‘I come from a more modern world then you will ever know’ she told him, she paused just for a moment ‘the technology is amazing, you can even create babies in a test tube, you would love it’ she mocked the sheriff,

The sheriff was taken aback, but what she was telling him was of great interest,

‘We have IVF that’s to help families who can’t have babies, do you know we’ve even cloned a sheep, you have no idea how the world has changed, you should go see it sometime’ she leaned back waiting for a reaction, her heart was in her mouth but she did well not want to show it, the sheriff smiled,

‘And your point is’ he asked her,

Her voice broke a little but she still felt in control, she knew there was no going back,

‘I won’t have your babies, until you release my mother’

In a flash Lily was knocked to the floor as the sheriff leant forward and pushed the chair she sat on, causing her and the chair to fly across the room, the sheriff stood up and put his foot on Lily’s chest, the reaction shook her but she knew she had to remain composed, I can do this’ she told herself,

‘I could crush you now, I could impregnate you now’

Lily didn’t flinch, she just lay there silently, she didn’t struggle, she felt the foot on her chest and knew that if pressure was applied she would be crushed, the sheriff slowly raised his foot from her chest, when it was fully away from her, Lily got up, her elbow hurt from where it had hit the floor, she picked up the chair and sat on it, this time the right way around, the sheriff sat, it was that moment Lily felt in control once more.

‘You can get me pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I will give birth, you wouldn’t believe now what we can do to our body’s, you can impregnate me as many times as you like, but I won’t give birth, oh and you so want my babies’,

His first instinct was to kill her, but he was fascinated by her, he couldn’t imagine what type of child she would give them, it would be a new type of breed, a baby from the future’

‘Your mother killed a man, I cannot let her be unpunished,

Lily’s answer was swift and polished,

‘I killed him, he was trying to rape my mother, and she’s protecting me, so now punish me if you want’

The sheriff laughed out loud, it threw Lily a little, the confidence she had didn’t seem to be there anymore, and then he said something that made her think she had won this particular battle,

‘If I let her go, you will have the babies?’

‘I will even pick the fathers for you, ones that will give you beautiful daughters’

The sheriff lit a cigar, he offered Lily one, and she refused,

‘Smoking can kill your baby when pregnant’ she told him, the sheriff looked at his cigar as if it was something evil that he was holding, he stubbed it out in the ashtray, he went into the kitchen and poured a glass of water, Lily just sat waiting, she made no attempt to move, the sheriff handed her the water and sat back down.

‘Tell me about this world that you come from’ he asked her,

And Lily did just that.

Eileen Ryall paced her cell, her head mixed up with all sorts of things, she had realised that she may well be dead by the end of the night and her only thoughts could be of her children and who would take care of them, then her head constantly went to her daughter and the look on her face when she held the knife in her hand covered in blood, she didn’t know how a child could cope with that, then she thought of Nathan, how vulnerable and quiet he had become, who would care for him, her head thoughts would flash to Peter, and she would ask herself why he had left them, then she thought of trees and wanted to scream, she knew she was cracking, she just wanted to say goodbye to the people she loved, she finished the bottle of water that had been brought for her, she threw the empty bottle against the wall, then suddenly the cell lit up as the door was opened, she thought it was them coming to take her away, until she saw Dylan Williams and her daughter stood there, she would have a chance to say goodbye after all.

Dylan opened the cell door and Lily ran into her mother’s arms crying,

‘Your free mum’ she sobbed, Dylan held his arm out in a gesture to leave,

‘How, why’ Eileen stuttered,

‘I will tell you when we get home’

As they walked out they noticed the sun was setting, there was a few grey clouds in the sky.

Chapter 20

The centre field was awash with people, who had come to pay their respects to the death of Steve Duce, his body lay on the ground in a body bag, he wasn’t going to be burned tonight, he was to be taken into the woods, to feed what lied within, it was an unusual service for Underwood, a natural death, the man had died of a heart attack so the villagers were told, and for some reason that gave people hope, that there ending would not be so horrific as many of those before them.

Rumour had got around that Eileen had been freed, there was also another rumour that someone would be sentenced tonight as an example to the Underwood residents, for rumours to go around in itself was unusual, for someone to escape the wrath of the all- powerful three was unheard of, everyone wanted to see who this person was and for the first time in the history of the new Underwood every citizen attended the Sunday ritual, everyone that possibly could.

For Philip Lenan, the judge and jury of the town, as he sat on his raised platform scanning the crowd, it was music to his ears to see so many subjects here to honour him, for he was sure that it was him they came to see, not the spectacle that was about to be bestowed upon them, for he was the greatest attraction of them all and they were going to be in for a surprise tonight, and as he panned the awaiting crowd with his eyes, he noticed one fundamental difference, he noticed that people were now chatting to each other, various groups of people in deep conversation with each other, that had never happened before, people just used to stand still and stare, show the fear in their eyes, some trembling, some crying, some turning away not wanting to watch, he wasn’t too impressed at what he was now seeing, he just hoped that the people of Underwood had finally come to accept the new town and those that ruled it, he wished the sheriff and the vicar could be here to see it, but in a sense he knew they were, why aren’t they looking at me, why aren’t they scared, he thought, he felt a chill go through his bones, he had never felt like that before, he hoped his creator was okay.

It was dark and there was no moon tonight, there was a slight chill in the air, which was not the norm for Underwood, their summers usually long and muggy, both the families from number 12 and 13 Hawthorne stood together along with Tony Griffiths, Eileen now aware of everything that Lily had done to gain her release, she wondered just when and how her daughter had become so brave, she could see people were staring at her, some pointing at her, and when she caught their eyes they would smile and wave, whilst only a few knew her name, they were calling her “the woman that got away” only a few resented her for it, mostly those whose kin had not been so lucky, for most of the people who were there that evening they were in awe of her.

Philip Lenan stood up, he was feeling hungry and knew the sooner he could get the bodies of Steve Duce and Stuart Hillman to the woods the better he would feel, and he wanted to get these people home, he didn’t like them congregating in the manner that they were.

‘We have to say goodbye to two subjects tonight’ he told the crowd, his voice loud and deep, the voices in the crowd silenced and all eyes fell on Philip Lenan, ‘not only that of Steve Duce, but also of Stuart Hillman who was brutally murdered, they will both be laid to rest in the woods by the end of the night, we thought it fitting that these two fine residents be laid to rest together’