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  "Saviour!" Leon snorted. "Where's your saviour now, when we need him most? Where is he?"

  "Don't blaspheme!" Kramer replied angrily. "How dare you use his name like that! I warn you - if you want violence then you abandon God. The eternal fires of Hell await anyone who strikes back at any tyrant, however evil. We must have faith that God has a reason for things being the way they are."

  "We are already in Hell!" Leon blazed back. "And we need not be. We can make our own lives, or let Claws take them from us. All we need is the will to act. One moment of courage and our lives becomes our own. We don't need your God."

  The elders shouted out their disgust and anger at this remark and Kramer waved his fist at Leon. "As God is my judge you'll burn for eternity! You and all these other heretics!"

  Leon raised a hand and tried to speak but the outburst from the elders made it impossible for him to be heard. He tried again and again and gradually the crowd turned on the elders and demanded they be silent.

  When the shouting had subsided Leon addressed them again. "We do not need the elders - it's time for a new generation to take power into their hands, and the time is now!"

  He thrust his arm out in the direction of the compound and the crowd cheered the unmistakable signal to move. Almost as one they surged towards the entrance and burst into the night. Joey was one of the last to make his way from the meeting and made to follow his comrades. In their wake stood a small knot of elders, crestfallen, and glaring down from the platform stood Leon.

  "You can come with us if you want, or remain here until it's over - as you will. Only make no attempt to step in our way, I won't guarantee your safety."

  He jumped down to the floor and marched after the crowd as Kramer called out to him. "Stop them! Stop them before it's too late. You don't know what you're doing! One drop of spilt blood and you're all damned!"

  But the pleas fell without any effect upon the broad back of The Underground's leader as he strode away to lead the assault on the compound.

  Joey was running through the night surrounded by silent black shapes. The only sound was the crunching of snow and ice beneath their feet. He stayed by Leon's side, wanting to be close to the centre of the action. He wanted to be there when they confronted Claws - to avenge Rudi. Streams of workers from the outlying blocks joined the ever thickening main current as it surged through the compound. Then at last they were running across the bare ground between the accommodation blocks and the factory gates and only now did they begin to shout. Shouts of anger and excitement - quickly taken up by others until the entire dark tidal wave sounded deafeningly.

  Joey was no more than five yards back when they reached the gate. It was locked and the foremost workers in the crowd shook it in frustration. A large wooden beam that rested against the rear of the gate, it was operated by a sliding mechanism in the porter's lodge. A few began to climb the ironwork when Joey had a better idea and thrust his way over to the tiny window of the porter's lodge. It was shut and he tried to force it but the wooden shutter held firm.

  "Over here!" He called out. "Help me with this!"

  Other hands attempted to push open the shutter without effect, then a burly worker with a hammer pushed his way to the front and swept the others to one side warning them to keep clear. He swung his hammer arm back and then struck at the shutter with all his force. With a splintering crack it began to give and a few more blows caved it in. Even so the gap was too small for anyone to get inside fully clothed. Joey immediately began to strip, taking off his cloak, jacket and leggings until he only had his boots and thin under clothes on. The freezing night air bit into his body numbing all the exposed flesh at once. As Joey looked up he saw lights burning in the upper levels of the mansion and in the windows of the overseers' block. A door was opened and light flooded into the compound as several overseers spilled out carrying cudgels. A quick glance at the gate was enough and they charged towards it beating down the handful of workers that had managed to scale the gate.

  Joey was lifted to the window by the worker with the hammer and reaching through with both arms he gripped the edge of the table inside and pulled himself through. He felt splinters tearing through the thin material of his underclothes and gouging his skin but he ignored it and pulled harder. His head and shoulders were through but his hips caught in the opening. He strained hard but gained little ground, then all of a sudden he felt his thighs being gripped and thrust forward.

  He fell over the edge of the table and landed on the floor, but was on his feet in a second. The room was small and snug, the ashes of a recent fire smouldered in the grate and two small battered armchairs faced the fire. On the wall above a row of coat pegs a lantern glowed yellow and Joey glanced around in the light that it cast. The beam lay on a series of rollers at one end of the room, secured in place by an iron bar that ran through one end. A large spoked wheel stood beside the beam where it went through the wall to the gate outside. Joey wrenched the bar free and heaved at one of the spokes. Slowly the wheel began to turn and the beam trundled back on the squeaking rollers. Outside he could hear a sudden roar of triumph and moments later felt a blast of freezing air as the lodge door was wrenched open.

  "Get away from there!" Smithy bellowed at him. "Get away!....Joey!"

