The Wrath of David Read online

  David briefly wondered if the previous group of refugees might have been brought to this place, or a place just like it. Then he remembered the cold and brutal leader of the hunters back in the woods mentioning something about Glasgow, so they probably weren't. Not that he wanted to care or give a damn; he just wanted to give himself some peace of mind.

  He then noticed three armed Caucasian women patrolling the perimeter of the field, clutching weapons that resembled Uzi submachine guns.

  Behind David, Louise had almost made her way to the top of the hill. David remained silent as she reached the top, breathing heavily and looking utterly exhausted. David continued gazing down at the garage, farm fields and cottages, then farther along the main road to the east, where he noticed a large, overturned stagecoach and half a dozen cars on a bend, making some kind of roadblock

  “Do you know where we are yet?” Louise gasped, out of breath and finally reaching the top of the Munroe.

  “Southwest Scotland,” David replied.

  Louise bent over and placed her hands on her thighs, desperately trying to regain control of her breathing.

  “Scotland,” she gasped. “How do you know for sure?”

  “This road down here is the A75. If we head northeast, it will take us to Dumfries. To the west is Stranraer.”

  Louise straightened her posture. David gave her some time to take in the new views as she continued catching her breath. He watched her eyes narrow as they skimmed over the petrol garage and then the farmland area where the slaves were working in the fields.

  Louise looked taken back, utterly lost for words. She'd heard about some of the things going on in the mainland, of course she had. But hearing about it was one thing. People could exaggerate and dramatise their stories with their own wild imaginations and vivid words. Seeing it with one’s own eyes was a different story altogether. A picture really could paint a thousand words.

  “Jesus Christ,” said Louise, her tone just above a whisper.

  David said nothing.

  “Are those ... are those really people down, working in the fields? Are they slaves?” asked Louise, but she already knew the answer. Again, David said nothing. A reply wasn’t needed.

  “I can't believe this is actually happening,” Louise continued. “I mean, you hear about it, but until you actually see it…”

  “I'd heard rumours about the slave camps and labour fields,” said David, finally breaking his silence. “But I never saw it with my own two eyes. From what I've heard, this is pretty small scale. The biggest ones in Scotland would be in Glasgow, as far as I know. They estimate tens of thousands are enslaved up there and even more elderly and sick have been exterminated already.”

  Both said nothing for a long time, just content to stand and stare at the hopeless scene in front of them. Eventually, David became the first to turn away and move in the direction of the makeshift roadblock in the northeast. He seemed fine to just shrug his shoulders and move on. If he'd been travelling on his own, he would have done exactly that. No questions of himself asked. This wasn't his fight, he continued reassuring himself. He wasn't so sure, though, if Louise would be thinking the same way and keen to follow his lead.

  He debated whether to give her more time to let the reality of the situation sink in. But the girl’s demeanour and general mood told him she wouldn't be making her way anywhere any time soon. Or least not in the direction he'd like. Deep down inside, he knew they would have to part company at some point on this journey, but he'd prefer to do that in a more fitting environment, or a safe and comfortable crossroads if such a thing still existed in the world.

  He decided to test her waters, though.

  “We should keep moving, Louise, at least until we find somewhere more isolated and people free.”

  “But we need to help those people down there, David.” Louise said it like it was the easiest thing to do in the whole wide world. Like she was looking down at a bunch of badly treated sheep holed up with their “Disney-movie no-threat farmer” rather than beaten down and enslaved human beings with dozens of armed, dangerous, bigoted, racist suppressors guarding them.

  “We can't do that, Louise. It would be utter suicide,” David said, trying not to get angry. He had feared this might happen as soon as Louise cottoned on to what was really going on, and his gut feeling had been correct. She was far too reckless and gung-ho when it came to her emotions, like most teenagers who assumed they could change something in the world, no problem, just by taking a sudden interest in it. He felt he'd made the right call, too, by not telling her about the refugee camp back in the woods. If he had, he'd most likely be dead or enslaved himself, and Louise too.

  “But, David, these people are being held against their will. Right in front of us. We have to at least do something, no?”

  “Jesus Christ, Louise,” David finally snapped. “I'm not here to help anyone or take fucking sides in this insane, fucked-up war. I'm here for my own selfish agenda – nothing more, nothing less.”

  Louise turned to face David with her own determined, steely gaze. It was a side to her he'd never seen before or even believed existed until that moment. He had always imagined her as a spoilt child, someone who'd always gotten her own way and everything she’d ever wanted for in life, before the war.

  “So what?” she said. “You're just gonna ignore all this crap and keep on moving, are you?”

  “What the hell else do you want me to do, huh? March on down there, kill all the guards and free all the slaves like some fucking Spartacus, for Christ sake?”

  “Yes!” Louise cried.

  David chuckled at that. “I'm not a fucking superhero, Louise. I'm a man. Just. A. Fucking. Man.”

  “I heard a quote once, David, that pretty much sums up this whole, entire, shitey fucking planet right about now,” Louise roared at the top of her lungs. She took a deep breath to gather her composure. “You know what that quote is, huh, do you?”

