Backwards Into Hell

Part Two: The LFG

Jake's Diary

Wednesday 27th October

'Jake,' whispered a sing-song voice.

What if he's dead? No, don't be stupid.

They tapped my shoulder, and I groaned—the relief in Anais' mind was abundant.

'You've gotta come down,' he said. 'We agreed to meet at eight.'

I rubbed my face on the pillow. 'Five minutes.'

'Five minutes.' He sighed.

Then my door clicked, and I enjoyed a final thirty seconds before crawling out of bed. Every single sinew of every single muscle howled with the effort. Between dragging bodies around at all hours of the night and my now horrific sleep schedule, I was falling apart.

I slapped on a pair of jeans and a jumper and floated downstairs, pausing to check the garden. It was raining today, torrential. Everyone was already gathered around the table when I arrived, and I bowed my head sheepishly before taking a seat.

My mind ran over what David was going to tell us. He'd clearly discovered the drug ring before Lily and I, but how? I'd only found it because of The Old Man.

He sat with his hands clasped together on the table like an old clan leader as I wolfed down some stale toast with barely a slick of butter (it had been rationed), and kept my face straight. I was beginning to regret killing the cook first. If I hadn't, maybe we'd still be getting decent grub.

'I see the bedhead's finally joined us,' Darren said with a grin, and it was hard not to throw crusts at him. It must have been clear in my expression because Lily ran her fingers over my knee under the table.

'Sorry,' I said. 'Not been sleeping well.'

'None of us have,' said Lottie, meaning it kindly.

We dropped into silence, and David took his chance. 'I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our expedition today.'

Everyone but Lily and I sat up in surprise.

'What do you mean?' Anais asked.

'It's too risky to split the group up—especially if we're not safe—and there's something else I need to share with you all.'

At this, David's eyes came to mine, and I gave him a taut nod before he stood, grating his chair across the polished floor.

Lottie dropped her butter knife on the table. 'Has someone else...' She looked around the table, and everyone followed suit, counting.

Eight. Still eight.

David cleared his throat once we'd finished. 'On Tuesday night, before I found Delilah, I was in the kitchen.'

A smirk wanted to burst onto my face as Lily grabbed my hand tighter. This was about the cupboard. I watched Darren and Anais from the corner of my eye for a reaction.

'When I was there, I heard voices coming from below, so I—'

'Wait,' blocked Darren. His face had fallen into iron, and there was danger in his eyes. 'We should talk about this.'

Guilty as sin.

David thought the same as everyone's minds danced across the room. Just one stood out:

Not now, not now! Anais peeled a piece of skin from his thumb. Just one more day!

Despite Darren's admittedly terrifying attempt to halt him, David continued.

'In short,' he said with a glance to Darren, 'I returned later to find some sort of drug manufacturing lab underneath The Lodge, and I believe it belongs to Darren.'

There was a predictable gasp. Everyone turned to stare as Darren sweated and swept his hands through his perfect hair.

'No. It isn't mine—I knew about it, of course—but Anais—'

'No!' Anais jumped out of his chair. 'I've got nothing to do with your little scheme!' His fist struck the table, but he didn't lunge forward.

Meanwhile, I was confused. The rest of us rose from our chairs on instinct, and I put myself between Lily and Anais as their voices blended into one—not words, this time, but pure emotion. Anger and fear pounded my head, and I scrunched my eyes, focusing on what was really in the room.

'Well then, show me the evidence,' Darren tried, attempting to regain some semblance of control.

That's when I made my decision. Darren was by far the larger threat to my plan. I let go of Lily's hand and stood with Anais.

'I saw it too, last night.'

Lily was quiet, just as scared as the rest. She didn't need to come forward.

Meanwhile, Caleb, who had been sitting quietly, was startled by the shouting. His face scrunched like a tissue, and he began to howl.

'I'll get him,' said Lily, walking over and picking him from the chair before anyone had the chance to protest. She slipped out of the room, patting his back and cooing.

David returned to the matter at hand. My statement had made his more reliable—even if he thought I was lying—and had, hopefully, made me more of an ally.

'The only way we can prove this is by going down there ourselves.'

With that, David began to walk calmly to the kitchen, and like little ducklings, we followed in silence.

Well, to everyone else, it was silent. For me, the cacophony of noise continued. Darren's voice was by far the loudest, towering up from the tree line.

Think of something. Anything.