BooksBarbecue
Back The Hollows
Chapters (77)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. PART I
  6. 1.
  7. 2.
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
  10. 5.
  11. 6.
  12. 7.
  13. 8.
  14. PART II
  15. 9.
  16. 10.
  17. 11.
  18. 12.
  19. 13.
  20. 14.
  21. 15.
  22. 16.
  23. 17.
  24. 18.
  25. 19.
  26. 20.
  27. 21.
  28. 22.
  29. 23.
  30. 24.
  31. 25.
  32. 26.
  33. 27.
  34. 28.
  35. 29.
  36. 30.
  37. 31.
  38. 32.
  39. 33.
  40. 34.
  41. 35.
  42. 36.
  43. PART III
  44. 37.
  45. 38.
  46. 39.
  47. 40.
  48. 41.
  49. 42.
  50. 43.
  51. 44.
  52. 45.
  53. 46.
  54. 47.
  55. 48.
  56. 49.
  57. 50.
  58. 51.
  59. 52.
  60. 53.
  61. 54.
  62. 55.
  63. 56.
  64. 57.
  65. 58.
  66. 59.
  67. 60.
  68. 61.
  69. 62.
  70. 63.
  71. 64.
  72. 65.
  73. PART IV
  74. 66.
  75. 67.
  76. 68.
  77. Acknowledgements

Ellie shook her head. Reuben stirred, lifting his head and blinking up at her. She ruffled his hair, then stuffed the printouts into her inside pocket. A few new clues, but ultimately little she hadn’t known this morning: there were monsters, they’d be back tonight, and the Harpers knew more about them than they were willing to tell.

“Come on,” she told Reuben. “Stuff to do.”

She wrapped Shona and Snappy-or-Scrappy in a blanket and carried them both downstairs, then found a lead for Reuben. Almost as an afterthought, she tried Madeleine’s landline, her own mobile and her AirWave handset – she’d almost forgotten she was still carrying that – but as she’d expected, there was nothing.

Ellie packed any supplies she thought might be of use – food, blankets, fuel – into an old rucksack she found under the Vicarage stairs, shrugged it onto her back, took Reuben’s lead and set off up Church Street again.

44.

44.

At Barrowman Farm the chores had been neglected, for today was unlike any day Liz had known before. They’d shown themselves and made themselves known as They hadn’t in hundreds, even thousands of years.

Things weren’t done yet, of course – there was the Dance to come tonight, before the last and greatest changes took place – but the morning sun had already risen on a world utterly unlike yesterday’s or any other in living memory. Barsall would be in ruins now. All the pretty-pretty shopfronts smashed; all those who’d looked down their noses on her family, gone.

Well, maybe not all. Not yet.

She sat at the kitchen table, the last bacon cob eaten, the last cup of tea drunk; no room for another drop nor morsel. Dom huddled in the corner with his precious bloody dogs; Paul snored in a chair at the table’s other end – asleep, and it wasn’t even midday, the lazy sod. Still, the last two nights had been trying, and tonight wouldn’t be any easier. Whatever the family did to ingratiate themselves with Them, one slip, one mistake, one moment’s lack of attention, and God help them.

Which God wouldn’t, because He wasn’t there. If He ever had been, His time was past. That smooth little sod Matt Williams, that cow Madeleine Lowe – oh, Liz would’ve loved to have seen their faces when they saw what’d come for them. Prayers, crosses and Bibles wouldn’t help anyone now. Not the Bibles they had, anyway; only one Bible would help, and it belonged to Liz.