Authors: Colin Griffiths
He could see the trees swaying in the wind some distance away from the street, which gave him comfort.
He stood at the top of the path, he was pleased to see the house was in good shape, he tried to recall the previous tenants, but he could not, their records would be in the library somewhere, but he had a feeling it was a long time ago since this house was lived in, along with many other houses in the town it had been empty for a long time, whilst the empty ones provided work for the gardeners and handymen, he would rather see them occupied, he noticed the garden at no.12 had been kept in excellent shape,
‘I must remember to tell the gardener to take his reward’
he told himself.
He stood at the top of the path to number 12, he took in the air with deep breaths, his chest rising and falling, and he stood like that for a short while before walking down the path.
He didn’t knock the door, he didn’t need to, after all he was the good lord in these parts, he could come and go as he pleased, he was the master of the town, feared more than the sheriff, with his master key he opened the door, though Andy Thomas always thought that if he ever forgot his key, the doors would open for him anyway.
The three of them jumped when the vicar walked into the room, their eyes set on this tall thin faced man, dressed in a brown suit and what looked like a ridiculous hat, he removed his hat, they could now see his harsh face, he made the sign of the cross on his chest, but the spiritual act made them all feel even more uncomfortable, it was more like a curse than a blessing, it was done without conviction,
‘Shall we all sit at the table’ he asked, though it wasn’t a question, it was a demand, he thought they were all looking at his balding head, he didn’t like that.
This was just another crazy incident in what was turning out to be the worst day of their lives, and as Eileen looked at the man with the dog collar it gave her no comfort at all, and it should have done, a man of god should be caring and emphatic, he certainly didn’t look like a man of god, Nathan grabbed his mother’s arm tightly, Lily just sat open mouthed, it was like the Devil had come to them, she felt glad that she wasn’t a church goer.
‘Can you tell me where Peter is’ Eileen stuttered, her whole body seemed to shiver now, anxiety and fear forever growing inside her, she needed Peter, she needed him now.
Andy pointed to the dining table in the other half of the room, it was a gesture Eileen thought she had better respond to, they sat at the table, all three shaking wondering what fete was ahead of them, Andy sat with them, he put the clipboard on the table in front of him, stroked his chin, he still hadn’t said a word and the more they looked at him the less of a man of god he became,
‘Well can you tell me’ Eileen demanded, surprised at her own forcefulness, she put her hand over her mouth like a scalded child, Lily just stared at the man in the dog collar, Nathan bit his bottom lip, he was shaking.
Andy could not deal with this insubordination, he had a busy day ahead, and he talked like he was giving a lecture, not from the pulpit.
‘The sheriff is the top man in these parts, your husband showed him disrespect, the judge will rule this evening, you may attend the ruling, it will be held in the sports centre’
‘but he hasn’t done anything wrong’ Lily screamed, she just wanted her father back, Andy eyed Lily up, she looked young but seemed to be developing well, Eileen grabbed her arm in a manner that told her to be quiet, Andy recognised that and was prepared to let it lie, Lily slumped back in her chair, screwed up her nose and let out a sigh,
‘What are your ages’ he demanded?
‘I am 40, Nathan is 12, Lily 14’ Eileen answered, ‘why do you need to know our ages’ she answered the question before she realised the absurdity of it,
Andy jotted it down, wishing they had made the age of consent 14 instead of 16, but rules are rules, he did not answer Eileen’s question, he was there to ask them.
‘You will all have to go for a medical tomorrow, as you are aware its school holidays, your first day at school will be the 2
nd
of September, his eyes went to Nathan and Lily,
‘This is crazy ‘said Lily, ‘I don’t live here, I do not want to live here, I don’t want to go to your fucking school, I just want my dad and go home’ she leaned forward in her chair, she showed her teeth,’ now go get my dad’ she demanded. Her outburst took Eileen by shock as she sat opened mouthed, Nathan cowered in his chair, hating his big sister at that particular moment.
In a flash Andy leant over the table, grabbed Lily’s arm and squeezed it, Lily screamed in pain,
‘You bastard’ she screamed, trying to release his hand, however he was far too strong.
‘Do not talk to a man of god in that manner, young lady he told her, he released his grip, Lily rubbed her arm, tears flowed down both cheeks, she just wanted her dad, he would sort it, Andy sat back down,
‘Here are the rules, the husband shall work for his provision, and can you tell me what he does for a living?’
‘He’s a plumber’ answered Eileen,
‘Excellent’ we do so need plumbers, he will be well provided’
‘He has a job in Sheffield’ Eileen could not think of anything else to say,
‘But I’m afraid you do not live in Sheffield now, you live in Underwood, and a fine place it is to’
Eileen shivered at that, Lily was still rubbing her arm, and Nathan sat terrified, they didn’t want to live in Underwood, for Underwood seemed like the place from hell.
‘I will leave you the list of rules, but here are the main ones, the currency in Underwood is vouchers, we do not use money, money has no purpose in Underwood, there are no banks, everyone has a role in Underwood, that’s how you earn your vouchers, no vouchers, no provisions, do you understand?’,
They didn’t but they all nodded anyway, they shuddered to think of the consequences of not understanding, he continued,
‘On their sixteenth birthday all women are to be impregnated, a suitable father will be chosen, they will bear a total of five children’
‘I will not have my children used as a piece of meat’ Eileen shouted, it was the most ridiculous thing she had heard, but somehow the scariest,
‘I won’t do it’ Lily screamed ‘you can’t make me, it’s against the law’
For the first time Andy laughed, he quite liked this girl, she was spunky,
she would make a fine mother and resident,
he thought, ‘that is the law’ he laughed,
‘We will see about that Lily thought’
she always thought her first time would be with someone special, someone she loved, she wouldn’t do it, and she made that decision there and then.
