehicles too. It was probably Matthew returning from his detour, but you couldn’t be too careful.

  Seconds later, Jamie relaxed once more as their leader’s AV came into sight. The driver turned off the ignition, plunging them into silence once more. But the silence didn’t last long. The Voice swept out of the vehicle, anger etched across his face. He stood and waited while his disciples gathered around him.

  ‘I have been betrayed,’ he spat, his breath clouding the air. ‘By my own sister.’

  Nobody spoke.

  ‘But she will discover what it means to betray our church. To betray Our Father. To betray me.’