  David bit his tongue and glanced away. He wasn't in the mood for this or any kind of lecture from an irrational and clueless teenage girl.

  “Well, do you?” Louise continued.

  “No,” David said coldly while turning back to face her. “And I really don't give a shit.”

  Louise had tears in her eyes, but she didn't blink for a second and she didn't take her eyes away from his. “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in this world is for good people to just stand around and do nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  David shook his head, snorted and glanced away. “Well, I've got news for you, Louise. I'm not a good person.”

  “I believe you are,” Louise softly replied.

  David spat onto the wet grass before turning back to face her. “Okay, Louise. Say in this fantasy fucking land of yours I was a good person. Then what, Louise, huh?” David raised his voice. “We keep doing this all over the country, yeah? Every farm, every town we pass through, until we meet our match and get killed or fucking enslaved ourselves in the process. And what are the slaves gonna do when we set them free down there, huh? If we get that far? Where they gonna go? Back to their fucking homes? Back to their comfortable little lives in the towns and cities?”

  “South, like your friend John said,” Louise shouted right back at him.

  “They'll get picked up and made slaves again in no time. Maybe by even worse monsters than the ones they already have for masters down there.”

  “But at least they'll be free, David. At least they'll have a fighting chance to do their own thing. At least they'll have a choice. A small slither of hope rather than ... than this kind of shitty existence.”

  “Louise. You are gonna see some pretty awful fucked-up shit around here. Trust me. That down there is a fucking Royal Family tea party compared to some of the sick shit you're gonna see.”

  “I've already seen fucked-up shit, David. My father ... my brothers ... my mother.”

  “You can't save these people, Louise. And you sure as shit can't change things over
here anymore. What's done is done.”

  “You're not the first person who told me I couldn't change things in this world, David. Or that any changes I made to my lifestyle would be far too small and insignificant to make the slightest bit of difference in the world. Once, through education and persistence, I led my entire family in giving up meat in just under a month. So, don't tell me small changes don't have an effect on people.”

  David grinned and shook his head. “I'm not talking about giving up meat and eating fucking grass here, Louise.”

  “Well, I am, David. I am,” Louise roared back. “Small changes that you personally make in the world can have a good effect over time. Especially on the people around you and the numerous other people who hear stories about those changes. I was once a walking zombie in this world, David. And well before the war. We all were. Just living our comfortable little lives out here in the west. Doing what the government told us to do. Keeping our heads down like good little citizens while we all walked around with our heads up our own arses, oblivious to what was really happening out there in the world.”

  “And what was really happening out there, Louise? Please enlighten me.”

  “Global warming. Cancerous processed foods to feed the masses while billions of others starved in the Third World. Homelessness on the rise. Billions without clean water while the rest of the West just pissed good, clean water away on washing their cars and dirty driveways and fucking ice bucket challenges. Mothers in some poor countries had to walk miles just to get a small cup of dirty water for their children to survive another day.”

  Louise continued. “Race wars. Oil wars. Ethnic cleansing. Genocides live on TV while we sat there with a beer, updated our social media and turned the fucking channel so we could watch the football world cup instead. Billions of farm animals raped and slaughtered. Raped against their will through artificial insemination just to keep their masters happy with a continuous array of dairy products we don't even bloody well need and that aren’t even healthy for our bodies anyhow.”

  “You're loosing the plot Louise. And I think you've been watching one too many documentaries on YouTube.”

  “Fuck you.” Louise roared.

  David smiled again and shook his head. “So, are you telling me now that you're actually a vegan, right after eating that pheasant I cooked for you back on the beach?”

  “Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!” Louise screamed. “I didn't want to complain or have it go to waste for your fucking information.” Louise then stormed off and began walking quickly down the steep hill towards the garage and farmland below.

  David remained where he was and watched her leave. Once again, he just shook his head and smirked at the audacity of the girl to lecture him in the ways of the world.

  “Your Ashley would be fucking ashamed of you if she could see you now, David. Fucking ashamed,” Louise yelled back at him as she continued to rage down the hill.

  “Where the hell are you going?” David cried half-heartedly back at her.

  “If you won't try to help these people David, that's your choice. You live with it. Goodbye. I hope you find what you're looking for.”

  David glanced briefly up at the sky. He gave out a frustrated sigh before running his fingers over his head. “Jesus Christ,” he roared. “Louise ... stop! Just fucking stop.”

  Louise kept stubbornly marching down the hill, like a woman possessed. Like a huge snowball of rage gaining momentum the more she moved. David followed her. He reached her in no time and grabbed her firmly by the arm, whipping her around to face him. “Jesus fucking Christ. What are you gonna do down there, huh? Just march right on in and demand the slaves be set free, like some stroppy, stubborn little shite teenager?”

  Louise shook herself loose from David's hold. “I don't know. All I know is that I have to try to do something. Talk some bloody sense into these narrow-minded animals.”

  “Talk? You think talking rationally brought our country to this?” What you see down there, Louise, it's gonna take decades, maybe even centuries to fix.”

