‘I’m not letting you go,’ Ben said through gritted teeth. His body tensed.
Edward was acting like the last man standing in a bar, too stubborn to drink up and leave with the others as staff turned stools upside down on tables and began switching the lights off. As the two men grappled with each other, they heard a car racing towards them. They all looked, wondering if it was help.
The car stopped around a hundred yards from them. The passenger door opened, the full lights causing them discomfort. Something landed on the floor with a thump. The car door closed and the lights moved backwards out of view.
Ben, Laura, Milly, Stephen and Edward all stood motionless. They were unable to speak as they stared into the darkness.
Ben broke the silence. ‘I guess it isn’t Amazon.’
‘What do you think he dropped?’ Edward asked.
‘I doubt it’s food,’ Ben said. ‘I’ll go and check it out. Stephen, can you come with me? Edward, wait here with Laura and the rest.’
For once, Edward listened.
Ben led the way, pointing the light from the torch towards the ground. Stephen followed close behind. As they walked closer to the object lying on the road, Ben turned, shining the torch towards the passengers. On Laura’s face he could see the anticipation. He turned, looking at Stephen. ‘This isn’t good.’
Stephen didn’t need to say anything. The fear had struck him mute.
‘Stay calm, compose yourself,’ Ben instructed.
As they got nearer to the large shape, the two men braced themselves; the apprehension was rife. Ben could hear muttering from behind him as the gravel crunched under his shoes. The road was uneven, like it hadn’t been finished and he could feel the large holes as he stepped.
Laura called out, ‘Be careful.’
Ben obeyed without responding. His mind was focused. He needed to deal with this.
They were now standing over the object. The first thing Ben saw were the shoes. The person was lying on their side. He scanned the light over the jeans, a jumper. Ben crouched. He gasped at seeing the remains of the person’s head. The image would haunt him and Stephen for the rest of their lives. They could tell from the clothes it was Andrew. But half his head was missing. A large, gaping hole left the insides on display like a presentation in a freak show.
Ben looked towards Stephen. ‘The bastard must have shot him as he drove away. He was waiting out here, watching as he attempted to escape. To do this type of damage, I’d say he was standing pretty close. We can’t let the others see this. It’s something they’ll never forget.’ Ben turned, looking into the fields and wondering whether the caller could see them now. The hairs stood on his arms, prickly pimples covering his skin as he watched for a shadow in the darkness. ‘This is what’s going to happen if we try to escape.’
Stephen turned. ‘We’re never going to leave, are we?’ He burst into sheer panic, sliding his hand down his face, pulling his mouth downward. He grabbed a fistful of hair and ripped his head back.
Ben moved forward, held Stephen tightly, clasping him around the shoulders. ‘We’ll get through this. We need to follow the guy’s instructions.’
Stephen pointed to the body on the ground. ‘Look, for Christ’s sake. I’ve never seen anything like this. Look at his head.’ Stephen turned, crouching, holding his mouth, and then vomited on the side of the road. Once, he’d finished, he stood, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. ‘How the fuck are we going to get out of here? A person capable of this won’t think twice about finishing the rest of us. I have to take my chances. I have to cut loose.’
Ben shook Stephen to try and make him see sense. ‘You leave now, and this is how it ends for you. Is that what you want? To finish up like this? You’re young. You have your life ahead of you. You can be anything you want to be. Are you listening?’
Stephen broke down, crying hysterically. Ben held him until the panic had passed, then he knelt beside the body, turning Andrew onto his front, face down. He shone the torch towards his head. The hole was so deep that the head looked as if it could come away from the body at any second.
‘We can’t leave him here. If we move the body and place him on the coach, there’ll be hysteria that we can’t control. The less people know about this, the better, for everyone’s sake. Here, hold his legs,’ Ben ordered.
Stephen froze. ‘I can’t.’
‘Yes, you can. We need to lie him in the field. If we survive, we’ll get him a proper burial. Until then, we need to keep the others safe.’
Stephen summoned all the strength he had, fighting with the terror that attacked his body. He knelt beside Andrew, pushing out a sharp breath, an intense groan released from deep within his frame. ‘I can’t do this.’
‘Stephen, watch me. Look into my eyes. Lift on three. Keep looking at my face, okay?’
‘Okay.’
Ben and Stephen carried Andrew off the road and placed his body on the grass. Ben knelt, saying a prayer while Stephen clasped his hands together with his head down. They were silent; the two men had witnessed an atrocity they’d take to their graves. Once they’d paid their respects, they joined the others.
‘We’re keeping it quiet. No one finds out, okay.’ Ben was talking more to Edward than Laura and Milly. Edward nodded. The older man was shaken, and he finally seemed to be taking the situation seriously.
‘What kind of animal are we dealing with here?’ Edward asked.
The question was too obvious to warrant an answer from the other four.
‘We stay on the coach, together. There’s safety in numbers.’ Ben looked towards Edward. ‘You need to sit back with your wife. I don’t need to explain the consequences.’
Edward climbed the stairs to the coach and joined Mary.
Laura, Milly, Stephen and Ben followed close behind.
‘How’s everyone doing?’ Ben called from the front. He placed the phone on the dashboard and shone the torch along the coach, watching the passengers. Milly was now standing in the aisle. He regretted that his daughter had seen the body being dumped on the road. The only saving grace was that she hadn’t seen the damage. She was young, delicate. He wanted to shield her from all of this. He moved along the coach.
‘Hon, are you okay?’ Ben asked.
Milly slowly moved towards him. ‘I’ve had better days.’
He reached out and held his daughter tightly. ‘I’m so very proud of you. You know that?’
‘Likewise, Dad.’
‘I’ll keep watch from the front. You and Mum keep an eye towards the back of the coach. If you see anything, let me know. This guy is a psychopath, Milly; I think it’s only the beginning.’
Suddenly the phone rang. Concern seeped from every pore of every person on the coach.
Ben swung around, looking away from Milly. He briefly turned back, clocking his wife and daughter who had moved close together. He swept his right hand in a downwards action, bouncing it as if gently calling for calm.
The phone was on the dashboard. They knew who it was.
Ben stepped forward. Again, he felt the hairs rising on his arms, a multitude of strands standing, preparing. He pressed the loudspeaker button and listened.
‘How did you like your present?’