Six Days With the Dead (31 page)

‘
Come on, we’d better get dressed, people will be waiting to hear what happened out there,’ Charlie said, slowly releasing her to reach for his clothes.

****

Once they were dressed Charlie and Alice made their way through the dark stone hallways to the Refectory. Entering the Refectory, already aglow with tallow candles, they could see that everybody was there except Phil and Mohammed, who were still on watch duty along the walkway. Nicky and Richard sat as usual with a struggling Justin wedged between them, while Barry talked quietly to Cam and Michael who sat opposite them. On another table Nadine, Bryon, Duncan and Lars were having a conversation about something in a book she was holding. Every so often Lars would turn to Penny next to him, a far off dreamy look on her face. Adrian was also sitting with them and it was obvious he was feeling a little left out of the conversation the others were having. As Charlie walked in Adrian dropped his eyes to the bowl in front of him and tried to appear small, willing Charlie to walk past without noticing him. Sally on the other hand brazenly looked him straight in the eye, daring him to look away while next to her Damian held her hand. The Sisters were quietly passing out the  soup with chunks of bread soaking in it, and plates piled high with scrambled egg flavoured with chives. Looking up at Charlie as he entered, Sister Rebecca smiled, and with a wave he was ushered to the front of the hall. With a wink and a discreet pinch of Charlie’s bum, Alice went to join Liz, Imran and Anne sitting at one of the tables near the front.

‘
I’ve met the Reverend,’ Sister Rebecca whispered as she followed him to the front. ‘I think you might be right about that one.’

Her eyes flicked over to the side where the Reverend and his wife sat by themselves, watching the rest of the group intently. Charlie watched as Justin briefly escaped Nicky and
Richard and went up to the new arrivals to say hello. The Reverend leant forward, smiling broadly as he cupped Justin’s chin with his hand and said something in a low voice. Justin made a reply, but again Charlie could not hear what was said. Whatever it was, the smile slowly drifted from the Reverend’s face as he let go of the boys chin and returned to watching the group. Looking like he was feeling a little awkward, Justin stood in front of the two adults who were now ignoring him, before he turned and went to sit next to Nicky. Charlie made a mental note to ask Justin after the meeting what had been said.

Charlie was just about to call everyone to attention when Sister Margaret and Sister Catherine entered the room with their other visitor, William, tra
iling behind them. William was clearly a broken man. Charlie could see that it took all his effort to put one foot in front of the other without falling to the floor in a torrent of tears. What Charlie was about to tell the group would not be pretty but they all needed to hear it, if they were to prepare for what might be coming.

‘
Can I have everyone’s attention please,’ Charlie said in a loud voice, a leftover from his army days. Conversations died immediately and everyone, except Penny who as always was in her own world, turned to face Charlie.

‘
Right, as you all know Liz, Imran and myself left here primarily to fetch Emma O’Brien so Nadine could help her with the birth of her baby, but when Mr Parker arrived telling us about a raider attack, we went on a circular route to warn the other Out-posters,’ Charlie said, as he pointed to the map someone had pinned to a board, showing the route they had taken.  He then went on to tell them about the tragic mutilated bodies they had found at the Penhaligan’s and then the O’Brien’s homes. He also told them of other details they had seen or come across while they were travelling among the Dead, such as the pack of killer dogs, the boat they had seen off shore and what had happened when they had tried to warn the Donaldson family. The more information he could give them the better prepared they could all be in the future. When he had finished a stunned silence had descended upon the room, as each of the survivors processed the information they had been given. After a few minutes hushed conversations began again as they discussed what they should do.

‘
So Reverend, you probably had a very lucky escape,’ Barry said, turning to look at the newest arrivals to the Convent.

‘
The Lord preserveth all that love him, but the wicked will he destroy,  Psalms one-four-five,’ the Reverend said in a flat tone, ‘I had no need to fear this group of men, my soul has been judged  and truly the Lord was pleased.’

‘
Oh,’ Barry said quietly, not knowing what to make of the Reverend.

‘
But of course we had to flee for the sake of the child,’ Ruth said laying her hand over her husband’s.

The Reverend Nathan Moore slowly looked down at his wife
’s hand, her tiny delicate fingers entwined with his.

‘
I am certainly blessed amongst men,’ he replied. Lifting her hand to his lips, the Reverend gently kissed Ruth’s palm ‘this woman walked through the wilderness with God by her side and brought forth into the world this child. May God’s will be done.’

‘
Yes, a baby is always a blessing,’ said Sister Josephine, trying to steer conversation away from the Reverend. 

When she had taken him and his wife to their room
, he had expressed some not very pleasant views concerning Imran and his obvious non-Christian religion. She had told him point blank, that if they wanted to stay they would have to get along with everybody, no matter what their creed. She hoped they had taken it to heart, for the sake of their child she did not want to have to ask them leave.

‘
So Charlie, are we in any danger from these Raiders?’ Sister Josephine continued.

‘
Well, we’re off the beaten track, which is in our favour and with the high walls, we should be ok…  but I want everyone to be on guard just in case,’ Charlie said, sitting down to eat his meal. ‘Sister Claire, how did the harvest fair during the storm?’

‘
Well, it’s too early to harvest the grain anyway, so we’ll just have to hope the heavy rain hasn’t damaged too much of it. Perhaps you’ll be so kind as to accompany me in the fields tomorrow and we can see what state it’s in,’ she replied.

Sister Claire
’s farming background had proven a benefit to those at Lanherne. She seemed to know just what needed to be done and when, instinctively.

‘
You’ve got yourself a date there, Sister,’ Charlie said, smiling in between ladling spoonfuls of soup into his mouth.

‘
Oh, in that case I’ll put on my best dress and get my hair done,’ she said, laughing as she and Sister Catherine began to clear away some of the empty bowls.