‘We need to build the population of Underwood, particularly women, in order to bear our children’ no woman belongs to any man’ he continued, ‘any man can choose to sleep with whom he desires, however the woman has the right to refuse’
‘And if they refuse’ asked Eileen, not really wanting to know the answer,
‘The punishment shall be chosen by the man whose request she refused’
‘This is some crazy fucked up place
’ thought Eileen,
‘on no account go into the woods, it is strictly forbidden’ the shops do not open on a Sunday, I trust you have provisions for today’ he asked.
‘Yes’ said Eileen, but we have no power’ she really could not believe she was answering his questions, the whole situation felt surreal, she wanted to scream and shout at him, but she dare not, Peter would sort it, Peter sorted everything.
‘Did the caretaker not give you any power?’
‘He wanted sex’ she could not believe she had just said those words but somehow she thought that it would have no bearing on her current position, the vicar did not show no reaction to her words.
Andy put his hand inside his coat pocket, took out a voucher, he handed it to Eileen, she hesitantly took it off him, as if doing so would make her one of them.
‘This one’s free’ he told her, ‘just put it in the meter, next time you need to think about taking him up on his offer’ Eileen shivered ‘should last you a few days’ he added.
The vicar got up, put his clipboard under his arm, he held his hat with the other and started to leave, ‘that will be all for now’
‘What happens if we go into the woods’ Lily asked, already thinking of ways to get out of Underwood, Andy met her eyes, Lily could see the grin on his face, it frightened her and she took a step back.
‘Certain death’ he told her,
He left through the front door, stood at the top of the path, the residents who were out on the streets were few as there were only 8 houses occupied in that close, nevertheless they stopped whatever it was they were doing when they saw the vicar, Andy stroked his chin, ‘
must get home for a shave’
he told himself, and that’s what the vicar of Underwood did.
Peter paced his cell, in the prison that he had been impounded in, for wanting to protect his wife and children, it all seemed a bit like a dream, or rather a nightmare that he could not wake from, and in his nightmare he had stepped into a horror movie and become a bit part actor, but no matter how hard he tried he could not wake from that dream, he just wanted to get out so he could start to make things right again, he was startled by the door opening again, and it made him take a step back, he thought the sheriff had come back, maybe to torture him, to kill him, he would fight him, fight to the death if he had to.
He was pleased when he saw the bartender there, he wasn’t sure why that pleased him, he just seemed less threatening then the sheriff, and he had come across more friendly that anyone else he had met, but he was still a resident of Underwood, a place where no one could leave, maybe the guy in front of him could give him some answers.
Craig opened the letter box flap in the cell door and passed Peter a sandwich and a bottle of water
‘thought you might need these’ he told him, he had a forced smile on his face, he had a look of a man who didn’t want to be there, Peter recognised the look and suspected his own face told the same.
Peter took the sandwich and water, he nodded his thanks, Craig sat on the chair, Peter took a bite out of his ham sandwich, it was surprisingly good, and neither man spoke for a while, he sipped the water as if he hadn’t drunk for a day and for some surreal moment Peter regarded it as a dying man’s last meal, he coughed as he swallowed the water, and the only thoughts he could think of was ‘
I’ll go down fighting’
‘What is this place’ Peter asked from inside his cell,
‘It used to be public toilets, still got a bit of a pissy smell about it’ answered the bar tender,
‘I mean this place, Underwood’ what is it’,
Craig knew what he meant, he was trying to avoid the question, because he wasn’t sure what answer to give, it had been a long time since they had new residents, he particularly didn’t want any new residents, he hated meeting new people just to watch them go downhill and perish, he swore he would never get close to new residents again, he chose his words carefully.
‘If you’re male and live by the rules, it’s a fine place to live’, as he said it he realised he had not chosen them that carefully, he chastised himself and looked away so as not to catch Peter’s eyes.
Two things stood out to Peter in what he had just heard “live” and “male”, he shivered not for the first time that day, probably not for the last.
‘And if your female’ asked Peter,
Craig wished he hadn’t come here now, he licked his lips, wishing he had brought himself some water, he shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, Peter offered him his drink through the hatch, Craig took it, took a swig and handed it back,
‘It’s not a good place for young women, particularly your daughter’s age’ Craig himself shivered, forever thankful that he had no children, or at least none he could call his own, his memory went back to when he was younger, memories that would not die.
‘They are breeding machines, they are impregnated and the babies are taken away’ he paused ‘well some are taken away’
Peter thought of Lily, his face went white, he had to get out, he had to get to Lily, and Craig noticed his ashen look,
‘How old’s your daughter’
’14, 15 next month’
‘She looks older’
‘That’s her age’
‘Then providing the vicar believes that she will be okay until she’s 16’ he spat out the words as if cursing them.
Somehow that brought a little comfort to Peter, but that comfort just compounded the situation he had found himself in, there was no way he was going to be in Underwood for that length of time, to even think of it seemed ridiculous.
‘What happens to the babies’ he asked, not really wanting to know the answer,
Craig shrugged again, unsure why he was telling him all this, he felt uncomfortable in doing so, it wasn’t his job, he was just the barman, ‘some you see about, some you never see around’ he told Peter.