The Perimeter

  ‘Give me the keys,’ Reece said, ‘and I’ll send one of my men back for the last van and the rest of the ammo.’

  I hesitated. Should I hand over Pa’s keys and give him access to all this precious gear?

  Reece shook his head. ‘I should’ve known. You don’t trust me do you? What do you think happens out there in the field when we run out of bullets?’

  I slid the keys off the chain with shaking fingers and passed them to him. He was right of course. We would need every last box in this place.

  ‘Will the guards let us out of the 'pound okay?’ I asked.

  ‘Getting out of here’s okay,’ Reece answered.

  ‘It’s getting in that’s the problem.’

  I nodded and stepped up into the driver’s seat. Reece drove out first, then me, then the other two. We pulled up in the alley, locked the doors behind us and moved out.

  Chapter Thirty Six

  Grey’s warriors clambered over the bodies of their fallen comrades as they tried to reach the perimeter gates, all the while taking heavy fire from the battlements. The sheer number of soldiers meant that eventually they made progress. The dogs had been dispatched quickly enough, but not before they had killed or maimed many soldiers. The way Jamie saw it, until their brothers got inside and disabled the enemy shooters, there would be hundreds more deaths.

  From his vantage point back here in the AV, it felt like watching a movie from the old days, back when he was a kid. He glanced at The Voice of the Father, who was transfixed by the action at the gates. Matthew had probably never seen a movie in his life.

  Little by little, their men made slow and steady progress. Warriors gradually disappeared into the perimeter through the crumbling wall. More and more of them pouring in with less and less resistance from above. And now Grey’s warriors appeared on the top of the wall, near the entrance. Jamie made out their dark hoods as they fought, taking out the perimeter guards. A full scale fire fight erupted near the top of the gates. It was crucial they disable the snipers up there or FJ’s warriors would never make it inside.

  The skirmish on the battlements lasted only a short while and then everything went quiet. Through the newly-made silence, the sound of galloping hooves drew closer, and a rider appeared at Jamie’s window.

  ‘Sir,’ he said, breathless, aiming his words at Matthew. ‘We are victorious. We have secured the gates and are moving through the perimeter, taking hostages. Posting guards at the entrance.’

  ‘What about the girl?’ Matthew asked. ‘Riley Culpepper. It is vital you locate her.’

  The rider shook his head. ‘No sign yet, I’m afraid, but we’re still searching. We’re questioning her father, but he’s not very talkative.’

  ‘You can make him talkative,’ Matthew replied. ‘Or do I need to show you how?’

  ‘We’ll find her,’ the rider said. ‘And we’re still searching for Our Father.’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘We’ve cleared out the guards’ building,’ the rider continued, ‘and put the prisoners in cells. It’s safe for you to come in now, if you wish. We’ve cleared a path through the entrance.’

  Matthew nodded.

  ‘There’s one more thing, Sir,’ the rider said.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘It’s like a ghost town inside. There were only a few guards left up on the wall, but we’ve eliminated them. There’s no sign of inhabitants. We’re searching the buildings, but so far . . . nothing.’

  ‘Have you surrounded the perimeter?’ Jamie asked. ‘No one inside can escape, can they?’

  ‘No. We’ve placed guards at intervals around the entire settlement.’

  ‘Well then, the inhabitants must be in there somewhere,’ Matthew said. ‘And we’ll ferret them out. Use the prisoners. We can get answers from them.’

  ‘Very good, Sir.’ The rider turned his horse back to the perimeter and urged him into a canter.

  Matthew turned to Jamie. ‘Jacob,’ he said. ‘We are getting closer to our goal. Before today is done we will have avenged a great wrongdoing.’

  Jamie nodded.

  ‘Come,’ Matthew continued. ‘Let us go inside and find Our Father.’

  The driver started up the engine and led the huge motorised cavalcade up to the torn entrance where hundreds of warriors stood facing outwards to attention, both horsemen and foot soldiers. As The Voice of the Father and his disciples approached, the warriors parted in a wave to let them by, closing back over them as they drove through the double set of decimated gates and into the perimeter.

