Doe (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Thirty-Six

It was Saturday, when Francis was woken by shouts of distress. She got up immediately and hurried to get dressed all the time trying to hear what was going on. Kitty and Doe burst into her room, just as she pulled a jumper over her head.

"It's the Square. There's been an attack," Kitty told her, "We're riding out there."

"I'm with you," Francis told them, cramming her feet into her boots and she ran out with them.

"Where are you girls going?" Adam asked, pushing his breakfast away as they appeared in the servants kitchen.

"To the Square," Doe told him.

"And you can't stop us," Kitty added.

"How are you getting there?"

"Riding."

"Don't be silly. I'll take you in a motor," Adam stood up.

"No," Kitty protested.

"Don't be silly, Kitty. The motor will be faster. Besides, it's irritating to be stuck with the horses. We don't know what's happening there. We might be in the way." Doe pointed out calmly.

"My brothers are there," Kitty whined.

"So let's go," Francis snapped, she looked at Adam.

They became stuck in traffic on Crossroads Leads, so the girls jumped out and continued on foot. They had pushed through a crowd of moving people. The crowd were muttering around them. Some people were even laughing excitedly.

"Took out the Security, I heard." One man growled.

Francis' stomach plummeted.

"A wild beast."

"With huge wings..."

"It's claws..."

"I'm telling you...I was there..."

They entered the Square. Francis had never seen such chaos. For the Market Square was chaotic, but it was the ordered chaos of business, now in the winter morning light it looked like hell. Stalls had been smashed, splintered, defeated corpses lay amongst the juices and flesh of torn vegetables and fruit. A red piece of cloth lay in thoroughfare and was trodden even further into the dirt by confused people. The green uniforms of the Home Security was mixed in with the crowd, ticking off things on clipboard. Even cajoling people up the steps of the Town Hall. Francis' footsteps slowed, she looked at every uniform not seeing the bright pale hair she was looking for. The crowd was becoming sparser as they walked into the centre. Doe gasped. Francis saw the bulky outline of a body covered by a grubby blanket, pulled from a stall or the floor, one side of it caught in the breeze, a man's pale hand reappeared and vanished over and over again. They continued, here it was deadly quiet. They entered the shadow of the Town Hall and shivered as the temperature dropped. Many bodies lay together in a neat row and the girls stopped. None could voice which decision to take, do they dare go up to it. When suddenly Doe cried out.

"Harri!"

Simultaneously Kitty screamed, "Draco!"

Francis turned and saw Harri, Draco and Tim all sat on the side of Harri's milk cart, just outside of the shadow and silence. All three girls ran towards them. Kitty flung herself at Draco and Francis buried her face into Harri's chest.

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked, as he and Doe smiled awkwardly at each other.

"We had to come. The house was in a state," Kitty told Draco. Not allowing him to peel her off.