14.12

Simon’s legs betrayed him.

In the dark it was hard to see where the attack had come from.

Cross instinctively went for his gun, as did Preacher Kelly.

‘Lay down your arms, Godless ones,’ a familiar voice said from the darkness.

‘It’s me, Reverend Cross. I have Preacher Kelly with me.’

‘Oh Reverend, please forgive me,’ said Brad Williams, the member of the Congregation that Cross had left in charge of guarding Serenity. ‘I thought you were more of King Solomon’s men.’

They helped Cross to his feet and moved into the main living quarters where the light was better.

‘Did you send the heathen king to the pits of Hell?’ Brad asked, his face eager for the good news.

Cross shook his head sadly. ‘No, but the Freelands have been doused in the flames of redemption. We killed many more than we lost to the heathens. God has spoken to me and said that the King’s time on earth is short.’

‘Thank the Lord you made it back safely,’ Brad said. He pulled both men in for a bearhug. When they released they all made the sign of the cross in the air and shared a brief prayer for all their fallen.

‘We are not completely unscathed,’ Cross said, indicating his blown off arm. ‘But the good Lord has seen fit to allow us to return home.’

‘I’m so sorry, Reverend, there were too many of them for us to stop them. I fear they may have destroyed our beautiful village,’ Brad said, his head bowed in shame. ‘We fought valiantly but we were vastly outnumbered.’

‘Worry not, my child,’ Cross said, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. ‘We have taken many heathen scalps. Are there any other survivors?’

Tears ran down Brad’s cheeks. He sniffed hard. ‘I think it’s just me,’ he sobbed.

Cross again laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘Worry not, my child. Our Congregation are sitting by God’s side up in the heavens.’

This thought seemed to give Brad comfort.

‘Let us eat, get some medicine and gather our strength,’ Cross said. ‘Then we shall search our beautiful village for survivors.’

Cross took a double dose of antibiotics. They ate food from the tinned goods stored in Cross’ hidden pantry.

They rested.

‘Do you know where my troublesome wife has gotten to?’ Cross said.

Brad shook his head. His face was ashen. ‘Reverend, I apologise for allowing her to escape Serenity.’

Cross nodded upon hearing the apology, but his sullen silence made it clear he wasn’t happy.

‘She was being guarded, but she got out of there somehow. Someone came to let her out, it seems.’

Cross said nothing.

‘Some of the sentries reported seeing fires in the forest to the north.’

‘That sounds like it could be her. She has a way of causing problems, that one. But it is a problem for the future. For now, let’s see if any of our congregation have survived the heathens’ onslaught.’

They began to search the tunnels beneath the church.

The rabbit’s warren of tunnels was like home to Cross. Some of the tunnels had already been here when he’d taken over the village, but he had helped extend and expand the network. He could have found his way round them blindfolded.

There didn’t seem to be any bodies of Grims down here. It was well concealed – even Deborah hadn’t known some of the tunnels existed – but a handful of the villagers knew about it. Preacher Kelly and Brad were two of the Congregation respected enough to be in on the secret.

Thick smears of blood left a trail along a side tunnel that led to one of the villagers’ houses.

‘That’s Widow Riley’s house, if I’m not mistaken,’ Cross said.

Preacher Kelly thought about it for a moment. ‘Yes that’s correct, Reverend.’

They followed the blood into one of the side rooms that the Cross brothers had used to cut the devil out of their Congregation.

Stolen novel; please report.

There they found half a dozen villagers, a pair of terrified children among them, cowering in the corner. The body of one of the male villagers was there, his stomach chewed up away by dozens of bloody knife wounds.

Cross moved in to comfort them. ‘God has kept you safe,’ he said. ‘That is enough for now.’

They continued their exploration of the tunnels.

Cross found his eyes had just got used to the gloom when he saw a pale shape moving in the shadows to his right.

Parts of the tunnel had little alcoves dug into the walls. The intention had been to create more of these and add decorative crosses and shrines as a place to pray when down here, but there hadn’t been time.

This particular alcove did have a gleaming cross in place.

Cross made the sign of the cross as he approached.

As he neared, he noticed a flash of movement and a pale, distorted figure flung itself at him.

He had time to react, barely, and managed to shove away the blade that the nightmare figure held.

He gave a hard barge of his shoulder and sent the horrific creature flying into the wall.

It let out a muffled cry.

Idly, he pondered what this terrifying apparition was; it was certainly no Grim.