  * * *

  We moved across the snowy plain. Black vans leading the way, almost camouflaged against the darkening winter sky. I was in one of the vans with Reece and Lou. She’d volunteered to fight and I’d asked Reece if she could travel with us. He hadn’t objected, and I felt more confident with her beside me. Behind us a tribe of around seven hundred able-bodied gypsies followed on foot and horseback. Not nearly enough to match FJ’s army, but we were still a fair number. And at least we were heavily armed. Reece had sent a scout ahead on horseback to check the battleground.

  Our convoy slowed as the scout returned on his dun-coloured pony. Reece slid out of the driver’s seat and walked over to meet him.

  ‘Back in a sec,’ I said to Lou and followed Reece out of the van.

  The scout wore a woollen hat pulled down over his ears and a grubby cotton scarf across his mouth and nose. He pulled the scarf down and I was struck by how young he looked. He couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen. I felt guilty that I’d put him in danger, but then I realised I was probably only a year or two older than him.

  ‘How many soldiers?’ Reece asked.

  ‘There’s a few hundred more than what we got,’ he said in a thick Dorset accent. ‘They’re just waiting outside the main gate like a load of statues.’

  That was good news to my ears. There had been a hell of a lot more than that earlier in the morning.

  ‘They got horses too,’ he added.

  ‘Is the battle still going on?’ I asked.

  The boy scowled at me, but answered my question. ‘No fighting outside. Dunno about inside though. Loads of bodies piled up out there.’

  ‘God,’ I muttered.

  ‘Warriors’ bodies,’ the boy clarified. ‘They was wearing cloaks.’

  ‘Any movement behind the fence at all?’ I asked.

  ‘Couldn’t really tell – too may soldiers in the way. Gates is blown to pieces though. Wall’s smashed up a bit. There’s one of their men posted about every two hundred yards along the fence. They might be right the way around, but I only did a quick reccy.’

  I considered the boy’s information. If only a thousand of FJ’s men were standing guard outside, that meant FJ had probably taken over the perimeter, and the rest of his soldiers were either dead or had gone inside. I prayed all our people had made it safely into the underground stores.

  ‘You did good, Pauly.’ Reece patted his pony’s neck.

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Thanks.’

  Pauly nodded, clicked his tongue at his pony and moved off to join the other gypsies.

  I looked up at Reece with some trepidation. What if he changed his mind and decided to order his people back to The Walls? He turned away and walked back to the van. I followed, not wanting to say anything in case I jinxed things. But I needn’t have worried. He started up the engine and we carried on moving in the same direction – south, toward the perimeter.

  Our plan was to split into three sections and approach the thousand or so soldiers that were stationed outside the fence. We would attack head on, as well as from the western and eastern edges of the fence, where we would initially be concealed from the main entrance. Reece and I were to lead the western flank. I gave Reece and Lou a rough description of the perimeter layout inside. Telling them about the shooting platforms along the top of the wall and the position of the guards’ house. I also described how to get to the main perimeter stores. But I omitted telling the
m about Pa’s underground stores. I couldn’t give away that secret.

  Halfway across the heathland, before the perimeter came into view, we split into our separate battalions. It was vital the eastern and western units weren’t spotted by the main bulk of the army until we were almost upon them, otherwise our plan would fail. We had to get them surrounded.

  The knot in my stomach tightened as we drew closer to the perimeter. What would I find there? Would my family be safe? Would Luc?

  Reece and I headed west, leading our section of about two hundred battle-ready men and women. Half were armed with semi-automatic guns, the rest carried rifles, crossbows, slingshots and knives. In the van we had grenades. Our first task was to take out the sentries around the western side of the fence. Reece sent his stealthiest people ahead to do this job. They would use silent weapons so as not to draw any attention. To my surprise, Lou was among them.

