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Kelly landed with a squelch in the still inhabited farm. The cow pat in which the pod landed was at the feet of the cow who had produced it. The large full barn sheltered the animals from the last of the chilly weather. She broke open the pod and carefully removed herself and the duffle bag of cash from it, avoiding the warm waste products of the creatures living there. The scent was unavoidable though. The cattle lowed and scattered at the sudden arrival of the pod. Trying not to cause more of a stir amongst the cows, she searched for the nearest way out. The farmer, alerted by his animals’ frantic bellowing, walked over to the stall Kelly had exited moments before. She scuttled out of sight behind a stack of hay bales as the flannel-check shirted farmer greeted his cows.
“What’s going on the noo’ ladies? There, there. Och!” his muffled voice continued as he bent low. “What’s this again? Another one! Where do these thingmys keep comin’ frae?”
Kelly grinned and silently slipped out of the enormous barn and started her journey to Fort William. A fresh fall of snow covered the ground. It wasn’t deep and didn’t hinder her progress any. If her estimates were correct, in clear weather, it would take her five days to walk to Glencoe where she would search for the crofter’s cottage that Aunty Bec had described. Kelly hoped the weather would improve as she hadn’t come prepared for the harsh winter that had supposedly just finished.
You’d better be right, brother.
Kelly trudged through the ankle-deep snow that still lay. The sun’s warmth melted it to slush. Her wet shoes made heavy going. The first day’s travel south was slower than she had predicted. Snow still dusted the moss-covered dry stone walls that edged the winding road. Dirty mounds of mushy half melted snow skirted the narrow road in places. The wind blew cold across her face as it passed over the hills covered in the white remains of winter. That evening she made herself a shelter out of bracken ferns in the forest near Beauly. Kelly had kept close to the river and settled down to a cool night’s sleep after a dinner of cold rations.
The next two days she travelled toward, and then alongside Loch Ness. She’d never seen it in real-life, only in pictures from old calendars and magazines. Kelly’s parents never took them on family trips. They said people used to go on outings to tourist attractions. But the world wasn’t safe enough for anything like that anymore. Life was too dangerous outside of the Community. She stayed acutely aware of her surroundings and the other people nearby.
The sun shone off the water of the dark, deep loch. Her parents had told her of the Loch Ness Monster, that it was probably more than one animal—possibly a plesiosaur pair who had managed to reproduce and continue the line. Undisturbed for the millennia, successive plesiosaur pairs would have kept the line of ‘Loch Ness Monsters’ going. The cold, deep waters of the loch were ideal.
“I wonder,” she said aloud as she admired the view from the ruins of Urquhart Castle.
“Ow!” Distracted by so much to look at, she had walked into an old piece of iron pole which had been part of the information stands dotted around the base of the castle ruins. Kelly pressed her hand onto her leg. The slash from the sharp pole began to sting. It was a deep cut to her shin. Her mother would make her wash it. Kelly spent time getting to the loch’s edge where she washed her cut shin and then dressed it from the supplies in her small first aid kit. First aid reminded her of mother. Her eyes stung, and her leg went blurry as she wound the bandage around it.
Kelly walked faster and tried to not let her scenic surroundings distract her from her mission. It was taking too long to get to Fort William. That night, she went deep into the woods beside the road away from other people. She snared a squirrel and cooked it over an open fire and settled next to the coals for warmth under a clear night sky. The stars were her view as she lay trying to sleep; her reflections of her journey so far kept her awake. The people she’d encountered appeared to be eager to be about their own business and not bothered by a youth travelling on his own. Her boyish figure and plain features had made her unremarkable.
Kelly started her journey early the next morning, determined to get to Fort William by the end of that very day. She set herself a hard pace and reached the outskirts of Fort William by late evening. There were a lot of houses along the road now. She’d never seen so many. The light from candles and lanterns burned in most but coming to a small house off the road she found it was empty. Cold and slightly damp, but empty, and a sheltered place to stay the night.
Kelly lay on the carpeted floor. For the first time on her journey, the coolness of uncertainty edged her thoughts. She’d learned in school that people lived in large towns at this time, but she’d never actually seen one, only photographs. Members of their Community were convinced towns were places to avoid, and now she was about to walk into one.
Kelly must have fallen soundly asleep as she woke to daylight what seemed only moments later. The cut to her shin was hot with the edges red and angry, and there was pus on the dressing when she changed it. And it throbbed. She packed her belongings and snuck out the backdoor.
Kelly made her way toward the road. There was a great number of people walking the road to Fort William’s centre. Their conversations revealed that there was to be an impromptu market that day. She passed a large single storey building where lots of people had slept the night. They still lay on cardboard boxes broken and laid out flat, their bags of belongings beside them. The building had a sign—Fort William ScotRail. Rail...a railway station. Trains! She’d seen photos of trains on calendars, but there wasn’t one anywhere.
Kelly followed the crowd past tall stone buildings, dark stone with black stains on most of the fronts. She walked on the concrete footpaths beside dark bitumen roads and travelled a long way past groups of these tall, many storeyed buildings. She craned her neck to look up at the windows; most of them broken or boarded. The streets were damp and scattered along the footway at the side was something that looked and smelled like poo.
The crowd at the market was in poor shape. The majority were thin and hungry, dressed shabbily and needing a wash. Compared to these, the people she lived with in the Invercharing Community were in excellent health.
