Neil White 3 Book Bundle. Neil White

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       Chapter Thirty-Two

      John scoured the barn with Gemma, looking for ways to make the house more secure.

      Gemma kicked a roll of barbed wire. ‘Can we use this?’

      He nodded. ‘We can wrap it round the grilles, or nail it to the window frames on the inside.’

      ‘What are we defending against?’

      John licked his lips nervously, not knowing how much Gemma knew. ‘The authorities don’t like what we do,’ he said. ‘Henry is worried that they’ll do a raid. We’ve got cannabis here, remember, growing in one of the barns.’

      ‘But we can’t stop that with wire and mesh on the windows.’

      ‘I know, but it will slow them down and give us more time.’

      ‘For what?’

      ‘Just to defend ourselves. Or even get away, if we can hold off until nightfall.’

      Gemma didn’t look satisfied by that. ‘Do you think Henry wants us to be martyrs or something?’

      ‘I don’t know,’ John said, not meeting her gaze, ‘but if we are going to change anything, we have to be prepared for that. It might just be prison, and that will be easy. We’ll be out in less than half, and we’ll be heroes, because we’ll have made a stand. We’re fighting back, but we must be ready for it.’

      ‘It won’t be prison,’ Gemma said.

      ‘How do you mean?’

      She rolled her eyes. ‘Because we don’t recognise their courts, silly. Don’t you remember what Henry said, that their laws only bind us if we agree to it? That’s why we are free.’

      He nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sorry. Henry told me about the Magna Carta thing, that we can carry out lawful rebellion.’

      ‘I don’t understand all the details, because every time Henry explains it, I get lost, but I trust him, because it isn’t just us who feel this way. You’ve just got to remember to give up everything.’

      ‘What, you mean my property?’

      ‘More than that, because you have to give up your legal name. If you are dealing with anyone official, don’t go by the name you used to have, because your birth certificate is just your membership card to their society, and so if you use that name, you accept membership. But this is the clever thing; if you don’t use your given name, you have opted out. If you have no contract with society, they can’t enforce the penalties under the contract.’ She grinned. ‘Clever, don’t you think?’

      ‘It can’t be that simple.’

      ‘It is, I’ve seen it work.’ Gemma started to pull at the coil of wire, an old rag wrapped around her hand to protect it. ‘And like you say, if they try to use force, we will just defend ourselves. It’s exciting, sort of.’

      ‘Gemma?’

      She stopped. ‘Yes?’

      ‘All I want is for us to stay together, that’s all,’ John said. She started to say something in response, but he held up his hand. ‘I know what Henry said, and I know that you won’t be with me exclusively, but whatever time you’ve got spare, if Henry is all right about it, I would like you to share it with me.’

      Gemma grinned and then bit her lip seductively.

      He laughed, she knew how to play him, and went back to rummaging, pulling old pieces of machinery to one side, a bit more skip in his step. At the back, covered in dust, he found some animal traps, with metal hinges and strong serrated jaws. They were dusty, with rust on the edges, and so he wasn’t sure if they worked anymore.

      He set one of the traps, his arms straining as he pulled on the jaws, until he felt it click into place. He found an old bamboo cane against the wall and placed it in the trap. He didn’t have to push hard before the jaws snapped together, sending one end to the floor, leaving him with a piece of bamboo with a jagged end. He liked it. There were six of the traps, and he carried them outside. Three for the field, two on the path that ran in front of the house, leaving one by the back door. It got dark there, with no lights shining at the back, and so whoever was coming wouldn’t find out until the jaws snapped around their ankle. He just had to make sure that everyone knew about them.

      John took a deep breath and looked around to see what else he could use to secure the compound. Then he saw it. The red fuel tank, filled with the petrol they used to run the quad bikes and the old cars that were parked behind the end barn. They bought cheap cars from auction and ran them until they broke down. He could make petrol bombs, because there was a store full of bottles, ready for use with the home brew.

      He went outside to set the traps and then he filled a barrow with empty booze bottles and wheeled them towards the house. When he got inside, he saw that the Elams were already nailing the barbed wire to the windows, following Gemma’s lead, creating a spider’s web across each one, nailing the wire half in and then bending the nail over. Peter wasn’t doing much good. He wasn’t the sort who was used to physical work, and so he bent more nails than he pushed in, but it was the effort he was putting in that John admired.

      Jennifer looked back and grinned. ‘This will keep them out.’

      ‘I hope so, I really do,’ John said, ‘but leave a space in the middle of each one. We’re going to make petrol bombs. If they get the grilles off, we can fight back with those.’

      Jennifer’s eyes widened at that. She liked the thought.

      John pointed to the wheelbarrow by the door and addressed the other young women that were left. ‘Fill those from the fuel tank. Dip a rag in the petrol, get it soaked, and then jam the cloth hard into the neck. I want ten under each window. We’ll work out how to make a catapult, so we can use them when they are further away.’

      As the women scurried off, John went to the cabinet where the old man kept his shotguns. There were three of them, and a box of cartridges. The last firearms licence was a few years old now, due for renewal. John guessed that he wouldn’t be applying for another.

      The cabinet was in the hallway next to the old man’s room. As he pulled out one of the shotguns, there was a moan from the room.

      John pushed open the door, one of the few rooms that had one, the shotgun still in his hand. Henry wanted to keep the old man locked away. As the door creaked open, the old man looked at him. His eyes were yellow, his skin pale grey. He tried to make sounds, but all that came out were strangled moans. His head lifted as if he was making an effort to get up, but he just flopped back onto the bed, his head turned to one side.

      Dawn brushed past him, pushing John into the doorframe. ‘I’m going to feed him, and change him,’ she said, her eyes fierce. ‘Don’t think about stopping me. Henry hasn’t said that we shouldn’t.’

      John didn’t say anything. Instead he just watched as Dawn went to him and lifted a cup to his lips. He drank gratefully, even though he couldn’t lift his arm to grip the cup. As the sheet fell away, John saw the ribs jutting through the skin, through the soiled vest, his shoulders sharp and bony.

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