‘you first’ said Peter, Tony laughed, he knew Peter was not fully trusting him, he nodded to Peter and descended down the ladder, Peter followed, not liking the uncertainty of this particular journey, 10 feet later he stood on sound flooring in the pitch darkness, that was until Tony switched on the lights, Peter was expecting something dark and sinister, but it was nothing like that, for what he saw was an underground home, the room he saw was a living room, with a sofa, a chair book cases crammed with books and magazines, off that was a kitchen with a stove and cupboards and a two seater dining table, there was a further 2 rooms with double beds in and a bathroom, Peter looked astounded.

‘What is this place?’

Tony didn’t answer, he took him into the kitchen, there was a metal hatch on the wall, and Tony opened it revealing a compartment about 2 foot square,

‘There’s a false drain in the road about ten yards from the car lot’ he said ‘it’s a chute, this is their supply route, we chuck things down the drain and they pick it up here, if it’s raining, they pull this lever’ Tony demonstrated by pulling a lever in the compartment, they heard a clunking noise, ‘this diverts the rain’ he continued ‘but of course they won’t get any provisions’

Peter looked on in wonderment,

‘How did you do this ‘asked Peter?

‘It’s an old air raid shelter that I converted, I built the car lot on top of it, and you’re the only one who knows about it, so now do you think you can trust me, he gave Peter a quizzical look,

‘And who are you referring as they?’ asked Peter,

Tony closed the door and made his way towards the exit,

‘Your daughter and her friend’ he said, they closed the hatch and put the case back in its place,

‘You would do that ‘Peter asked,

‘There’s been enough butchery in this place, they stay down there until we think of a way’

They shook hands forming a bond built on mutual respect and trust.

Peter left for home on the understanding that as soon as the storm started they would meet again, both not forgetting that if this idea worked it would probably mean a new resident for Underwood, Tony just hoped that they were male and strong, that was the best chance of surviving in Underwood.

It all seemed to be going well until she got off the motorway, the Langstone road was heaving with traffic as the rain poured down and the thunder clapped, it was getting dark and Delyn thought about turning around, and missing her best friends hen do after all, but the clubs were open until 3 am, she imagined getting there at around eleven, that would still leave her four hours of partying, she could drink plenty in four hours and perhaps even more at the hotel, providing everyone wasn’t to drunk, she didn’t want to drink on her own, she smiles at herself as she thought that there was usually one or two who would be drinking all night and sleep on the way home the next day, she took the road to Magor that’s where she wanted to go, that’s where the Severn bridge was, a mile down the road and the fear was settling in, the road had turned into a lane, she swore it never done that, she thought this was always a road, never a lane, it felt dark and threatening, there was no lighting, at that time if she could have done a three point turn she would have, but the lane was to narrow, the trees frightened her as they swayed in the wind, even though the skies were dark she could see they stood tall, she tried ringing her friends that she wasn’t going to get there, she knew there was a services with a travel lodge just a few miles away, she would get to there and park up for the night, no partying for her, she was crawling along thinking that soon she would be safe and warm until she saw what looked like a small river in front of her, the road was flooded and it was getting worse, she froze with fear she felt trapped, where could she go, she wanted her dad.

Both Tony and Peter met just outside the Underwood Social, it was dark and both were sure they were not seen, most of the residents were indoors, fearful of the storm, not so much the weather that it brought but most residents were wondering what scenery they would be looking at in the morning, and what was worse, would they have any new residents the next day, the creature in the woods lay hidden in its den, it could be hard for him to keep his footings sometimes when the woods spun, it was best just to lay still and see what the night brought, the three officers of Underwood, were never out on a storm night, they lay in hiding just like their creator, the rain was pouring now and despite both men having heavy raincoats they were soon soaked, they walked towards the top of the town with a determination to see it through, it might be a long night, they hoped not but they were prepared to wait and as they chained themselves to the chain link fence, with the padlocks and chains they had hidden earlier, that’s exactly what they did, wait.

There was nothing Delyn could do, she had to turn right as the water was rising at a good speed, she tried to turn on the corner to go back, but the water seemed too deep, she didn’t want to get stuck in that river that appeared to be forming, so she turned right hoping to be able to turn around and head back the way she came, or at least find some high ground so she could sit and wait the storm out, the church spooked her, the torrential downpour frightened her, the sound of thunder shook her bones and the flash of lightening lit up things she didn’t really want to see, the trees and they looked alive, she tried her phone, there was no signal but she tried to ring her dad anyway, there was no connection, she tried 999, nothing, tears streamed down her eyes as she slowly crawled up the hill, thankful that at least she was going upwards hopefully towards high ground where she could sit it out, maybe even get a signal for her phone.

It was pitch black as she drove into the lane deeper into the woods, her heart in her mouth, her hands shaking on the wheel, the rain still poured but at least the ground didn’t seem so sodden, it wasn’t cascading like a river, she couldn’t see ahead of her now, the road seemed to have disappeared, she stopped the car, her headlights appeared to be shining into the trees, she thought she might be safe here, she killed the engine, took a sip of the bottle of water that she had brought, she would have to wait, sit out the storm and access the situation when daylight came, she cursed and with a tear in her eye she settled down in her drivers seat for what was going to be a long evening.

Chapter 14

‘Why is dad out in this weather’ asked Lily as she looked out of the window watching the storm, as she said it the sky lit up and the thunder clapped, Nathan was sat on the sofa, trying to drown the noise of the storm by putting his hands over his ears, it brought back to many memories for all of them.

Eileen didn’t answer instead she went into the kitchen and clicked the kettle on, Nathan curled on the sofa, still with his hands over his ears, Eileen felt for him, Lily wanted him to man up.

‘Want a cup of tea’ Eileen asked Lily, Lily had followed her into the kitchen, ignoring the offer of tea,

‘Well’ she said ‘where is he?’ the look on her face was demanding, Eileen noticed it, put her hand on her shoulder, she glanced into the living room to make sure Nathan could not hear, he was still lying there with his ears covered, Eileen’s face frowned.

‘MAM!’

‘He’s gone with the car lot man to look at what happens to the woods during the storm’ the look on her face told Lily she was concerned,

Lily thought about it for a moment, she didn’t like her dad being out there, she wanted to be there with him, she felt safe with him,

‘He’s an idiot’ she said as the door knocked, Lily and Eileen looked at each other wondering who could be knocking at the door in this weather, they both walked to open the door,