  For a moment the overseer paused, then as a fresh shout reached his ears he charged at Joey, fists clenched. Joey thrust at the spoke with all his might and then a pair of hands grabbed him by the throat and tore him away from the wheel. Smithy threw him to the far side of the room and then snatched up a poker from the grate.

  "You little bastard!" He snarled. "And to think I even liked you...."

  He lunged and Joey twisted to one side, into the corner. The poker crashed down sending sparks across the stone floor. Then Smithy loomed over Joey and raised the poker again.

  "Now I've got you."

  Smithy bared his teeth and made to swing. Then his face abruptly turned into a grimace and the poker dropped from his hand and clanged to the floor. He turned and Joey saw a red smeared chisel handle sticking out of Smithy's back, and beyond that Leon. Smithy dropped to his knees coughing blood, Leon ignored him and helped Joey to his feet.

  "Well done! We're in. Nothing can stop us now!" Leon smiled grimly. "Now let's find Claws...."

  Joey snatched a coat off the peg and followed Leon outside. The gates had been flung back and the workers were racing across the compound towards the mansion. Here and there an overseer tried to stem the tide but was quickly overwhelmed and disappeared from view. Several bodies, workers and overseers, lay by the open gates, trampled by the waves passing over them. Leon ran to catch up with those at the front and Joey struggled to stay near him. Ahead they could see the last few overseers squeezing through the entrance to the mansion and then it was slammed shut before the first workers reached it and began to beat on it with their fists. The others caught up and hammered on the ground floor shutters and soon the entire frontage of the mansion was besieged by a crowd of wild shouting workers thirsting for blood.

  "This is no good." Leon said. "We have to get in somehow."

  He looked around and stared back at the gate. "The beam! We can use the beam as a battering ram!"

  He began to pull people from the crowd and was starting to shout his plan to them when they all heard a loud rattling noise.

  The shutters of the mansion suddenly swung open.

  For a second the crowd was silent.

  Then a row of dark tubes filled every window and the crowd shrank back.

  "Guns!" Someone shouted. "They've got guns!"

  "Fire!"

  Every barrel spat out a jet of flame and a terrible rippling crash of gunfire deafened the crowd. Those at the front had no chance and were swept away by the volley. Surprise was complete and the crowd stood still with shock - until the second volley. In an instant everything changed. Gone were the cries of rage and desire to avenge. Now there were the screams of the wounded and shouts of terror as everyone fought blindly t
o get away, filled with one thought - escape.

  Joey saw Leon raise a hand and try to stop them before he was bodily carried back away from the house leaving Leon and a dwindling band of followers to charge the mansion and fall at the ends of the overseers' weapons. At the gate the mob paused for a moment to look back. With horror they saw the space in front of the mansion covered with bodies, some dead, some trying to crawl away. Then the front door opened and Claws led the overseers outside where they formed a line across the yard. When they were ready the overseers were given the order to fix bayonets to their guns and then the line advanced, pausing here and there to finish off the wounded.

  "Run!" Someone near Joey screamed. "Run! Back! Get back!"

  The crowd melted, flowing away into the night, fleeing from the terrible line of death that paced towards them. As if to crush any lingering spirit of resistance the overseers paused to fire another volley and scores more workers fell at the gate. Joey ran, ran for his life, as fast as his body would take him away from the compound. Behind him he heard Claws shout the order to charge. The workers poured back to the blocks, some taking shelter inside - hiding under bunks, in cupboards and in the roof-spaces, others hurrying out of the camp into the night, away from Claws only to die of cold in the icy wasteland.

  All night the overseers patrolled the camp shooting anyone they found outdoors. Inside the nearest block he could find Joey was hunched down behind a bunk, eyes clenched shut and muffled hands clasped tightly against his ears. He winced at the sound of gunfire and distant screams....

  As the night wore on into dawn the sounds diminished and pale light filtered through the small windows to reveal other terrified faces hiding around him. No-one moved, they were all afraid to in the terrible atmosphere of uncertainty the new day brought. What would Claws do to them? Were they all to be killed?

  The answer came soon enough.

  The door of the block was kicked in and a pair of overseers entered and bellowed Claws's proclamation. He wanted the names of all the ringleaders within the hour. If none were forthcoming the overseers would enter every block and kill every tenth person. Then they were left alone to consider the demand. For a while no-one spoke - no-one knew what to say. The only name they all knew was Leon and that was what they decided to say when the overseers came back.

  When the hour was up and the overseers returned they already had a list of names which they read out.

  "Alfred Jones, David Willets, Joey Tressel...."

