It didn’t take long for the group to make their way through the tree line and up to the side of the large, modern brick house. It was adjacent to the larger, older home at the estate and must have been an in-century addition to the grounds. Almost as big as the primary estate, it seemed to be decorated to a much more modern interior and standard than other stately homes.
One by one the team moved towards the east facing wall. Crouching under the window nearest to them. Lara was thankful this side was paved, as opposed to the gravel that gave her away on her first visit to Spains halls.
Archie and Wren felt sick with nerves, colour slightly drained from their face. Lara wore a determined steely look and Bob, whilst more focussed than usual, was as relaxed as ever.
With three of them huddled under the window, Wren watched from her nearby hiding place, nestled between three overgrown fern bushes. Bob had ordered her to stay there and keep watch, only to enter if they called on the radio for healing or support. Any sign of danger or the return of Vasquez she was to radio in and warn the others. From her position she could see into a large kitchen window and at the same time, keep watch on the two entry points into the estate, one from the west and one from the North. The gravel driveways also meant she would most likely hear any vehicles before she spotted them. An easy job, she was thankful.
Bob waved towards Archie, beckoning him to crawl closer. He whispered softly ‘Listen… carefully’.
'It sounds like a soft tapping, no particular order to it, or rhythm’
'I think it’s someone having breakfast, probably in there’ Bob whispered so faintly that Lara couldn’t make out his words, but his motions painted the picture, her hands clenched into fists.
Archie was now to stay in position, under the large window whilst Bob and Lara made their way around the perimeter of the house in opposite directions. Aiming to pick up more intelligence. They liked Archie and Wren, thinking of them as part of their tight little survivalist outfit now but they knew that they couldn’t rely on them in these types of situations, yet. He and Lara would have to do the majority, for now.
Archie and Wren stared at each other across the 50 meter gap between them. It was painfully quiet. Painful as they had no idea what was happening, but at the same time, grateful that nothing that warranted noise was happening either.
After around twenty minutes, Lara returned, followed by Bob five minutes later. They both nestled closely to Archie and began to whisper.
“I got one, youth in a living room at the north. He’s playing Xbox and is wearing a headset. Other than that, only the person in the room above us.” Bob muttered.
“I had sights on nobody, but heard a hair dryer running in a room above.” Lara responded.
“Right. Given there are two cars on the driveway, we can assume that this is one family staying in the house with perhaps another associate in here, or the main estate. Possible that other vehicles towards the main hall were from the previous owners, but also it could be a sign that it’s housing a few others.”
“What’s the plan then?!” Archie whispered in distress
“Well… I’m pretty sure these people aren’t being held here against their will. So…” Bob trailed off, thinking deeply.
“So… I think…”
“Come on Bob, spit it out” Lara said through clenched teeth
“I think we just knock on the front door and introduce ourselves” Bob said with a smile.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
“What!?” Archie and Lara mouthed in unison.
“Well.. I actually think that you two introduce yourselves. You’re much less threatening than me. Skin and bone and beautiful woman. Much better than a hulking seventy year old that stands over you like an old bear” he chuckled softly. “Now get going. I’ll be listening and watching. I’ll be there at the first sign of any trouble. Trust me.”
“What the hell are we going to say Bob. Hi, me and my wife were just strolling through the private and gated property and thought we’d would pop in for a quick natter?” Archie angrily said in a hushed whisper.
“Good enough. Now get on with it” Bob smiled
Bob knew that the people in the house were not a danger, he’d spotted the man in the kitchen, hunched over a bowl of cereal. It was Christopher Bowen, the current owner of the Spains Halls estate. He’d taken the precautionary action of scouting the perimeter to ensure they were not being held against their will. The boy was his son, Alex and he was assuming the sound of the hairdryer, likely that of Christopher’s wife, Sandra.
The family didn’t know Bob, but he knew them from general research he and Maureen did around their estate and village.
“Ok… ok… ok.” Archie said with five second pauses between each word.
Lara rapped on the door softly using the oversized lion-faced door knocker as gently as she could. Three distinct knocks.
“Archie, just take my lead ok?” Lara said to put him at ease. The poor guy looked like he was about to vomit with nerves.
“Th..thanks” He said with a weary smile.
Meanwhile, Bob was listening. The chair in the kitchen screeched back with a jolt. No wonder, thought Bob. Who the hell would be knocking on the door at eleven in the morning in the world of today.
He then heard Chris stride through the house, heading northwards towards the front door hallway and living room that Alex was playing in. Soon after, they returned. Chris was whispering, although a little too loudly to keep his voice from Bob.
“Stay here son. Don’t move. If you hear anything, hide, or run out the back and into the woods. That special hiding spot I told you about.”
“Ok dad. I’m scared. Who is it?!”
“Just let me and your mum deal with it, probably nobody”
“It wasn’t Mr Vasquez’s special knock”
“I know”
After five minutes of deliberation, Lara knocked again. This time, the door was answered. Archie had noticed a curtain twitching minutes earlier from the living room as prying eyes looked to get a better view than they could through the stained glass windows by the door.
The door was then half opened and a man, likely in his early fifties with mostly grey and some light brown hair of medium length poked his head through the gap. Square framed glasses and clean shaven gave him the appearance of a university professor.
“H-hello.. how can I help you?” He said, worry clear in his voice.
“Ask them what they want” a voice whispered a few paces back from where the man stood. Sandra clutched a knife behind her back.
“Hello Sir” Lara said with a smile, trying to put the man at ease.
“I’m Lara and this is my friend Archie” she continued, beaming and trying to hold eye contact with the man who kept glancing away every few seconds.
“We’ve been going around the local area trying to find people that have been left behind by the government, either those left by accident looking to get to the nearest government run facilities or those that wanted to stay but might need some company or support.”
It sounded well rehearsed and honest. Well it was honest, this is what they had been doing for the last week.
“Oh” the man said, some surprise in his voice as he looked them both up and down as if to survey if what Lara was telling him was true or false.
“We… we are quite self-sufficient here to be honest. We didn’t want to leave our home… but, we are thinking about whether or not we’ve made the right decision.”
“You see. It’s dangerous out here and in the night we’re starting to hear strange creatures from the forest that’s grown about thirty miles west of us.”
“And the Wolfpack, tell her about the Wolfpack” the lady behind him said, now standing behind the man.
“Ah yes. The Wolfpack. There has been talk of a giant pack of wolves, maybe two hundred strong roaming the fields and eating livestock. We heard them once, howling in the night. It was terrifying.”
“We met the Wolfpack on the first night of all of this. It was much smaller then, only five of them. It seems like they may have joined forces with other packs” Lara said
“How are you both alive” The lady gasped, opening the door to their home.
She was tall at six feet, slender frame and similar age to her husband. Short cropped blonde hair and darting green eyes. “Come, come in. Let us make you a drink. I’m Sandra and this is Chris. We have our son, Alex here too”
“Sure, sounds good. Tea would be lovely” Archie said, trying to sound as pleasant and kind as Lara.
“It’s good to meet some other people, to be honest. We’ve had it pretty bad, but we are okay at the minute”
“Sounds like we should swap our war stories” Lara replied
“Perhaps we should” said Chris, with a smile. The first honest smile he’d made in weeks.