With a cheeky win
k, Charlie handed Sister Claire his bowl.

‘
What a wicked man you are Charlie Philips, tempting an old woman like that. I don’t know how you stand for it Alice?’ she said, trying to look shocked.

‘
I know. I don’t know what to do with him,’ Alice said, taking hold of Charlie’s chin she turned his face towards her and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

‘
Sorry Sister, we’ve had a good run but I think we should see other people,’ Charlie said, going back to kiss Alice again.

‘
Oh well, easy come easy go,’ Sister Claire laughed, as she followed Sister Catherine to the kitchen with the empty bowls.

As she opened the door a heavenly smell wafted through the room. One by one
, the adults paused in their conversations as the warm chocolate aroma reached them.

‘
Mmm… I haven’t smelt something like that for so many years,’ Nicky said, closing her eyes and breathing in as much of the rich chocolate smell as she could, ‘I know Sister Rebecca is a whiz at making something out of nothing, but that smells like chocolate to me.’

‘
That’s just what it is,’ Liz said, letting the smell envelope her. ‘We found some chocolate cake mix in a delivery van and I think Sister Rebecca has made them up to welcome us home.’

While people reminisced about their favourite foods from a worl
d that no longer existed, Charlie glanced over at the Reverend and his wife. They we’re having a conversation in whispered, hushed tones. Ruth had her hand on her husband’s arm and she seemed to be reassuring him of something, while she gently rocked the baby wrapped in the crochet blanket Emma had made for her own baby. The Reverend’s foot was tapping nervously, which abruptly stopped when his wife said something in particular. The Reverend’s face then seemed to relax suddenly, whatever his wife had said, had definitely calmed him down but something still danced about in the depth of his eyes. Something alien, Charlie couldn’t identify. Then the Reverend Moore slowly turned his gaze away from his wife and over to the table where Charlie sat. Charlie could tell it was not himself that caught the Reverend’s attention but one of the others sitting with him. He watched as the Reverend’s eyes roamed briefly from Liz, then Alice and finally Imran. When they rested on him, Charlie saw a slight narrowing of the Reverends eyes and would have said a flash of something very close to disgust momentarily surfaced. Finally, he moved onto Anne, and though it was plainly one of open curiosity, it still felt somehow wrong to Charlie. The Reverend was clearly studying Anne, not in a sexual predatory way but more the way someone looks at an unknown but beautiful insect. The Reverend was clearly working through something in his mind, but what, Charlie had no idea.

‘
Ta Da!’ Sister Rebecca called to the room, as she walked in proudly carrying a tray of warm chocolate cake. Immediately people left their seats and crowded round her to marvel at this edible delight from a time gone by.‘And we’ve also got fruit sauce. So if someone will pop to the kitchen to get it for me, we can all have a welcome home treat.’

‘
I’ll go,’ said Adrian, heading for the door.

‘
I’ll be back in a moment,’ Charlie whispered to Alice and started to leave his seat

‘
No Charlie, it’s been dealt with,’ Alice said, trying to stop him, but Charlie was already half way to the door.

‘
Damn! Shall I go after him?’ she asked turning to Liz.

Before Liz could offer an opinion, a very pale looking Adrian walked back through the door, the jar of Sister Rebecca
’s fruit sauce in his hands. Charlie followed shortly on his heals, looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. Adrian went directly to the table where Sister Rebecca was cutting up the cake without so much as a glance in Alice’s direction.

‘
What did you do?’ Alice said, pulling Charlie back to his seat, ‘I told you it was sorted.’

‘
I didn’t hit him, don’t worry,’ he replied, trying to look innocent. ‘I just told him if he ever laid a hand on you or anyone else in here again, I’d cut that hand off and make him watch while I fed it to one of the Dead.’

‘
Charlie!’ Alice said, slightly shocked.

She knew this world was tough to live in and that justice was more often than not
, swift and harsh. But at the end of the day Adrian wasn’t much more than a sex-starved loser. It was a little over the top to threaten to cut his hand off for trying to cop a feel of her breasts. In fact, if civilisation hadn’t fallen, she thought that Adrian’s life probably wouldn’t have been that much different anyway. He was the sort that would have naturally ended up alone, blaming everybody else for his loneliness.

‘
What? I could’ve threatened to cut off another part of his anatomy you know,’ he said.

‘
Charming,’ Alice said, playfully slapping Charlie’s shoulder.    

Each of the group collected their prec
ious chocolate cake from Sister Rebecca and returned to savour their unexpected treat in silence. As Liz watched Justin and Anne’s faces light up as they tasted chocolate for the first time, she realised sometimes it could be the simplest things that could bring the most joy. It was strange that something as simple as a piece of cake could affect the people in the Refectory so intensely and in so many ways. For the adults, the cake brought back a wealth of memories, but also an immediate sense of loss for a life and a time they could never get back. While the children could feel nothing but a sense of wonder for a world where something as amazing as the cake before them was considered normal and mundane. A world of experiences had been lost to Anne and Justin when the Dead came and to be able to open a window back to that world, albeit a brief one, was a priceless gift Liz hoped they would experience again.       

‘
Don’t forget to save some for Phil and Mohammed,’ Alice said, as she took her cake from the tray and spooned on some of the dark fruity sauce. ‘Do you know who’s on watch next?’

‘
That’ll be me and Cam,’ Michael said, spooning the last of his cake into his mouth. ‘We’ll go now and relieve them so they can eat.’

Standing up, Cam took Michael
’s empty plate and passed it to Sister Rebecca, along with his own.

‘
Thanks Sister, you’re a star,’ Cam said giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Even after seven years of hardship, Cam’s looks may have faded, but he still had the charm that had made him a natural television journalist.