The sheriff grunted in his unusual manner as he sat in his office chair, Tony wondered why he needed an office, there was never any paperwork to do, and it was not as if he ever filled out a report,

‘What do you know about the disappearance of Peter Ford’ the sheriff asked changing the subject.

‘I think he went into the woods looking for a way out, he mentioned it once or twice’

‘Stupid man’ the sheriff paused, he liked Tony, other than losing it a bit when his wife passed, he had been a loyal resident and a good servant, ‘do the both jobs then’ he said,

Tony thanked him and left the office, he was now mobile, he may have just secured the vehicle to get those kids out he had told himself, he got into the mini bus and drove it to his car lot,

He struggled to move the casing over the hatch in his workshop, he decided to take some of the heavier stuff off it to make it lighter and easier to move, that’s what he done before going into the basement,

Delyn was sat on the sofa, Tony noticed her tear stained face, he guessed she had been crying since he left, he could see the anxiety in her face and she took a deep breath when she saw him, she noticed he was carrying two carrier bags, and still she thought of implements of torture, she wished she hadn’t watched all those horror films that her parents had forbade her to watch when she was younger.

‘It’s okay I’m not going to hurt you, I have food and drinks’ said Tony trying to reassure her, he sat beside her on the sofa and he was pleased to see she did not flinch, you have to eat something, there’s quite a bit in here and we will keep putting stuff down the chute’, Tony noticed she was still in the dressing gown he had given her,

‘Did you get the clothes’ he added, the look on her face told him she hadn’t, then he realised he had never told her about the chute, he took her into the kitchen, the clothes were there, there was also some shower stuff that Eileen must have put in the bag, he handed them to her and showed her how to work the chute.

‘Go get changed I’ll rustle up some scrambled egg on toast’ and off Delyn went feeling like a lost little girl in a lost little world.

She didn’t realise how hungry she was and wolfed it down in seconds as they sat at the two seater dining table, Tony quickly scrambled her some more and Delyn ate that with the same vigour, and gulped down the Cola in front of her, she felt a lot better and started to put some trust in Tony.

‘Thank you’ she said as she wiped her lips with some tissue,

‘Just eat what you want, there’s plenty, we’ll get you some more clothes, though most are handmade around here’ he realised he was talking dribble and waived his hands as if trying to squat a fly,

‘Why can’t I get out of the basement, what will happen if I do get out?’

Tony grabbed the two empty plates and put them in the sink, he thought of his wife, how she would have been the one to deal with this, he didn’t know the words to comfort her and if he did he did not want to be the one to say them, Delyn just stared at him waiting for the answer, but he had no answer for her.

‘The two girls who helped me this morning are calling in, I’m sure they will tell you everything you want to know’ he told her, that was the best he could do at that particular moment.

Delyn just looked at him, she felt herself filling up, she didn’t want to cry again, a single tear fell onto her cheek, she wiped it away with the back of her hand as another fell, Tony took her hand in both of his,

‘I promise you after they have been if you still want to leave I will let you,

She forced a smile, she liked this man, she had no idea what was happening or where she was, but for some unknown mad reason she felt she could trust him, she had to trust him, she had come to no harm, and the promise that she could go if she still wanted somehow reassured her, at least it gave her something she hadn’t had until now and that was a choice, she felt that she would soon be leaving and that made her feel so much better.

Tony left her on the sofa reading a magazine that was probably 40 years before her time, and as he pushed the case back over the cover, only one thought went through his mind ‘no way is she getting out of here until I take her’ he locked his garage and went into his house, he needed a well-earned rest, his bed was calling him.

Tony slept well and was only woken by the bell being rung on the gate which was wired into his house, as he walked through the car lot, he could see the two girls waiting at the gate, he led them to the person they had come to see.

Both girls had an arm around Delyn’s shoulder after they had told her all that had happened, Ivy’s story being the most daunting even Lily had not heard it all and it brought a tear to her eye, Delyn felt like her whole world had been blown apart, at first she refused to believe it and thought the two girls were some part of it all, some occult that she had been dragged into, and she had grown panicky and started shouting at them, but Ivy’s own tears convinced her otherwise and at that times all 3 girls new that if they ever did get out the mental scars would never fade, they would remain etched forever in their hearts and souls, some more than others, but they would be etched there forever nevertheless.

‘You won’t try to get out will you’ asked Lily after they all had taken some time to compose themselves, after what she had heard it didn’t take long for her to answer,  it was as reassuring as the two girls had hoped.

‘No’ she replied, and she truly meant it as at that time she didn’t see any other choice,

‘If we’re not out soon it won’t be long before I’m down here with you’ said Ivy, referring to her own 16th birthday,

‘That day’ said Lily we will all be together, because if they see Ivy missing it just means they will be keeping more of an eye on me’ she shuddered at her own words, ‘but that won’t happen because my dad and Tony are going to get us out of here’ she bit her bottom lip as it quivered ‘ he’s not dead, he’s on the outside looking in, I know he is’, the three girls embraced until there was a knock on the hatch and Tony’s head appeared, all three girls looked up at him and smiled, it was their way of saying thank you,

‘Time to go girls, don’t want to cause to much suspicion, they said their goodbyes and the two girls climbed out of the basement, before he locked it Tony put his head through and said goodnight to Delyn, who was stood right under the hatch,

‘Tony’ she called and he met her eyes,

‘Thank you’ she added, ‘I think I might be staying here until you say it’s time to go’ and she smiled as she said it,

Tony smiled and gave her a wink and as he closed the hatch and watched the other two girls go he wondered how he had put himself in such a position that the 3 young girls had so much dependence and faith in him,

‘I won’t let them down’ he thought ’you better be on the outside looking in Peter’

He went to the fridge and got a much needed beer, he took the top off and gulped half the bottle, his only solace in his god forsaken world.

‘Sure gonna miss this stuff though’ he said out loud, and laughed to himself, he finished his beer and grabbed another as he looked at the skies, ‘no storms tonight, think I’ll get pissed’

 

Peter still wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve as he sat in the Iscoed Tafarn, the local pub on a council house estate in South Wales, the pub he previously visited as Underwood social club, as he sipped his shandy he found his head was being filled with all sorts of nonsense, but it was better than his hotel room, at least hear the occasional song on the Juke box would take his mind in other directions, just for a moment, he was pleased to see that the song was modern, he then realised that he had never heard any music in the other Underwood.