  Inside the van, Reece looked at me for the first time since we’d been on the road. I noticed his stare and immediately stopped chewing at my fingernails. I must’ve looked pitiful because he dropped his scowl and tried to reassure me.

  ‘My people are good at this,’ he said. ‘They’re expert hunters. Can virtually kiss a deer on its nose before killing it.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘I don’t know what I would’ve done if . . .’

  ‘Okay,’ he interrupted. ‘Let’s just get this done, yeah.’

  I nodded. Reece was unpredictable to be around. But I felt confident in his abilities to lead his people. If anyone could make this work, he could.

  Up ahead, the western edge of the perimeter came into view. Dark shapes moving in the foreground.

  People.

  But who?

  I looked through my binoculars and turned the focus wheel until it showed the mesh of the fence, sharp against the inner wall. I moved the lenses slowly along until I had the figures in my sights.

  It was Lou and the other gypsies.

  I exhaled in relief. A couple of figures lay on the ground wearing the robes of Grey’s church.

  ‘Well that’s two down,’ I said, passing Reece the binoculars.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Reece replied. ‘We’ll soon have the rest of them.’

  I liked his certainty. But now it was our turn. We were about to face FJ’s warriors.

  * * *

  Inside the walls, perimeter buildings smouldered and burned. The main road was a mess of slush and mud, ashes and blood. Jamie cast his eyes over scattered fallen men and women in civilian clothing. Their bodies bent at unnatural angles, their faces blank or shocked in death. He wondered where all the bodies of his fallen brothers had been taken. Units of warriors moved about the place with a proprietary air.

  ‘Stop the vehicle,’ Matthew said. ‘I want to get out.’

  ‘It may not be safe,’ warned one of the disciples from the back.

  ‘Nonsense. Look around.’ Matthew said. ‘Let us all walk and enjoy our victory, instead of hiding away behind all this armour and glass.’

  The driver pulled over to the side of the road and they got out of the AV. Jamie pulled his cloak tight around his shoulders, the icy chill of winter cutting through his skin after the warm protection of the vehicle. As they began to walk, Matthew aligned himself with Jamie, and the other disciples fell behind. Matthew beckoned over one of the high-ranking warriors.

  ‘Where are we holding the girl’s father?’ he asked. ‘Take me there.’

  ‘This way, Sir.’

  They followed the man to a plain red brick building at the side of the road. Inside, the place was crammed full of their own men, inspecting weapons and rifling through cupboards, drawers and filing cabinets. They bowed as The Voice of the Father walked past. Matthew, Jamie and the other disciples were shown to a cell. The warrior peered through the grille and then opened the door. Matthew and the others swept inside.

  In the centre of the room was a seated figure, a guard standing before him. Jamie’s eyes were immediately drawn to the bloody knife in the guard’s hand. As the entourage entered the room the guard looked up, bowed and stood back to fully reveal the prisoner: A shirtless man, seated on a faded plastic chair, hands tied behind his back. His torso was a mess of cuts and bruises, blood dripping from his mouth onto torn combat trousers.

  ‘Has he told you where Our Father is being held?’ Matthew asked the guard.

  ‘No. He refuses to say anything.’

  ‘Maybe you haven’t asked nicely enough,’ Matthew said.

  The guard remained silent.

  ‘Well?’ Matthew prompted. ‘Did you ask nicely?’

  ‘I . . .’

  ‘Here.’ Matthew took the knife from the guard and walked up to the prisoner. ‘This is how you ask.’ He held the knife to the man’s throat and pressed the flat part of the blade down firmly.

  ‘Where is our leader? Tell me or I’ll cut your throat.’

  But the man only laughed. ‘Do it, FJ. I don’t care.’

  Jamie wondered why the man had called him FJ.

  Matthew’s face clouded and he pressed the knife down harder, until the blade nicked the man’s skin, drawing blood from his throat. ‘Where is your daughter? Where is James Grey? Hand them to me and we’ll withdraw. We will leave your precious perimeter. It is a simple equation. Two lives for everyone else. Surely you wouldn’t put your own selfish desires before those of your people.’