  “Well, do you have any better ideas?” Louise cried. “I can't just walk on by and ignore this shit, David. I don't have that kind of ignorance inside me yet like you apparently do.”

  David sighed with an even deeper sense of frustration. Yet something inside him was slowly tugging itself towards Louise's sense of morals. He bit his tongue and continued shaking his head at the thought of what he was actually considering because of this stubborn teenage girl. He took off his rucksack and threw it at Louise. She gave him a puzzled stare as she caught it.

  “Carry this and stay behind me at all times. You hear? If they ask any questions about you, I found you in the woods. You're my property now.”

  “You mean your slave,” Louise said as she slipped on the rucksack.

  “Exactly. My slave.”

  David tucked his large hunting knife into the back of his trousers. He took a smaller knife from inside his socks and handed it to Louise.

  “Put that in your pocket, just in case. I have no idea what to expect down here. Until we get a general feel for the place, you’re going to have to stay very alert and follow my lead, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  David took a breath. He turned around to face the bottom of the hill and the lying-in-wait petrol garage.

  “This is such a big fucking mistake,” David said, almost to himself.

  “No one’s asking you to come,” Louise casually replied.

  David frowned. Without any more words, they continued making their way down the steep hill towards the garage and farm land below. Louise even slowed her pace and took great care to stay behind him at all times, just like he'd asked.

  Chapter 17

  David crossed the deserted main road of the old A75 and approached the run-down petrol garage that had stood out like a sore thumb from the top of the Munroe. Almost immediately he noticed two middle-aged white men sitting under the cover of the garage at a table outside the old garage shop. The two men were playing chess and, by the look of their concentration levels, pondering their next set of moves. So engrossed in their game they hadn't even glanced over at the two new arrivals.

  As David walked across the main road, he noticed one of the distant female guards in the slave field beyond the garage. She had stopped in her tracks while patrolling the field to observe the gradually approaching David, with Louise in his trail. So, someone had seen them.

  Inside the garage shop, from behind the glass entrance door, a third white man in his late 30s, with receding hair and a huge ragged scar along his right cheek, was also watching David approach.

  David stepped into the deserted fuelling bays, still moving towards the two men playing chess. The third man inside the shop pushed open the exit door and stepped outside.

  “All right there, pal,” called out the man with the scar on his face. “What's your business here, son?”

  David slowed his pace as he turned to address the scar-faced man. The two middle-aged men finally ceased their game of chess and sat comfortably back in their chairs to stare up at the two new strangers. Neither of the two older men, though, could take his eyes from the young, pretty and petite Louise; they silently leered her up and down like she was an ice-cold beer on a roasting hot summer day.

  “How's it going?” David replied with a friendly grin. “I live over on the coast back there. I'm just out for a wander, scouting the area, you know. Checking the lay of the land, if you like.”

  “Is that so?” replied the third man as he leaned against the exit doorway. He took a moment to eye the pair up, letting his eyes linger on the pretty Louise for an uncomfortable few seconds, just as his two older friends had done.

  “Running a little low on supplies too, my friend,” David continued. “So, I'm looking to make some new acquaintances in the area. I have skills. I used to work in construction before all the shit hit the fan.”

  The scar faced man just chuckled at that. “Out making acquai
ntances you say, huh. Well, you've come to the right spot my friend, that's for sure. Always good to make ... new acquaintances.” Once again, the man gazed at Louise from head to toe.

  “You guys don't happen to have a working phone line here, do you?” David asked.

  The two seated older men glared at each other. David gave them a friendly glance and noticed that they were packing handguns tucked into their waist belts.

  “We sure do, pal.” The scar faced man grinned right back at him. “We sure as hell do.”

  David smiled and nodded.

  “Say,” continued the scar faced man, still ogling Louise. “That's a real nice beauty you got yourself there, pal. Real young one, too. Where the hell did you find one like that?”

  David took a deep breath and quenched his anger at the man's blunt and inappropriate line of questioning.

  “I took her from her family a few months back, living out in the woods. Not far from Ayr. She's been at my service ever since.”

  “I'm surprised Guvnor McCall allowed you to do that. He's strict and protective over there about taking slaves out of the area. Checkpoints all over the place, that paranoid old bastard. You must have some good contacts to get her in and out of Ayrshire,” the third man continued, still grinning smugly.

  “You could say that,” David replied with a slight grin, trying to play along to the man's cocky confidence.

  “Well, I hope you didn't leave the rest of her family all running around on the loose out there in the wilderness.”

  “The rest were all males,” David replied. “I had no other use for them, so I put them in the ground.”

  “That's unfortunate,” the scar faced man said with a wicked grin. He slowly licked his lips like a hungry dog. “The next time you come across any of those unwanted immigrant scumbags, you just bring them on over to me, or Proctor even, over on the next farm just over the next hill there. One of us will give you a fair price for them. And if you find another sweet little brown bunny like that ... well, fuck me sideways, I'll sell you my whole shittin' farm for a piece of that sweet scone.”