Tony Griffiths had unchained himself from the fence but he had been sat in the same position for a while, his ribs hurt from the pressure of the chain, but he was sure nothing was broken, the landscape had changed but the old army huts still remained in the same place, after a while he stood himself up slowly and carefully, his body had stiffened up, he couldn’t remember ever aching quite as much as he did now, his clothes were surprisingly dry from the morning sun, he started to look around, he started looking for the body of Peter Ford, but he could see no body and his heart sunk as he realised his friend had been taken by the trees, he was thinking of what he could say to his family, both men were sure there was a way out, the theory being that as someone enters then there has to be a way out, the same way they came in, Tony still believed that, he wanted to believe it, he turned to walk to Hawthorne to explain to Peter’s family and was surprised to see two girls stood in front of him,

‘Where’s my dad’ asked Lily, she noticed the look on his face and she didn’t like it’

Tony gave the best answer he could think of as his heart sunk,

‘I think he got out’ he told the girls,

‘That’s impossible’ said Lily gritting her teeth, ‘he would not go without us, now tell me where he is’ she shouted.

‘He wouldn’t leave her’ shouted Ivy and for a brief moment Tony wished he had just stayed in his car lot drinking beer and smoking cigarettes and watched the storm from a distance.

‘I don’t think he meant to’ Tony replied and as he said it he heard the sound of the bus coming up the road, he grabbed both girls and they hid behind the shrubbery in front of the army huts and watched Steve Duce pull up in the No.64 bus and step onto the pavement.

The three people hidden and the driver of the bus watched as the beautiful Delyn Brown emerged from the woods, her clothes now covered in mud, and just one thing went through Tony’s mind, ‘he got out, he must have got out’

Steve Duce was a bit disappointed to see the young girl, he didn’t want to take another young girl to the sheriff, but he had a job to do.

Delyn was pleased to see the strange man stood beside a mini bus, as she walked towards him she was also pleased to see the houses, it looked a strange place with lots of trees, she realised she must look a mess, and was wondering what the man must think of her walking out of the woods dressed like that, the early morning sun was strong and she was glad of that, it gave her a sense of security as the memories of the storm were slowly diminishing, she smiled as she walked towards him.

‘You can’t let him take her’ whispered Lily to Tony,

Tony didn’t need telling that, he thought the girl looked in her late teens and would immediately be used as a breeding machine, she appeared alone therefor had no family to help her, he was her only chance, Tony whispered something to Lily and ran from behind their cover.

He was at Steve Duce in a second, at this time Tony Griffiths still didn’t know what he was going to do, even as he done it he wasn’t sure it was really him, Steve never saw him coming, Tony could only see one alternative as he put his arm around Steve’s neck and forced him to the ground, Lily and Ivy came running out towards the girl, Lily kicking Steve in the balls before Lily and Ivy grabbed an arm each of Delyn, Delyn screamed in horror or fright, she thought it was probably both,

‘Its ok’ said Lily to Delyn trying to reassure her, ‘he’s a nasty man, he was going to take you, we can’t let that happen’

Delyn let out another scream, she had no idea what the girl was on about, and she tried to struggle free but the two girls held her tight, as if her life depended on it, which it probably did.

The kick Steve received took the struggle out of him, and as he struggled for breath, Tony took hold of him  covered his mouth and nose until the last breath of Steve Duce faded away, the pain in his groin not allowing to kick out, the last thing he saw was the No. 64 bus, Tony had never killed a man before and stood shocked at his own actions as he looked at the body on the floor, he held his hands out in front of him as if they weren’t his hands that had just killed a man, but they were his hands and as he looked at the dead man on the floor, he knew there was no going back, he had to kill for a reason, and Steve Duce had to die for one as well, he would ensure that would happen.

The three girls stood opened mouthed, Lily and Ivy not expecting that reaction from Tony, Delyn just looked and cried wonder what the hell sort of place she had come to, she had just been a witness to a murder, and two girls she had never met before were preventing her from running away, she wanted her dad so badly at that moment.

‘Help me’ said Tony to the girls and the three of them lifted Steve back into the mini bus, behind the driver’s seat whilst Delyn just looked on and cried, she wanted to run but had no idea where to run to, they shut the mini bus door,

‘Please come with me’ said Tony as he held out his hand to Delyn, she didn’t take it, she looked scared, Tony could see she was in a state of shock, he didn’t blame her, he was also in shock, he thought all of them were.

‘Please go with him’ said Ivy, it’s not safe for you here’

‘Before the whole Town wakes up’ added Lily,

Delyn reluctantly took his arm, not seeing any alternative, as Tony led her to the car lot, he told the two girls to go home and say they had been there all night,

‘Where’s my dad’ Lily asked before leaving,

‘I’ll explain later, but I didn’t see him come to no harm’ he paused ‘I really think he got out’

As the two girls walked back home to sneak back into the house, neither of them quite believing what they had witnessed, it was murder by no other name, in an ordinary world that was bad enough, in Underwood they both dreaded to think what the consequences would be, they snuck back into the bedroom, it appeared they had not been caught, Eileen was asleep on the sofa, 3 empty bottles of wine were on the kitchen table, it had looked as if she had passed out, Nathan was fast asleep in his room, Rebecca went to her own house and found her own mother and brother asleep, both girls went into their separate beds for some much needed sleep, but neither girl slept, they couldn’t stop thinking of the dead man at the top of the town.

Tony and Delyn walked briskly to the car lot, Tony had to get her out of sight, Delyn by now was in a state of shock and was crying all the way, Tony just led her by the hand, he would have to explain later, he needed to get her to his secret room before they were seen, they were 200 metres away from safety when from around the corner appeared one of the towns police cars, Sandra Skellam pulled up alongside Tony and a girl she did not recognise, she kind of guessed where she might have come from, she stepped out of the car as Tony and Delyn stopped, Delyn saw an opportunity,

‘Please miss he’s kidnapping me’ she screamed as she struggled to break away from Tony’s grip, Tony let the girl go and Delyn stood by the police officer for protection, the look of fear not as strong as it was.

Sandra ignored the girl and looked at Tony’s face, it was full of fear but he also had a look of sheer determination,

‘Is she from where I think she is’ asked Sandra, but she already knew the answer,

Tony nodded

‘Quick get her inside’ said Sandra, Delyn shed more tears as she was ushered into Tony’s garage, not quite believing that the police woman was in on whatever it was that was happening to her, she was sure now she was about to die, she hoped it would be quick. She thought of her mother and father.

He gestured for Delyn to sit on one of the patio chairs that he had taken inside the workshop out from the storm, he went to the fridge and got a beer, He offered one to Sandra, she refused, he offered one to Delyn, she took it, her mouth was dry, she gulped heavily on the beer as did Tony, then Delyn sat looking at the bottle in her hand, hoping it hadn’t been poisoned, Sandra waited until they both had a good drink.