  ‘If you think I would ever tell you where to find my daughter, you’re more deluded than I thought.’ The man spat blood onto the floor at Matthew’s feet. ‘And you may as well know that your beloved leader is dead. James Grey died weeks ago.’

  ‘You’re lying,’ Matthew hissed.

  ‘Am I?’

  An explosion outside made everyone look up.

  ‘What was that?’ Matthew asked, turning first to the guard and then to Jamie.

  The faint sound of battle could be heard from outside and the prisoner smiled.

  ‘Find out what’s going on,’ Matthew barked.

  * * *

  We came at them hard, with a roar of engines, a thud of horses’ hooves and a battle cry which echoed across the wasteland. We were fighting for survival. For food, for warmth, for home and family, for love and for life. Everyone had grown weary of the relentless winter and the constant threats from hostile forces. And all our energy went into that charge. From the relative safety of the van, I fired my Saiga at the robed invaders, my bullets joining the others, zipping into the masses and finding their target every time – because it was a massive target. More soldiers than I’d anticipated. Even Reece gave me a look which said more than words.

  I hoped our eastern flank was doing as well as us. The majority of our gypsy force was now coming to our aid across the heath. Charging like demons toward the enemy. After our initial attack from each side, FJ’s soldiers were finally gathering themselves together and returning fire in earnest. But we were a moving, spread-out target, whereas they were closer together in a compact group. Easier to pick off. Plus, it didn’t seem like they were all armed. And, of the ones who were, many of them were out of ammo, reduced to using their guns as big sticks or shields.

  The gypsies were ferocious. They didn’t simply hang back to fire their guns. Instead, they careened into the ranks of soldiers, slicing them down with hunting knives and other more primitive weapons. Smashing at heads with the butts of their rifles and kicking their way through to the next soldier and the next. The warriors had huge horses which towered above the gypsy ponies, but the smaller steeds were nimble and brave, taking their riders where they needed to go and delivering vicious kicks to the enemy.

  Reece left the van and took some of his men closer, where they began to lob grenades into the middle of the warrior clusters. This forced the enemy away from the fence, sending them running straight into our gunfire. They were trapped and losing hundreds of men by the minute. But despite the success of our attack so far, I couldn’t feel triumphant, for we were losing people too.
Reece’s comrades were falling around us, bleeding and dying on the cold ground. I ran to help some of the wounded, taking them back to the van with the med supplies and leaving them to be patched up by people more capable than I.

  Squinting up at the wall, I wondered why FJ’s men weren’t making full use of all the shooting platforms. As far as I could tell, we were only taking fire from the section nearest the gates. I was amazed how quickly we were able to cut through this army. At this rate we might actually make it through into the perimeter soon.

  I guessed it was now around mid-to-late afternoon. The sun would be going down soon and the temperature would plummet even further. We needed to get in there and finish this off. I worried about the people down in the stores. I was desperate to get down there and see if Luc and Ma were still safe. What if FJ had found them? What would he do?

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  The cell door flew open and one of the warriors stood in the doorway panting hard.

  ‘Yes?’ Matthew snapped.

  ‘I need to speak to you, Sir,’ the warrior said, looking from Matthew to the prisoner and back again.

  Matthew strode out of the room, into the hallway, followed by Jamie and the others. The guard remained with the prisoner.

  ‘What’s going on out there?’ Matthew said. ‘I heard an explosion.’

  The warrior spoke quickly. ‘Our soldiers outside . . . they’re taking heavy fire, Sir.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Matthew said.

  ‘We’ve been attacked, and more than half the guards we posted at the gates are dead.’

  ‘Attacked? By who? I thought the enemy had fled.’

  ‘By gypsies, Sir.’

  ‘Gypsies? What are they doing here? How many of our men are outside?’

  ‘Only about four hundred still standing.’