Part 13: Papa goan get ya!

13.1

Davey felt that Solomon was taking an age to decide where they were going to head first for Deborah, but he knew the King well enough to know that his expression meant he was deep in thought and would not appreciate being disturbed.

An eternity seemed to pass.

‘Well what do you think, Davey lad?’

Davey shrugged. ‘I don’t think she’s gone to the Freelands. Someone beat me that bad I’d head in the opposite direction.’

‘Ah, I’m not sure. She’s a tough one.’

‘Yes, but she was on the edge. He had the jump on her. She’ll have been in utter shock when she realised that Wayne had a twin. She’ll have been scared, confused and alone.’

Solomon considered it a second. Nodded.

‘Aye, you’re right, lad. So that leaves that way.’ Solomon pointed off towards the dense woods on the other side of Serenity’s fences. ‘Or that way,’ his blood- and ash-smeared finger jabbed in the direction of the river.

Solomon furrowed his brow deeply. ‘Sorry to be making such a fucking meal of this, Davey lad, but this could be the difference between seeing her again and not.’

Davey nodded.

‘I think she’ll have gone through the woods, it’s more cover for her to hide,’ Davey said.

‘A fair point, but I think we’re best off headed the other way. I know where I’m going around that way.’

Solomon gave a firm nod of the head that indicated he’d hear nothing more on the matter.

Davey felt they were headed in the wrong direction, but figured the King probably did know best.

They headed off along the river bank, in the opposite direction to that in which Davey, Tia and Luna had gone on their fishing trip.

Davey thought to warn Solomon not to stray too close to the water, but he seemed instinctively to know. He gave the swirling dark waters a very wide berth.

‘Dark as shit round here,’ Solomon said.

They were headed away from the flames of their beloved Freelands.

The city lay far away to their right, the river to their left.

The odd light shone in the windows of the tower blocks, but it was a surprisingly small number.

‘Dark and cold out here,’ King Solomon said. ‘First time I’ve been out of the Freelands in a long time. Forgot how fucking big this world seems when you’re out on your own.’

‘You’re not on your own,’ Davey grinned up at him.

‘Of course not, Davey lad.’ He squeezed an arm round Davey’s shoulders tight enough to make his spine creak. ‘And, barring my beloved daughter, Tia, there’s no one I’d rather be with.’

He playfully noogied Davey who fought hard to keep his arm away but it was like the King’s limbs were hewn from iron.

‘Hey, you’re getting stronger, Davey lad,’ the King beamed.

Davey laughed.

Solomon let him go, bellowing laughter, but the startled look on Davey’s face made him stop in a hurry.

‘What’s the matter, I didn’t hurt you, did I?’

Davey shook his head, held a finger to his lips. The King’s boisterous bellow was loud enough to wake the dead, and, inevitably, he’d attracted some attention.

Davey pointed off to his left.

The King nodded.

Raised his gun.

Crouched, his good eye squinted in a vain attempt to penetrate the darkness.

‘Dark as shit out here,’ Davey was certain he heard him mutter again. ‘Where are they, Davey lad? Can’t see a fucking thing.’

Davey shook his head.

‘I just heard something,’ he said.

Solomon nodded, his eye glued to the scene behind him.

‘Well if there is someone they’re on the fucking sneak,’ he said. ‘Come on let’s get a move on.’

*

They walked for miles along the edge of the river.

Solomon was glancing down at the ground, looking for tracks in the mud.

‘I’m getting the impression that she’s not come this way,’ Solomon said, frowning.

The sound of footsteps kept coming from somewhere behind them in the darkness, but it was impossible to tell where they were coming from.

They didn’t seem to be coming any closer, just following them.

It was creepy as shit.

‘Don’t like this, one bit, Davey lad,’ Solomon said, eyes squinting into the darkness yet again.

Again it was a pointless exercise.

‘What the fuck are you doing hiding in there?’ Solomon finally bellowed as the dam of his anger broke. ‘If you’re tailing us just come out and fight already.’

The silence that followed his diminished echoes brought shivers to their spines.

