No Shelter from Darkness (37 page)

Her father opened the metal door and came in from the cooling afternoon. “Good news,” he said. “Jeff assures me he'll have a good couple of pints tomorrow.”

Beth smiled at the news, but nothing else.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I'm fine. Just getting a bit tired again.”

“Well, everything should be okay tomorrow. It couldn't have worked out better, really. You'll be right as rain, Mary will have left, and there'll be no danger in sleeping back in the house.”

His words did little to comfort her and she'd already planned on asking him to fit a lock on her door. Perhaps now wasn't quite the time for it.

“I understand why you're down here,” he continued, “but if you can manage it, I bet Mary's wondering why you aren't spending some time with her.”

“Don't be so sure, Dad.”

“Why?”

Beth shrugged. “I've got a feeling she wouldn't want that.”

Her father hummed to himself in agreement. “I've got to get going anyway, I'm on duty tonight. Mary's train isn't until the afternoon tomorrow, so I'll try and get to Jeff's early, okay?”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Her father smiled sincerely and then left the shelter. Beth heard him go back into the house and about ten minutes later the front door closed. He was gone for the night.

Lying down with her eyes shut, Beth couldn't see the afternoon outside gradually get darker, but she could feel the air getting colder. She'd been lying there for what felt like hours, and when she opened her eyes dusk was fast approaching. The inconvenience of nature forced her hand. Under the cover of clouds she left the shelter.

Through the back door Beth could see on the table the chopping board with some half-prepared vegetables around it, but there was no sign of her mother. Stranger still was that Mary was foraging around in a cupboard. Beth opened the door. Mary stopped and jumped up, spun around and stared at her. Beth found it almost funny.

“Mary?”

Mary just stood there with her eyes wide.

“What are you looking for?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just … nothing.”

Beth raised her eyebrows. “Where's Mum?”

“Um. She went up the road. To see if the local's still open. Not enough veg.” Her fragmented sentences made her sound most peculiar. Then Beth noticed a smell. It was one of the many that was always in the kitchen, but never this strong. And it came from Mary. “Is that …” Beth sniffed again. “Is that garlic?”

“No,” Mary said immediately.

Beth knew she was lying, but couldn't challenge her without raising suspicion of her unnatural senses. She was about to turn away when the silence of the house raised further awareness. “Where's Ollie?”

“Out.”

“It's a bit late, isn't it? It's gonna be dark soon.”

“Guess so.”

Beth's eyes narrowed. “What's going on?”

“Nothing.”

Beth shook her head. She had enough of her own problems to deal with and couldn't waste energy on anyone else's. She carried on her way and halfway up the stairs she heard Mary breathe out loud, in relief. Beth's heart sank a little more.

A few minutes later she was on her way back down when the stomping of a child's feet came to a halt outside the front door. It rattled from frantic knocking; Beth could hear the panting of a boy on the other side before she opened it. Dave—or was it Charlie?—was out of breath. The dark haired boy with red cheeks straightened up initially but then relaxed a little when he realized who he was looking at. His urgency hadn't been quelled though and he blurted out his message in between breaths. “Come quick. It's your brother. He's hurt!”

The fatigue and thirst were forgotten in an instant at the mention of Oliver being involved in an accident. From behind, Beth heard Mary clamber from the kitchen, as concerned about her brother as she was.

Beth stepped down onto the pavement into the dark gray dusk. “Where?” she demanded of the boy.

He pointed toward Gawber Street. She grabbed his collar and pulled him with her as she began to walk hurriedly.

“Hey!” the boy protested.

“Let me guess: you've been playing on that bloody bombsite,” said Beth.

The boy stayed quiet.

“Left at the bottom?”

The boy nodded.

“Which one are you, anyway? Dave, or Charlie?”

“Charlie. And let go of my shirt … if you rip it Mum'll kill me.”

Beth released the boy, but didn't let up on her pace. They rounded the corner and started on their way up the street with demolished houses on the left hand side. Behind her, Mary was only a few strides behind, but Beth wondered why she wasn't walking with them. She turned to her. “Mary, can you go and find Mum?”