It looked as though it had crawled out of the bowels of Hell.

It came again, furious in its assault. The blade sought his gut.

He managed to parry it down with a hard forearm smash.

The figure let out a frustrated cry, but its voice was faint, almost strangulated.

Up close, he got a better look at it. Its skin was melted away. Its mouth seemed to be stuck together in a misshapen lipless grin. Its nose was just mere holes in its face. There was a little nub of flesh over each of its eyes. Cross felt certain it would haunt his nightmares until the end of his days.

With a gasp of realisation his mind began to reveal the figure’s identity to him… but then the time for thought was gone as it again came for him.

The blade glinted as it came down towards his throat in a backhand slash. He caught the arm at the elbow and again shoulder barged hard.

The figure’s back hit the wall and the air left it in a pained cry. The sound was as nightmarish as the figure’s appearance.

Cross twisted hard, pulling the knife from the thing’s distorted hand.

It let out a cry of frustration.

‘I shall cleanse your soul, O Godless one,’ he said and plunged the knife deep into the figure’s stomach.

While the figure’s hands clasped at the wound, he stabbed it again and again. The warmth of the blood on his hand made him realise he was winning this war against the forces of darkness.

He kept stabbing the pale apparition until it fell onto its side and fell still.

He stood, panting, over the figure.

‘Ellie,’ he explained to Preacher Kelly who had rushed to help him. ‘She was Edward Maughan’s lover. We tried to cleanse her soul before we left for the Freelands but she was obviously beyond redemption.’

‘Ah yes, of course, Reverend,’ Preacher Kelly nodded.

They found more of their kin down in the tunnels.

‘Dear guardians of Serenity,’ Cross said, to his gathered crowd. ‘The forces of darkness have tried to destroy our beautiful community, but God has willed that Serenity should stay. Will you fight with me once more and help to reclaim our home?’

The answer was an emphatic yes.

What remained of Serenity’s Congregation were strong. More guardians than expected had returned from the Freelands. A decent number had been hiding out in the tunnels beneath Serenity.

They searched every inch of their village and exterminated the Grims who had tried to hide.

‘We must rebuild,’ Cross spat, as he placed his foot upon the chest of the final Grim they had found. The Grim groaned as Cross’ weight compressed his lungs.

Cross’ shot took off the top of his head in a hail of blood.

‘We must fortify these walls once more.’

Brad Williams turned to him, his face ashen.

‘I think we need to get out of here, Reverend.’

‘Nonsense, Preacher Williams. What has gotten you so rattled?’

Brad held his rifle scope to Cross’ eye.

Cross gasped as he saw that the horde of cattle released from the Freelands was headed straight for Serenity.

‘We must stand strong. We must defend our village,’ Cross said.

‘Reverend, I fear we have unsurmountable odds stacked against us,’ Brad said, eyes bulging at the sight of the advancing horde.

‘We need to get outta here. Right now,’ Joe Richards agreed.

‘You will stay and defend your community,’ Cross said, raising his shotgun and aiming it in Brad’s face. ‘Or I shall send you to the gates of Hell.’

Brad inhaled hard and closed his eyes.

‘You’d have to kill me too,’ Joe Richards said. ‘Cos it’s suicide waiting around for those things to get here.’

‘And me,’ said Tom Murphy.

The rest of the Congregation piped up their agreement, one by one.

Only Preacher Kelly remained silent.

‘And what do you think, Preacher Kelly?’

‘You know how deeply I admire you, Reverend, but I feel the Congregation is right. We’d have a much better chance of surviving if we venture outside these walls.’

‘Well, is this the thanks I get?’ Cross spat. ‘For saving this village from the bombs? If it wasn’t for me this place would have been ashes many years ago. You’d all have perished without me. Preacher Kelly, I saved you from that pervert priest back when God first saw fit for our paths to cross. Does that mean nothing to you?’

‘We are grateful, Reverend Cross,’ Preacher Kelly said. ‘I most of all.’

‘Of course we are, Reverend,’ Tom Murphy said.

‘But we can’t wait here to die like rats in a trap,’ Brad Williams said. He looked around the assembled group of survivors. ‘We are leaving Serenity now. You are welcome to join us, if you like. Or you can stay here in Serenity and die alone.’

Cross glared at Brad but slowly lowered his weapon.

‘It’s your choice, Reverend,’ Brad began. ‘I would love to have you join us. We will gather what we need then we are hitting the road. You have five minutes to make up your mind.’