‘Fuck’s sake,’ Solomon said.

Davey grabbed his arm before he charged headlong into the darkness.

‘I hate this,’ Solomon said.

‘What?’ Davey said, startled.

He wasn’t certain, but he was sure he felt a tear fall from the King’s eye.

‘This. Creeping through the darkness. We have no fucking idea where we’re going. The Freelands are ablaze. And I’ve never felt so frightened in all of my life.’

Davey was startled to see the King so upset. He’d only seen him cry once, and that was when he’d been justifying the abattoirs housed in his warehouses to Davey.

Again, Davey took a second to ponder the weight upon the King’s broad shoulders. And again it humbled him; just the thought of the burden the King carried with him every second of every day was enough to make his knees creak beneath the weight.

So Davey did what came naturally to him.

He threw an arm around the King’s neck and pulled him in tight.

‘Snap out of it, you big soft shite,’ he said, scrubbing the King’s forehead enthusiastically with a gnarled knuckle.

The King was momentarily baffled, then began to roar laughter.

‘You’ve got a way with words, Davey lad,’ he grinned, tears rolling down from his good eye. ‘I’m glad I met you.’

‘I’m glad I met you too, big fella,’ Davey said. ‘And it’s my dad’s old expression. From before.’

It was Davey’s turn to have his eyes fill up. A sudden feeling of longing hit him like a punch to the gut.

Still can’t get over losing them, he thought with a grimace. He tried to hide his tears from the King, as he didn’t want to upset him further. Hard to be the one doing the cheering up if you were crying yourself.

‘You crying too, ya big soft shite?’ the King beamed.

‘I just miss him. All of them.’

The King nodded, big tears plopping onto Davey’s shoulder. ‘You’ll never stop missing them. And it’ll never stop hurting. But it will get a little further away each day.’

‘I know.’

‘We’re each other’s family now, Davey lad. We gotta keep going, for each other. Cos we’re all each other’s fucking got right now.’

Davey nodded.

It was horrific seeing the King so broken – especially when he appeared so strong in front of everyone else.

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But in a way Davey felt lucky to see him like this – as pretty much no one else would ever have seen him. It felt like there was a special bond between the two of them.

‘I love you,’ he said, throwing his arms around the King.

‘I love you too, Davey lad. Like a son.’ Solomon sobbed. ‘Like a goddamned son.’

Their show of affection had led them to drop their guards and for a few moments they were both embarrassed to have left themselves open like that, but the hidden watcher still didn’t come out from their hiding place.

This they found arguably even more terrifying.

‘So, Davey lad… what say you to getting the fuck outta here?’ Solomon said.

Davey laughed and nodded.

*

They walked for hours through the darkness before the sun rose.

The first rays of the sun brought with them a slight increase in warmth, but it was still freezing. Their breath steamed in front of their faces.

The light was enough to reveal that whoever had been following them had gone, although there were footprints leading back towards Serenity.

‘We could follow them,’ Solomon said, ‘But then we’d be even further away from whatever we’re headed towards.’

Davey shook his head.

‘They’re gone. That’s all we need to know for now.’

The ruins of an old brick building lay off to the left, looking for all the world like a large scale Lego model that had never been finished; fragments of brickwork scattered among the greyed-out grass beneath it.

It was a stark start to the day.

They longed for the warmth and familiarity of the Freelands, but knew that it was long behind them, both in terms of time and distance.

There was no going back.

A fresh start was on the cards now.

They trudged on until they reached a small stand of trees.

Instinctively, they found their legs pulled them towards the trees, as though craving cover.

The city was gradually growing closer on their right. Off to the left, where the trees were, was the unknown.

‘Chills the blood, doesn’t it, Davey lad?’ Solomon said, nodding his head in the direction of the city.

Davey furrowed his brow slightly.

‘Such a cold, lonely looking place. People separated off from each other and living their lonely lives. That’s the exact opposite of what I wanted to do. I wanted to bring people together. Bring love and laughter back into the world.’

‘You did,’ Davey smiled sadly. ‘And you still do.’

