Simon Clark - The Fall

‘What he says is true, Nicole,’ William said. ‘They can raid the district around Casterton with impunity.’

‘What year are they returning from?’ Nicole asked with a shiver.

‘They’ve used the time gate down by the bend in the river,’ William said.

‘That will give them access to the 19 thCentury, won’t it?’

‘That’s right, my old sweetie,’ replied Bullwitt. ‘1865, to be precise.’

Nicole shuddered. ‘Oh my, God. That’s where – when – my friends are.’

Bullwitt raised his eyes to her from the slit in William’s tunic. ‘Then perhaps we should say a prayer for them tonight.’

Nicole shivered. She felt William’s hand slip into hers and give it a reassuring squeeze. She squeezed back. But she was frightened for Sue, Ryan, Lee and the rest. The mouse claws scurried at the side of her neck, running through air as they did when her fear was transmitted to whatever remained of the mouse’s brain buried inside her neck.

Absently she stroked the running legs with her free hand, soothing them.

Below in the valley the Bluebeards marched by, pulling carts piled high with food, clothes, bottles, valuables of every kind.

Then came another group. These walked with their heads hanging down.

Quickly Nicole counted 30 or more women and children.

She pointed. ‘They’ve brought those from the town, haven’t they?’

William nodded. ‘As slaves.’

‘Of various sorts and abilities,’ Bullwitt added. ‘Poor damn fools.’

Nicole didn’t need Bullwitt to elaborate. Seeing the women shuffle by in their long dresses, their hair hanging down in tangled strands, was bad enough. But then she saw a face she recognised.

‘Oh God, no,’ she whispered. ‘I know that woman down there.’

‘Then if I were you, sweetie,’ Bullwitt whispered. ‘I’d pray to the good Lord to strike her down dead at this very moment.’

Clutching William’s hand tightly, she watched as Sue walked by. It hadn’t been so long ago that Sue Royston had been the cheerful travel rep dressed in the Stan Laurel costume. Now she looked as if she’d been dragged through filth. Her hair was a messed tangle of knots.

And now she was walking along the path into the woods. Like a lamb to the slaughter.

‘I’m going to do something,’ Nicole said, gripping William’s hand hard.

‘All we can do is hide and watch.’ William spoke gently.

‘And hope they leave us alone,’ Bullwitt grunted. ‘Which they will do, if they’ve got enough rich pickings to occupy themselves for a while.’

‘No.’ Nicole shook her head firmly. ‘I’m going to find some way of helping those people.’

Bullwitt sighed. ‘I wish you could. But it’s going to take a bloody miracle to help those poor devils now.’

Tuesday evening, 21 stDecember 1865 .

Jud said to Sam, ‘We’re in bigger trouble than we thought.’

Sam looked up at him as he sat at the table with a mug of hot coffee in his hands. ‘Bigger trouble? Christ, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Did you hear how many died in the attack? More than a thousand.’

Jud nodded as he sat in the chair opposite Sam. In the hallway of Perseverance Farm the grandfather clock chimed seven. The notes sounded sombre.

Sam continued. ‘And those are only the confirmed deaths. There’ll be even more bodies, or what’s left of them, in the burned-out buildings. Including Ryan’s wife. Did you know she was pregnant?’

‘Yes, I’d heard. And I’ve heard about the women and children who were abducted. Did you know Sue Burton was taken, too?’

‘I heard a couple of hours ago. Lee took some persuading not to throw himself in the river. He’s gone to pieces over this… Hell, what a mess. What a damn awful mess.’

It was now almost 24 hours since the attack on Casterton by the Bluebeards. Buildings were still burning, though the heavily falling snow was beginning to damp down the worst of the fires.

After leaving Lee and Ryan in the town, Sam had run hack to Perseverance Farm. It lay midway between Casterton and the amphitheatre and he’d expected to find the place reduced to ashes. Yet by some miracle the Bluebeards had missed it on the march into town. Zita and the rest were safe.

Meanwhile, Jud had returned to the narrow boat to find it gone. His first thought was that it had been sunk by the Bluebeards with Dot on board. But then he’d heard the familiar chug-chug of the motor.

The narrow boat had come gliding out of the darkness and the falling snow, his wife at the helm. She told Jud later that when she’d seen the Bluebeard armed with the axe coming on board she’d simply jumped over the side and had swum for it in the freezing water. There she trod water, well out of harm’s way, while the Bluebeard had gone through the boat filling pillowcases with jewellery and bottles of whiskey. After he’d left she’d climbed back onto the boat, untied the moorings and then had taken it across the river where she felt it would be safe to wait until Jud’s return.

‘The cold would have killed skinny folk like you,’ she’d told them. ‘Lucky I had some pretty good natural insulation. So, you see, cellulite does have its uses.’

Now Jud and Sam sat drinking coffee after a day helping out at the town. But it had been a Herculean task, and Sam was reminded about Humpty Dumpty, whom all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put together again. Probably a good third of the town had been destroyed by the fires.

Sam took a deep swallow of the coffee, feeling that welcome warmth go sliding down his gullet to heat his stomach. ‘You were saying that this is going to get worse before it gets better. How come?’

‘For one, Casterton’s cut off by the snowfalls. All the roads and railway lines are blocked. Even the telegraph lines are down.’

‘So we’re going to be on our own for while. But surely we’ll manage?’

‘Normally, yes. If it was just a case of clearing up the aftermath of what the Bluebeards have done.’

‘I can hear a “but” coming along here.’

‘Yes, and a big “but” at that. I’ve been talking to Rolle.’

‘He’s here?’

‘He was in the town earlier. I managed to grab a word with him before he left. I don’t know where he was going but he was in a heck of a hurry. But that’s beside the point. Anyway, he told me he’s seen the Bluebeards at work before – but never in such huge numbers. He says this is only the first instalment.’

‘You mean they’re going to come back?’

‘Yes.’

‘But surely they just hit and run like pirates or… or even muggers. They wouldn’t be stupid enough to walk back into a place they’ve just raided?’

‘But what’s to stop them? They know the roads into the outside world are impassable for the next two or three days at least. Even if we could get a messenger out on foot, what could the authorities do?’

‘They could send in the army.’

‘What army?’

‘Hell, Jud, take a look at the maps in the schoolrooms. In 1865 Britain ruled half the world. The maps are all red, showing how much you limeys actually owned. Remember the saying? The sun never sets on the British Empire? You don’t conquer that much without a pretty substantial army.’

Jud gave a grim smile. ‘Exactly. Today, in 1865, Her Majesty’s army comprises around a million troops.’

‘You see. They’ll blitz these barbarians. They won’t know what hit them.’

‘And you’re right about the huge Empire, too, Sam. And that’s where most of the troops are stationed. Out there in the hot spots of China, India and Africa. Our problem is that the garrisons here on mainland Britain probably number only a few thousand men at most – and they’re dotted here and there all over the country.’