“Let me see that Ollie's okay, first.”

Beth was in no mood to argue. Darkness continued to absorb the dusk. “So what happened, then?” she asked Charlie.

“We was playing over there,” Charlie pointed further along the street, “when me and Dave heard Ollie shout. We turned around, but he was already gone.”

A spot of rain landed on Beth's shoulder and she looked up to curse the sky. “Gone where?”

“He'd fallen through some big hole in the ground. Dunno how he did it with all the bricks and wood and stuff, but when we got there he seemed all right, just a bit bruised. But then—”

“But then what?”

“He couldn't get back up. There was nothing to climb on. So me and Dave, we tried to dangle some wood over the edge for him to grab, but we got too close. The floor started to move. Me and Dave jumped out of the way just in time, but it fell down on Ollie. Most of it missed him, but his arm's trapped and now he can't move. He said he thinks it's broken or something.”

A light drizzle had started. Beth had led the boy—with Mary still trailing—to the last of the houses that had fallen on Gawber Street. When Charlie had mentioned the hole, she knew exactly where they'd been. Her gut twisted at the thought of the hazard that had taken the vampire by surprise. But Oliver was alive, and she had to be thankful for that.

On the roadside sat Dave—she presumed. He stood up as she approached. “Why aren't you with my brother?” Beth asked.

“It got dark,” he complained. “I could hardly find my way out.”

Beth shoved her dampening hair from her face. Mary had caught up but still lingered a step behind her. She was about to shout at Dave for leaving Oliver alone when the air raid sirens drowned out any and all noise.

“We gotta go!” shouted Dave over the infernal racket to Charlie.

“What about Ollie?” Charlie shouted back. Both boys looked up through the rain at Beth.

There was no way she could ask them to stay out in a raid. She wasn't sure what use they'd be anyway. She still wanted to give them a piece of her mind, but now wasn't the time or the place, so she huffed, “Piss off, then.”

The two boys ran away up the dark, glistening street.

The closest siren began to wind down from its first oscillation, just as Mary raised her voice over the din. “Where is he?”

“In there.” Beth pointed over the mound of rubble. It looked different than the last time she was here. The Heavy Rescue Service had pushed up much of what had been on the road, adding to the debris already piled up where houses used to stand. She could only guess that they'd inadvertently hidden the vampire's makeshift basement with loose rubble. They probably didn't even know it was there. And then it became an accident waiting to happen.

The siren whirred back up to its ear-splitting volume as Beth placed a foot on the first sturdy looking bit of rubble. The light rain had already covered everything; she knew the way would be more treacherous because of it. The last shade of gray faded from the sky. The moon was nothing more than a thin crescent in a corner of the sky, lighting only the thin clouds that covered it. Yet Beth could see where she was going. The pain in her eyes wasn't half as bad as it
usually was, and if it hadn't been for the urgency of the situation she might have stopped to marvel at how things seemed to be washed in a very faint shade of green.

Even with the obtrusive sirens, she still heard Mary's footing slip behind her.

“Ow!”

“You okay?” yelled Beth, glancing back.

Mary's foot had disappeared up to the ankle through a small hole in the rubble. She bent over and blindly groped with her hands to steady herself. Beth hadn't realized just how dark it must be for everyone else. Mary steadied herself, took her foot out, but then hesitated to put it back down.

“To your left,” yelled Beth.

Mary finally found solid ground. “How the hell can you … see?” Her question seemed to fade, almost as if she realized how stupid it was.

“Go back and stay on the road,” replied Beth, ignoring the question.

“What?” Mary shouted.

“Go
back
.” shouted Beth.

“What if … you need my help?” yelled Mary, trying to force an excuse to come along.

“I'll shout to you if I need you, but at this rate there'll be two of you needing rescue.” Unbeknownst to Mary, Beth could see the hesitation and concern in her expression. She had a feeling it wasn't for her own welfare. Mary obeyed regardless, her desperate curiosity smothered by self-preservation.