Some looked friendly, most looked desperate, and many had weapons. There was a group of a dozen men who stayed close together. They all had weapons of some sort. The guy who looked like their leader was a skinny young man who blew out smoke, lots of it hung around him. He looked in her direction, but not for long, as Kelly moved herself out of his sight and lost herself in the crowd. She remembered her father had often mentioned people smugglers.
Making her way around the stalls, Kelly bought hot chips and gravy, which she wolfed down hungrily. So good. It warmed her insides. There was a van which sold medicines. Kelly made a beeline for it as she might find antibiotics. Her mum said they used to sell them as tablets, not make it from bread like Aunty Bec did. The youngish woman sitting in the back of the van, dressed in black, had heavy dark makeup around her eyes. The woman appeared ghoulish, but it didn’t put Kelly off.
“Antibiotics you say?” the woman asked as she looked at Kelly’s shin wound.
“Aye. Do you have any? I want to get on top of this.” It would be black market, like everything else at this market.
“Aye, here you are. Erythromycin would be best for a skin wound.” The woman handed her a week’s course. “That will be fifty pounds please, lass.” The deep purple lip-sticked mouth emphasised the ‘lass.’ Kelly reluctantly handed over the money. “Be careful lass. There are bad men around here. I’ve seen ‘em looking at youngsters such as yourself. Be wary, aye? They kidnap girls and sell them for slaves. Not joking. It’s rife the noo’.” The kohl outlined eyes held a stern expression, then the expression changed to a curious one. “You seem familiar. Do you have family around here?”
“Aye. My parents live nearby. They’ve been to this market. You may have met them.”
“Och. No!” the woman said with recognition in her voice. “You’re no’ related to Scott are ye?”
“Do you know Scott’s surname?” Kelly asked. Caution made her wary; even if this weird-looking woman seemed friendly, she must be suspicious of everyone.
“Aye. Campbell. He’s got a funny wee wifey. She’s way too young for a man like that. She’s not your mither, for she’s no’ much older than yoursel’. You must be his from another woman, aye? But you’re his all right,’ she said with a tilt to her head. “I ken it by your attitude as well as your colouring.”
Kelly smiled. This woman may be her best chance of further pinpointing her parent’s location.
“Would you have seen them lately?”
“To be honest now, I have nae seen them since afore the winter. They live a fair way from here by foot, so they may not have been wantin’ to venture oot. It bein’ a harsh winter an’ all. But Glencoe’s easy enough to find now down the A82. I ken they’ve vandalised the signs but it’s the only road south. Just as well for you, aye? You no’ seen your faither for a while then?”
Kelly thanked the woman and moved on, grateful for the information. She couldn’t spend all day talking. Kelly continued out of the market and through Fort William on to the A82. The late afternoon sun was casting tall shadows on the road. Her whole body lagged. Her journey had been a long one and today’s walk was no exception. This was a strange place—a city, so big and full of people she didn’t know. A pang of longing started in the centre of her being. Her parents had made a safe place for her and many people. From what she’d seen so far, the world outside was not a great place. The longing was growing with the thought of her mum and dad. She had to find them, and soon.
Sparse but constant traffic passed. Those market attendees fortunate enough to have a vehicle, and fuel to run it, passed infrequently. Most vehicles were of the horse-drawn kind, all making their way south. The unfamiliar scent of petrol-exhaust fumes wafted in Kelly’s face when the motor vehicles over-took her. They had one or two vehicles at the Community, but they used them rarely.
People travelled in the same direction and Kelly she heard footsteps behind her, as there had been for most of the day. The gentle clanging of metal now accompanied them. The shadows of those following her nudged at her feet and she briefly turned to look. She picked up her pace as behind were two men from the group of well-armed men at the market. Kelly’s mind cleared as she removed her knife from her belt.
“Oh well, pretty one,” the voice came from behind her. Kelly flicked a glance back. There was a lad with tattoos up his throat. He was trying a friendly approach. She lengthened her stride.
“Come now. We just want to talk to ya,” his companion joined him.
Kelly picked up her pace. Rapid footsteps came behind her. A quick glance back confirmed it was her pursuers. She also ran, but not as fast as the young men who were gaining on her.
Kelly spun, and in the same motion, threw her knife. It hit the tattooed pursuer in the left shoulder. He screamed in pain and astonishment. His accomplice stood still. Kelly ran and gained some ground. Her surprise offensive move had only angered the uninjured youth. He sprinted toward her. So intent on her would-be abductors, Kelly hadn’t noticed a van travelling behind her and her pursuers. It now accelerated and, knocking her closest threat over, pulled up next to her. The passenger door flew open.
“Get in lass! Quick!” It was the woman from the black market pharmacy.
Kelly sprinted to the van and jumped in the front seat. The van skidded away. The side mirror’s view showed the injured lad sprawled in the middle of the road—his friend making his painful way toward him, still with her knife in his shoulder.
“You okay?” The dark rimmed made-up eyes of the pharmacist were wide and round. “Do you realise how close you came to them capturing ye!”
“Thank-you.” Kelly’s voice was quiet. She was aware and very grateful. Her journey back in time to her parents almost wasted but for the actions of this weird-looking woman. “I mean it. Thank-you.”
The pharmacist nodded and checked in the rear vision mirror for her would-be slavers.
“That’s got rid of them,” she said. “I think I know where to drop you off close to the place where your father lives. Well, where I thought he lived last time I saw him before the winter we’ve had.”
“Could you take me there, please?”