  He didn't hear the rest of the list but stared in horror at the floor, motionless. The next thing he was aware of was an overseer grabbing him roughly by the arm.

  "You're Joey aren't you? I've seen you with Smithy. Bet you were the little bastard that did for him."

  Joey shook his head in terror. "No!"

  "Too bad." The overseer shoved him towards the door. "Outside with the others. Now!"

  He did as he was told and found a small column of workers outside the hut. Their hands had been tied behind their backs and they stood with heads bowed, silent. Joey was pushed into place, his hands wrenched back and then he felt the rope being wound round and knotted on his wrists. When the other workers on the overseers' list had been put in line the column moved off to the next hut and the process was repeated. By the time the list was complete there were nearly fifty of them and the column trudged off towards the compound. As they passed through the gates a ripple of horror passed down the column. All the bodies had been cleared from in front of the mansion and around the entire perimeter of the compound stood roughly hewn stakes. On each stake was a head, and in the corner by the stables stood a huge mound of bodies. Even a fresh fall of snow during the early hours had failed to completely cover them, or the smears of pink that still showed through here and there. Some of the prisoners exchanged anxious whispers.

  "Quiet!" An overseer shouted, and he kicked one of his prisoners in the shin to enforce his order. The prisoner almost collapsed but just managed to stay on his feet as the column moved towards the far side of the compound - a high, featureless wall of smoke-grimed brick. The column was halted and the prisoners were arranged along the length of the wall, one prisoner every ten feet. They were told to stand still and be silent.

  Joey and the others waited for what seemed like hours, and then the front door of the mansion opened and two overseers emerged carrying a worker between them. As they approached Joey could see that it was Leon - shot through his left arm and leg, face purple and black and bleeding. The overseers dropped him to the ground close to Joey.

  "Leon!" Joey whispered. "What happened?"

  Leon looked up and tried to smile, but winced with agony instead. "Claws wanted a word...with me." He said with difficulty.

  "Quiet!" An overseer shouted. "No talking!"

  So they waited, cold and terrified.

  At midday there was a commotion over at the gate and then they saw the head of a line of workers being led into the compound. Block by block they were brought in and herded into the centre of the enclosed area, ringed on all sides by armed guards. Joey could see Kramer and the elders at the front of the crowd, silent like the others but with heads bowed as if in prayer.

  When all were present Claws finally came out of the mansion, a sneer on his face. He stopped before them, placed his hands on hips and gazed contemptuously at the silent faces before him. None dared meet his eyes.

  "Thought you'd be rebels did you?" He jeered. "Thought you'd get rid of me eh? Well it isn't that easy - as you've found out. And I aim to make sure that you don't repeat the mistake. I want you to see what happens to all those who make such mistakes." He waved his hand round the perimeter of heads and then turned to the line of prisoners by the compound wall. "I want you all to see this, and not forget it."

  He pulled out a knife and went over to the first prisoner in the line. Yanking the prisoner's head back by the hair Claws slashed the knife across his throat. A sheet of red leapt from the prisoner's neck and as Claws released his grip on the hair, the body sagged to one side on the ground and the body writhed weakly before it was still.

  "I must say." Claws continued speaking as he repeated the action on the next prisoner. "I'm grateful that some of you at least had the sense to co-operate and turn these ones over to me...."

  Another throat was cut.

  "That's the deal from now on.... You co-operate with me.... or you die...."

  "Who sold us out?" Leon whispered. "Who gave him our names?"

  "Who do you think?" Joey replied. "Kramer. Look at him."

  With an effort Leon raised his head and stared over towards where the group of elders huddled. He sucked in a deep breath and called out. "Why Kramer? Why?" He called out.

  Kramer looked up, shocked.

  "Why did you do it? Why?"

  Kramer shook his head hopelessly. "It was God's will."

  "God's will?" Joey said incredulously. "God's will....This is God's will?"

  "SILENCE!!!" Claws swung around from his latest victim. "Let's have some decorum here please.... I'll have no bad-mouthing of religious men."

  Claws steadily worked his way down the line. Joey stared straight ahead trying to shut the events out of his head as icy terror slowly clenched round his heart. He sensed that Claws was near him and out of the corner of his eye he saw the huge red-clad figure finishing off the prisoner beyond Leon.

  "Joey!" Leon called softly, his voice catching. "Joey.... I just wanted to say.... I just... Merry Christmas Joey."

  Then he was dead. Joey heard him die, he heard the ice crunch under Claws' feet, felt the warmth of Claws' breath on his cheek, sensed the cold terror like a fist squeeze tight on his heart.

  And then it was Joey's turn.

 

 

 
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