Beth continued and traced with her eyes what looked to be the safest route over to the dividing wall that still stuck up slightly from the rubble. She jumped from a lump of mortar to a few bricks. They were loose, but she managed to direct her weight so they wouldn't topple, before hopping over to some sturdy wood. She wanted to get to her brother as quickly as she could and was thankful for her sure footing. But a niggling question popped into her head.
Why is Mary so protective of Ollie all of a sudden?

Beth glanced back but stepped forward, onto a brick that wasn't there. Her silhouette against the night sky must have disappeared, for as she quickly caught herself on a pile of rubble Mary shouted.

“Don't hurt him.”

Beth slowly stood up and looked back over the way she'd come, into Mary's eyes filled with fear.

She knows.

Mary would be able to see nothing more than Beth's silhouette rise, yet the revelation filled the air between them. But it would have to wait. Beth had a mission.

She turned, leapt and planted a foot on plaster, mindful of the steel rods poking out. She jumped down and steadied herself on the remains of the internal wall. Around her, the sirens wound down all the way to leave her in a darkened landscape with nothing but the soft pitter patter of rain. She heard a sniff and looked ahead of her. There was a break in the rubble in front where there was nothing but black. It was the pit. She was near its edge.

“Ollie?”

“Who's that? Beth?”

The sound of his voice brought a smile to Beth's lips, but it was soon stolen. With the ceasing of the sirens, Beth thought the faint ring in her ears was some kind of aftereffect, but now she recognized it as the low, far-off buzz that accompanied bombers.

Beth edged up to the black hole in the ground. The hum in the sky above was faint, but there was no reason to take her time. She tested the floor; it bowed slightly under her weight but seemed stable enough for now. She got down to her knees and squinted, trying to make anything out in the pit. From the absence of light, it took her a few moments to make heads or tails of what she was looking at. Something moved. It helped her form the picture.

Her brother was lying on his back, on top of some broken floorboards and other debris. His left arm vanished under a large lump of something; Beth made it out to be the familiar pattern of bricks. It was a small section of wall, almost a yard square if she had to guess. Above him, a few inches away from his shoulder, Beth spotted the steel leg of the bed frame that had taken the vampire's life by chance.
A few inches
…

Beth shuddered at the thought.

“Hey, Ollie,” said Beth. “Hold on a second, okay? I'm gonna come down.”

“Is Mum there? Dad?” His voice was close to cracking. He'd already been crying.

“Afraid not, but I'm gonna get you out. Just hold on.” Beth looked to the right where she'd swung down from a joist during her previous visit, but the way was now blocked and the joist was snapped off at the wall. The steps were still hard to get to, and with her greater sense of urgency, Beth was resigned to jumping down. It was risky, with the darkness posing a problem even for her, but it was a risk worth taking.

The rain still fell, making reflective surfaces out of everything around. It helped Beth pick out what looked to be a relatively safe spot to land. It also served as a warning of the slippery hazard. She dangled a leg over the side, balancing on one foot, and held onto an anchored protrusion. She was about to let go, but her gut jumped instead. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself through the motions again. She kept her focus on what she hoped was the ground below, let go of her anchor, and hopped from the ledge.

Her left foot landed first, on a solid surface. But the ground gave way under her right foot. It was a wooden plank and it pivoted on something underneath. Caught off guard, Beth fell forward onto her hands, and a nail drove through her palm. She yelped, ripping her hand away immediately and putting it back down by her side to steady her balance. She stood up and shook her hand before looking at her palm, seeing the darkness of a wound. She doubted it had gone through, but the pain was almost unbearable. Her brother's dire need made her work through it.

“Beth? What's happening?” asked Oliver, his voice quivering.

“Nothing,” said Beth, sucking in air. “Just … a scratch.” The searing pain wouldn't let up, but the hum coming from above was getting nearer. Beth had to move.

She turned and climbed carefully toward her brother, inspecting his situation as best she could. It was too dark to see most details, but the lump of wall and Oliver's arm disappearing up to the elbow underneath it were clear. It seemed to be the only thing pinning him down. “Is it just your arm?” Beth asked, just to be sure.