Chapter Thirty-One

Jack shivered relentlessly in the darkness. He’d lost all feeling in his toes and his arms and his shoulders were in agony as he pulled himself up what was left of the steps, one at a time. He licked his dry lips, and his stomach rumbled fiercely. It had been hours since he’d drank anything, and much longer since he’d eaten. The pain still tore through his leg and he tried to manoeuvre himself, millimetre by millimetre, all the while pulling himself along in an attempt to get up the stairs, and all the while thinking about Lily. He wasn’t sure if the parts of the staircase that remained were strong enough to take his weight, or whether by climbing up them he’d end up crashing back down to the floor, causing even more damage to himself than he already had. He thought about the obvious break to his leg, the blood that still oozed out from his ankle and wondered if it should hurt more or less as time went on? Had he severed nerves? Was that why he seemed to feel less and less or was it that his body was blocking out the pain?

Jack knew that he’d been drifting in and out of consciousness for the last couple of hours and feared that with each movement up the staircase he’d once again drift off and fall. He’d been a boy scout, he’d done first aid courses and had been taught that both blood loss and shock could be fatal, as could falling from a height onto a concrete floor.

He thought of Jess, of how she’d be coping. A tear fell down his face at the thought of what he’d already put her through and he began to hate himself for having come here without her, without telling her and for not being there for her … again. He let out a huge sigh. ‘Damn it …’ He’d failed to attend the scan. Jess would have had to go alone. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered into the darkness.

‘Why did I come here alone? At least if Jess had been here when the accident happened she could have gone for help. That was what I should have done and how it should have been.’ He mentally kicked himself with his injured leg. ‘I’m so, so, stupid. We should have been doing it all together.’ He thought of the scan, how proud he’d have felt and how he and Jess should have been holding hands, smiling and meeting their baby. Had she cried when she’d seen it? Had she hated him for not being there and had she gone shopping without him?

Desperation led to Jack finding a new energy from deep within himself. He found himself taking huge gulps of air. He knew that he had to pull himself up those last few steps, but knew it would be agony. He counted down from ten, and then, using his arms, he pulled himself upwards as hard as he could. One step, then the next. The pain shot through him, he screamed and he stared up at his coat that now hung only millimetres from his face. His hand went downwards in an attempt to assess any further damage to his leg, but all he felt was pain. It was a new, severe, throbbing pain that shot upwards from his foot and into his groin. For a while he couldn’t move and a new fear took over him. What if he managed to get to the top of the stairs, and still couldn’t get to Jess?

‘You’ve got to keep going,’ he told himself. ‘For Jess. For the baby and, most importantly, you have to save Lily.’ Jess, baby, Lily became his mantra as he managed to drag himself out of the cellar and through into the kitchen. He looked up at the unit where he knew his mobile was and tried to reach for it, but the unit was too high and there was no way he could stand. His only option was to keep dragging himself over the floor and within minutes he was outside and in the farmyard, where the rain poured and a rough, gravel pathway led through the yard and towards the Hall. He grabbed at everything he could to pull himself along, all the while thinking of how a baby would learn to crawl, how it too would feel every piece of gravel under its knees and he made a mental note to lay a proper pathway, something that wouldn’t be so cruel to a baby’s delicate skin. In fact the whole house would need to be made safe, he couldn’t risk either Jess or his baby ever getting hurt.

‘Come on, focus,’ he screamed as he wiped the rain from his face and launched himself out of the yard and onto the cold, wet, woodland floor, with his body moving in more of a shuffle than a crawl through the ever increasing mud, exposed tree roots and sodden leaves that covered the ground. He’d initially lain on his stomach, but dragging his injured leg behind him through the house had been far too painful and the pain had hindered his speed, so now, after a few practised movements, he was more on his bottom, with his injured leg hooked over his other. This gave his leg just enough support to be able to move and with Lily in danger, he felt that his own pain was secondary and that he had to keep going at all costs.

‘Heeeeelp, I need heeeeelp!’ he screamed as he grabbed at the undergrowth, which squelched in his hands. He felt around for anything that would help, and ended up pulling at the tree roots and fence posts, all of which were cold and covered in ice. Every inch of Jack’s body shivered as he screamed, ‘Jess, Bandit!’ His throat was dry and painful but he continued to scream, ‘Come on, anyone!’

He closed his eyes and took deep breaths in an attempt to focus his pain, which shot through every inch of his back and legs. He swallowed hard. The Hall still seemed to be a long way away, but he could see it in the distance and he concentrated on its shape as it loomed before him. He thought of the Christmas lights that would be twinkling through the windows, and how welcoming they would look once he got closer. ‘One, two …’ He tried counting out each pull on his arms, military style, and wished he’d known some of Bandit’s old marine songs. He kept counting, pulling and moving towards where Jess would be waiting and where he prayed that Lily would be safe. He hoped the others would have kept her close, prayed that for once she and Poppy had played in their rooms, or had sat in Nomsa’s kitchen, baking and eating their wares.

Just the thought of Griff hurting Lily gave him a strength and determination he didn’t know he had. He couldn’t bear the thought of what the man might do. He’d mentioned selling her and Jack didn’t even want to think about what that meant. The only thing he could do was try and raise the alarm.

‘One, two, pull … heeeelp! … One, two, pull … heeeeelp! …’ He could feel his energy failing; his whole body screamed to stop, his mind went blank and for a few moments he closed his eyes as he felt his breathing become slow and shallow. ‘Come on, Jack, don’t stop now, come on.’ He tried to find the energy he needed; he had to get to the Hall, and to Jess. He looked up. The Hall was there, he could see it, but it was still such a long way from him. But he had to get there, he just had to.