Solomon nodded. ‘Say, we’re getting awfully wistful here, Davey lad.’

Davey nodded.

‘Must be the lack of sleep,’ Solomon said. ‘I never did do well without it.’

‘We could always find somewhere to sleep.’

‘I’d love to, but I think we’re too out in the open here.’

‘I think we’re good.’ Davey argued. ‘That building looks perfect for a shelter.’

Solomon looked around carefully.

There didn’t seem to be anyone – or anything for that matter – around for miles.

‘Fuck it. Rock scissor paper for who goes first?’

Again something so simple was like a hammer blow to the chest for Davey. His older sister, Gracie, had used to do this all the time with him.

He pushed the feelings away and put his fist out.

*

Davey won – best of three, of course, the only way to play, Solomon insisted. Davey laughed because this was how his sister had always insisted the game be played too.

Then he cried a little at the thought.

He laid down on the cold floor, Solomon’s robe big enough to use as a blanket, pillow and mattress.

Solomon sat, rifle in hand, eyeing the horizon through his scope.

Davey got that weird feeling of being wired, despite being absolutely exhausted. He doubted he’d get to sleep, in spite of how tired he was.

*

Then the next thing he knew, King Solomon was shaking him awake.

‘You’ve had three hours, Davey lad,’ he said. ‘I’d have given you longer but I’m falling asleep myself and don’t want to endanger you.’

Davey gawped, wide-eyed. It seemed to him that mere seconds had passed since he’d closed his eyes.

He pulled himself to his feet and took the rifle from the King. He propped himself up on the wall, positioning a sharp chunk of masonry between his shoulders to keep himself uncomfortable enough to stay awake.

‘Don’t let me have too long,’ the King said. ‘Two hours will be enough.’

Within seconds, he was snoring, leaving Davey alone with his thoughts.

*

Davey savoured the peace and quiet – once he’d gotten used to blotting out the King’s immense snores that seemed capable of rattling some of the masonry loose.

He looked around with the scope, trying to see signs that Deborah could have come through this way before them. He saw no signs that anyone had been round here in an age.

The other side of the small copse of trees seemed to be more trees.

And he was sure he saw buildings, or at least fragments of buildings.

When the time came, he woke the King.

The way the King woke up never failed to amuse him; all wide-eyed and confused, a mouth full of vowels tumbling from his lips.

‘It’s been just over two hours.’

‘Ah thank you,’ Solomon said, rubbing his good eye.

‘While you were asleep, I had a look around. I saw more trees over there and I think I saw buildings too. I can’t see any sign of her, or anyone else for that matter.’

‘Me neither. And while I was resting I came to a realisation. I don’t think she came this way. I think we’ve got a needle in a haystack shituation here, my lad.’

‘So what do we do?’

‘Instead of wasting valuable clock ticks and heartbeats, we go to our Plan B, Davey lad.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Remember those nights by the campfires, when the songs and explosions fell silent and the Steamers began their steamtalk?’

Davey smiled sadly. ‘One of my favourite things ever, before or after.’

‘Mine too, lad. Mine too. Well, as much as I lived in the moment, we always had a saying in the Freelands. Can you remember it?’

‘Life sucks and then you die. So suck some steam in by the fire?’ Davey guessed.

Solomon smiled wistfully. ‘Those were the days, Davey lad. Those were the fucking days. But no, one of our other sayings was, “In times of peace prepare for war.”’

‘Ah yes.’

‘So, as out of our minds as most of us were in the Freelands, we all had one goal in mind. Should the Freelands ever fall, we would ensure as many of us as possible got out. We agreed those lucky enough to be spared head into the City and meet up with other clouds. Then we’d wage war on our enemies.’

‘So we come back for Cross with reinforcements?’

Solomon shook his head. ‘Cross can wait. I have a feeling Deborah will not rest until he’s gone the way of his twin. If not, the mad bastard will probably end up blowing himself up anyway. We go for the fat man.’

Davey gulped at the realisation of what Solomon was intending.

‘We go for Craven.’