“To the house” Lara commanded.
“Wait” Wren pleaded. “You are…. You are like us!”
Intrigued and interest piqued, Lara raised an eyebrow “go on…”
“Watch” Wren whispered as she placed her palms out over Archie’s mangled leg. Wren’s eyes began to glow a luminescent green, as healing pulses of light washed outwards over his shin and calf muscle.
Archie groaned as his bones reformed, muscle fibres and skin began to stitch back together. Within seconds the wound had healed, leaving behind only a thin scar.
Lara was gobsmacked, healing… This really was a miracle and it felt like destiny that their paths had crossed. Her thoughts were broken at the hum of approaching helicopters. The gunfire would have been heard and reported, they had to hide.
“Follow me” Lara commanded once more, turning and gently jogging towards the house. Archie and Wren followed closely behind. Archie tentatively tested out his leg and eventually built confidence that it was as good as new… if anything, it felt better as if previous injuries and sprains had been fixed too.
The doors and windows were covered with thick plated shutters that had been activated during the chaos. Lara made her way around the edge of the house and into the back garden, where Bob and Maureen waited.
“Seems like you both have some stories to tell” Bob said casually, looking between Lara and Wren, the rifle placed over his shoulder.
Maureen was further down the garden, unlocking their shed door. Before Archie could ask why, the door opened and Maureen made her way inside.
“Hurry up” she called out as her cane gently rapped across the wooden floor.
“Right-oh, let’s go” Bob said, briskly walking towards the shed with Lara and Wren in tow.
“Guess we’re all going to go hang out in a shed then…” Archie said, seemingly to himself. He yelped and ran after them, realising he was dawdling and they were walking at pace.
“Oh… wow” Archie gasped as he rounded the corner to see the top of Wren’s head slowly descending down a narrow staircase, Bob stood calmly to the side of a trap door that was topped with worn floorboards.
“We er…. We have some secrets of our own” Bob said shyly, a wry smile crossing his face.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
As the hum of helicopters grew louder, Archie found a spring in his step as he shuffled through the shed and down the stairs. Bob was close behind, closing the trap door shut and bolting it in place from the inside, turning a thick steel wheel at the base of the door.
They walked through the dimly lit concrete corridor in silence. Archie was unsure quite how Bob managed to fit down here at all.
Reaching the end, he turned left and made his way into a small underground office. One side was filled with an old, oak desk with multiple monitors across the wall, hooked up to CCTV cameras hidden around the campsite; alongside some electronic equipment and something that looked like an old radio. The other side of the room had a dark green Metal cabinet that Bob walked towards.
As Bob opened the door, Archie saw that the cabinet housed multiple rifles and ammunition. Neatly organised with enough to arm a small unit. Bob walked back towards the tunnel and shut the door. Bolting it shut and taping the frame with thick black masking tape, ensuring no light would escape the room they were in. He flicked a switch and turned to Archie, raising his eyebrows “the light in the tunnel, it turns it off”.
“Anyway… through there, slowpoke” he warmly said to Archie, pointing to a small white door on the other side of the room. Archie had been standing, gawping at their hidden little room for too long. He was not prepared for what he saw next.
The door opened up to a large underground bunker, a secret sanctuary that gently hummed, hidden deep beneath the campsite. The concrete walls were painted off-white whilst the floor was a highly polished grey. LED lights around the top of the walls lit the space well.
Archie’s eyes glanced beyond Wren, Maureen and Lara to take in the scene. The far corner held five sets of bunk beds made of dark metal, stacked neatly, adorning crisply pressed white linen sheets. Across from the beds a small area with casual seating a large wall-mounted TV and a media cabinet filled with games, dvds and consoles that promised endless hours of entertainment.
Spanning one of the walls was a long shelving unit, filled with books, both old and new, as well as cabinets waiting to be unlocked. They eventually stopped to make space for a small fitness area with Squat rack, weights, rowing machine and treadmill. Finally as his eyes finished tracing the four corners of the room, Archie saw a compact cooking area that glimmered with stainless steel. An induction cooking top, microwave, cabinets filled with long-lasting food and an oversized freezer was tightly tucked into the corner. This was no ordinary bunker, it had been built and meticulously thought through by professionals, not amateur survivalists.
Archie’s internal monologue was abruptly interrupted as a warm paw gently patted his shoulder. “Come, let’s talk” Bob said, pointing to the large oak table that sat at the centre of their concrete haven.
At the head of the table, Maureen sat down and gently rolled her cane into an oak groove that naturally held it in place beside her. Bob took a seat to her right, with Lara taking her place beside him. Maureen gently patted the left side of the table, beckoning Wren and Archie to sit with them.
Sensing no danger, Wren quite literally ‘plonked’ herself next to Maureen, her lightly dyed hair dancing at the sudden motion. A faint, wrinkled smile broke Maureen’s gaze. Taking his seat next to Wren, Archie sat down in a much more apprehensive manner.
Breaking the silence between them, Maureen took the lead. “I suggest that we adopt a policy of strict and uncompromising honesty”, inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes “and I will start”.