Parchman
the brink of death and this is howyou repay me,’ said Renouf.‘And Emma? Did you save her? The others you have locked away. Didyou save them too?’
‘Just what exactly did you think was in that stew you’ve been eating thepast week?’ said Renouf.
Hod gagged and ran towards the corridor and the rest of the cells.
By now the woman, Emma, had released five more prisoners. Hodinvestigated one of the rooms to see a man slumped on a mattress with nolegs and only one arm with tourniquets strapped to the ends of missinglimbs. The man was all but dead but was somehow still alive andbreathing.
‘We need to get out of here, now,’ said Hod to anyone who would listen.
Renouf appeared behind a curtain covering the entrance to the largercorridorlooking menacing and swishingthe knife backwards andforwards. Everyone started screaming and stood altogether faced Renoufand started backing towards the end of the corridor.
Renouf stopped and looked in the room where the man was then lookedback at the group of hysterical escapees. He ran quickly into the room andplunged the knife into the man’s chest then ran back out in the corridor.They all jumped and in sheer panic Hod fell backwards onto the floor.
Emma and the rest of the group continued backwards whilst Renouf stoodabove Hod with both hands on the knife preparing to bring it down on him.
‘We could have been friends,’ Renouf lamented, then cocked his headtowards the others. As he looked away Hod brought up a foot rightbetween Renouf’s legs taking away his breath and giving Hod the chanceto jump to his feet and get behind his captor. Another jab to the gut andthe others took the chance to run at their abductor, overpowering him tothe floor and taking the knife from him.
Pinned to the ground Hod pulled away the clown mask. ‘How do we getout of here?’ he said. Renouf said nothing. Hod pulled the knife edge toRenouf’s throat. ‘How do we get out of here?’ he repeated.
‘Behind you,’ Renouf stuttered, pointing to what looked like a brick wall.
The boy they had saved first went over to the wall and started banging onbefore it realizing it was only plasterboard. Gripping the ends of each sideof the wall the boy, despite his weakened state, ripped the plaster away toreveal a door. He opened the door and behind it a ray of sun flooded an empty lift shaft with ladders leading above ground.
‘What will you do with me?’ said Renouf, crying.
‘Oh, the question is what won’t I do to you,’ replied Hod poking him inthe ribs with the end of the knife.
The group grabbed anything of use from within the house of horrors andwithin half hour all had made it to safety and out of Renouf’s lair.
‘Where do we go now?’ said Emma to Hod, with the rest of them lookingto the dwarf for guidance.
‘You go home.’
‘We don’t have a home,’ she replied.
‘Then you make a home, together, somewhere. Live in there if you want,’said Hod, not really knowing what they wanted to hear.
As a group they shuffled further from the opening of Renoufs dungeonshowing that the last thing they would do is set up home where this madman tortured them.
‘OK, fair enough,’ he said. ‘Well, I suppose you could travel with me as far asthe city,’ said Hod, holding his hands open in compromise. They allnodded and one by one followed Hod as he yet again walked in noparticular direction with absolutely no idea of his next move.
*******************
Renouf heard the group scuffling up the ladder and out of the undergroundhome he had kept them in for years, torturing them, abusing them andsometimes even eating them.
He pulled at the chain Hod had secured to his leg in the cell Hod had frequented only hours previously, sobbing and regretting ever letting Hodout and into his home. ‘Guys, guys, is anyone there?’ he cried out. Butthey had gone never to return, and he would rot in his own prison, unableto die, but slowly succumbing to madness.
CHAPTER FIVE
In the morning, despite his initial reservations, Jay was up and raring toget to the prison, whilst Seth and Scott we’re still snoring away in theirsleeping bags. Logan hadn’t slept at all. He looked over at the boys andthen at Tallulah lying next to him. The doubts had started creeping backinto his mind that this was the right option, but he knew that this time hehad to leave her in order for them to have a life and future together. Thistime itwasn’t for his country; this was for his family and for him. Hekissed Tallulah on the cheek, and she woke up smiling that gorgeous smileof hers at him.
‘We leave in an hour. You sure you won’t come?’ he said.
‘Last time you didn’t want to put me in danger and now you can’t wait toget me out there,’ she laughed at him.
‘I’m not so sure you aren’t in danger here,’ he replied looking around thecamp. ‘Let me at least leave Chuck here with you?’ She thought about itand nodded. It wouldn’t hurt to have a friendly face on her side. ‘OK, I’lllet him know. He won’t be happy though.’
Logan was right, Chuck wasn’t happy that he had to stay. He was ecstatic.Holding Logan’s shoulder with one hand and the other hand on his headhe was breathing rapidly and almosthad tears of relief in his eyes. ‘Loganman, you know I’ll miss you, but to go out there again. I’m not sure I coulddo it. Savages, bears, prisons. I’m quitehappy babysitting,’ he said.
‘Oi!’ said Tallulah, pretending to take it to heart.
‘Erm, I mean support the camp,’ he quickly added. ‘I’ll be there with youin spirit guys,’ said Chuck looking