Nathan was first in, he didn’t want to go in on his own and clung to his mother, but when he saw the kind face of the doctor it reassured him a bit, it was the first friendly face he had seen since arriving in Underwood, then the doctor invited his father in with him and Nathan felt a lot better for it, the doctor took the height and weight of Nathan on scales that looked 40 years old, he asked Peter some personal details about the boy, just mundane questions, Peter answered him, thinking it was best to play along with the system until he can fathom how to get out, the Doctor never spoke to Nathan direct, but the doctor could notice and sense his vulnerability which concerned the doctor, he tried to give him a reassuring look and smile and sent him out into the waiting room to be with his mother and sister.

‘Make sure he eats well and build those muscles up’ the doctor told Peter as he filed the first of his papers,

The statement seemed an odd one to Peter as if suggesting he didn’t feed his children, then a terrible thought came over him ‘what if I can’t feed my children’ his stomach was in knots and he began to sweat,

‘Why on earth would you say that’ he asked,

The doctor thought about it for a while, it seemed the best advice he could give, under the circumstances men with skills and strength were an asset to the community, those who were weak and showed no promise, David Harris shivered when he thought of it, he wished he had said nothing at all.

‘It’s the best advice I can give you’ he told Peter,

‘Can you tell me how I can take him out of here?’ asked Peter ‘that would be better than any medical advice’ he added with sarcasm in his voice.

The doctor looked sheepish as he took his stare from Peters,

‘I’m a doctor’ he told him ‘I can’t help you with anything else, he measured and weighed him, asked him the same routine personal questions and thanked him, gesturing him to leave, Peter stood but did not immediately leave, he thought the doctor didn’t seem enthused with his job, like everyone else in Underwood it appeared that he wished he was someplace else,

‘How long have you been the doctor here’ Peter asked, the doctor met his eyes,

‘I’ve always been the doctor here’ he told him’ Peter locked eyes with him, the doctor did not look away, ‘thank you doctor’, said Peter as he left thinking ‘that’s another person who wished he wasn’t here, then why the fuck is he’

‘How old are you’ the doctor asked Lily as she sat down, Lily had refused the offer of her mother attending, much to Eileen’s protests.

‘I’m 14’ she told him assertively as she sat down with her arms crossed in an act of defiance. Lily felt like she wasn’t going to be pushed around by any doctor, she had her own doctor at home in Sheffield.

The doctor looked her up and down in a manner that Lily felt uncomfortable with, she pressed her arms against her body as if trying to protect herself, her defiance weakened, her vulnerability returning to her, she didn’t like it, she didn’t like feeling this way, the doctor stared at her developing body and shook his head with grief, she gave her birthdate which would make her 15 in two months’ time, he wished she had lied to him, made herself younger, but she looked 16 now, and he dare not lie, ‘just prolong the inevitable’ he thought, he asked Lily the same questions he asked her family, measured her height and weight and all the time she held her arms tight against her chest, this disturbed David , People who were born in the town, their parents knew the consequences, most of the boys were immediately taken away, the daughters raised until they were 16 and then turned into a breeding machine, and the same thing would happen to them, over and over again, if they were to live that long, Lily was different in this case, she wasn’t born in Underwood, she was an outsider, that would give the hierarchy particular interest, what kind of child could she produce.

‘That will be all’ the doctor told her, Lily just sat there, arms crossed ‘is there anything’ the doctor added’

‘I’m not having any babies’ she told him, and that sent a shiver down his spine, it was obvious the vicar had briefed them.

‘Let’s talk about that nearer the time’ said the doctor, gesturing her to leave, Lily got up to leave,

‘talk about it when you want’ she said ‘I aint having any’ and she slammed the door behind her, the doctor put his head in his hands, he liked her, she showed bottle he had thought, he just wished she wasn’t going to be a sacrificial lamb, because martyrs didn’t exist in Underwood, Lily went and sat next to her Father, he noticed the determination and anger on her face, he held her hand trying to offer some comfort, but Lily never felt any comfort from her father, all she felt was the fear burning inside her, as Eileen went into see the doctor, Nathan sat there quiet, he had become very withdrawn as all of it failed to register in his young mind,

‘We’ve got 14 months to get out of here’ Lily told her father, he held her hand tightly now,

‘I know’ he told her.

Chapter 6

Carol White was his first call of the day, she lived in Hawthorne, the same road as Peter, she lived at no.6, and no one lived in the houses between 6 and 12.

Peter was given no transport, he had to walk to any venue, however the town was not large, and everywhere seemed to be within walking distance, if the equipment he took with him was to heavy to carry, he was to take the bus, driven by Steve Duce, the man who had forgotten how to smile. This job was a blocked washing machine, something he hadn’t done in ages, fitting boilers and heating systems was his forte, and he was very good at it, working for an international heating systems company in Yorkshire, he had recently become a manager running his own team of plumbers, he guessed he may need no more than a spanner, the sports centre housed his workshop, it was clearly used as a squash court in the past, now it was full of tools, nuts and bolts, washers, probably anything he needed to maintain the domestic appliances of Underwood, as it looked like that’s all he would be doing, at least until he found a way out.

Carol White opened the door with a beaming smile on her face, she was 48, curly hair, plump with a pretty face, ‘I tried to do it myself’ she told Peter ‘there was water all over the place’ she led him to the kitchen, she acted very cheerfully and Peter thought how different that was to everyone else he had met, the kitchen floor was soaked.

‘I’ll be running out of clean knickers soon’ she laughed, Peter gave her a smile, he really didn’t want to hear about her underwear problems, she was dressed in a short skirt and a revealing top and stood in a “come and get me pose”, ‘any shorter and I’ll be able to see them on you ‘ Peter thought,

He wanted to ask her how she could live in a place like this, how she got here, why hadn’t she tried to leave, where are her family, what had her past been like, what she thought was in the woods, and lots more, but he asked her nothing, he didn’t want to be to suspicious, he would get the information he needed somehow ‘there has to be a way out’

He set down to work and within ten minutes had fixed the washer, it was a mundane task, almost anybody could have done it, that is all except Carol White, he handed her a pair of white lacy knickers that was blocking the pipe, she giggled as she took them off Peter,

‘They look better’ on she told him as she lifted her skirt to reveal that she wasn’t wearing any, showing Peter her love nest.

Peter felt himself going red as she stood there with her skirt lifted, he looked the other way, he wasn’t sure who was feeling the most vulnerable, her or him, he just wanted to get out of the house, but it didn’t seem to faze Carol as she raised her skirt as high as she could.