The Final Winter

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jess decided Harry was crazy. He had to be. Why else would he suggest bunkering down in the pub and waiting for whatever was outside to get in? He didn’t understand the situation, and perhaps that made sense. Harry hadn’t seen what she and Jerry had seen, hadn’t seen Ben’s young body disintegrate into a billion bloody granules of sand. No one else understood that there was a seven-foot psychopath out there with a film prop from Braveheart.

Jesus, I sound like Jerry. Either way, if I ever see another sword again in my life it will be too soon.

Once Harry was far enough away, Jess turned to Jerry and said, “Are we really going to stay here?”

“You mean batten down the hatches like the kid from Home Alone? That dude under the hood is a demon or a vampire or… something, and if we try to duke it out we’ll end up like Ben for sure.” Jerry ran both hands through his messy hair and sighed. “But what choice do we have?”

It was the first time Jerry had mentioned Ben without welling up. Jess wondered if he was turning an emotional corner. “Maybe Harry’s right,” she admitted, “that we’ll freeze to death out there as soon as we leave, but it isn’t much warmer in here. I just… I don’t like feeling trapped, you know?”

“Me neither.”

“So what do we do?”

Jerry shrugged. “Arnie-up, I guess. Get some weapons and take it to the first thing that comes through the door, From Dusk till Dawn styley.”

“Whatever happens, I don’t think they’ll be using the door.” Jess looked down at Peter who was still sleeping on the sofa. He seemed more peaceful now than before and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. “I think windows are more their style.”

Jerry laughed. “No shit.”

“Well,” Jess put her hands on her hips, “should we get started?”

Jerry nodded and rose up from his knees. Immediately he let out a shudder. “I think before we do anything we need to refuel the fire. I’m freezing, and I think Peter’s turning blue.”

Jess looked down at Peter once more and saw the blue tint at the edge of his lips like a thin line of biro. She started to think that his peacefulness was indeed a bad sign. “I’ll go and check with Harry,” she said. “They’re building a fire downstairs anyway.”

She rose up from her knees and patted Peter on the forehead. His skin was cold.

Over at the other end of the pub, Harry was standing with Lucas who’d come from downstairs to help watch over an unconscious Damien. Jess couldn’t believe what Damien had tried to do to Steph. She knew he was a jerk, but…

I dunno. Something just feels a bit off about the whole situation. Damien is a lot of things, but I never pegged him as a rapist. Still, how much do I know about the guy, really?

“Harry,” she said, approaching him by the bar. “The fire is struggling and we need something to burn.”

Harry nodded and rubbed at his chin. The stubble there made his face seem dirty. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “We’ll get it going again soon with some of the chairs Nigel broke up. I forgot to say earlier that I think I’ll have to leave Damien over there with you and Jerry. The only other option is to put him in the cellar, but with Steph…”

Jess waved a hand. “That’s fine, I understand. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

Harry stared into her eyes. “You sure you’ll be ok?”

“Yeah, course. If he tries anything I’ll whack him with the fire poker or ring the bell. You tied him pretty tight by the looks of things anyway.”

Harry looked down at Damien’s swollen wrists bound behind his back and saw that he had indeed done a good job. “I knew the Boy Scouts would come in handy one day.”

Jess laughed. “I knew there was something outdoorsy about you?”

“No,” said Harry. “That’s just the smell.”

Jess laughed again, this time louder. “You’re in a cheery mood despite everything.”

Harry seemed to stare into space for a moment before making eye contact with her again. “Guess I decided it was time to start taking part.”

Jess didn’t know what he meant. There were a lot of things she didn’t understand tonight. “Taking part in what?” she asked him.

Harry smiled. “Life, I guess. Now, let’s go find you something for that fire.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She took Harry’s free arm as he grabbed a candle from the bar. Lucas nodded to them both as they passed, letting them know he was happy to stay behind and supervise Damien. As the two of them sauntered towards the bar, Jess felt a surreal feeling of safety that made her wonder if she was in some sort of denial about the fear she’d felt only minutes before. It was peculiar, but Harry’s lightened mood made her feel that things might just work out okay.

Jess blinked twice and refocused her mind. Her skin felt tight under the prolonged attack of the cold and the chill felt like razor wire pulled tight around her flesh. She couldn’t wait to get in front of a renewed fire and would get as much paper and firewood as possible before settling in for the night.

Maybe grab a little nap then if Jerry doesn’t mind watching over me.

The fear that had been racing around inside of her for so long had finally exhausted her ability to care, at least for the time being – perhaps while her mind recharged itself. Her emotions were being overridden by her physical needs for sleep and warmth. She shivered and yawned almost simultaneously as if her body wished to reiterate its demands.

Just a couple minutes now and I’ll be nice and warm. Just a couple more minutes…

Jess descended the stairs to the cellar, Harry lighting the way with his candle. At the bottom they entered the cellar and were immediately met by Steph, who seemed to have recovered partially from her ordeal. Old Graham lay on the floor under a blanket, seemingly drunk from the quiet little song he was muttering to himself and the empty beer bottles that surrounded him. At the edges of the room sat Nigel, partially shrouded in shadow from the lack of candlelight reaching him. Kath also sat nearby, but Jess didn’t care to pay attention to that old cow.

Steph took a step towards Jess and Harry and it became obvious that she was still a little shaky. There seemed to be something she needed to say though. “We have a problem,” she said directly to Harry as though Jess were not even there.

Harry’s happy demeanour seemed to sour slightly and it made Jess feel unsafe again. Please no more problems. She thought. Not tonight.

Harry sighed. “Steph, you should be resting. What’s so important that it can’t wait?”

Steph raised an arm behind her and pointed to a makeshift fire in the centre of the room. The steel barrel was half-stuffed with flammable materials from around the pub, mostly cardboard boxes, some cushions, and wooden legs from the chairs upstairs.

Jess knew straight away what Steph was going to tell them and she didn’t want to believe it. She shook her head in despair. “That’s all we could find to burn, isn’t it?”

Steph changed her focus to Jess and nodded solemnly. “The cardboard recycling was done yesterday morning and we’re all out of coal. I was going to buy some from Kath’s supermarket tomorrow to stock up. We have a couple of crisp cartons that went empty today, and some handtowels from the toilets. But even if we burn the tables it won’t be enough for both fires. In fact it’s barely enough for one.”

Jess was still shaking her head as she blurted out, “We’re all going to freeze to death.”