Interrupted Journey

Chapter 7 - The Bridge

Three nights later they arrived at the river. As Bert had told them, there was a footpath along the bank and it was only a couple of miles to the bridge. Unfortunately the path was made of slatted wood and by the time the railway embankment came into sight, the trolley had developed an annoying squeak. At last Andrew could stand it no longer - they were trying to move quietly - so he picked up the thing and carried it. As he did so, it occurred to him that either he was growing stronger or the trolley was becoming lighter.

Suddenly Elizabeth touched his arm and pointed to the viaduct ahead. Silhouetted against the starry sky, there were two people. They looked as if they were guarding the bridge.

Andrew moved as quietly as possible to the base of the viaduct. He gestured to the others that they should stay where they were then scrambled up. It wasn't hard but he wished he had taken his pack off. As he reached the top he flattened himself onto the damp grass and studied the scene.

There were two guards standing on the railway line with no obvious shelter or support. He could see them quite clearly in the watery moonlight. They were looking out along the bridge and were obviously not expecting anyone to come from behind them. A short way along the tracks there was a pile of rubbish.

Andrew waited a few minutes to check that there was nobody else about then he announced his presence. "You have a rifle pointing at you," he told them with as much authority as he could muster. "Do not turn around or point those shotguns in this direction."

The two men froze.

"My family is going to cross the bridge," he told them. "We don't want any trouble but I will shoot if necessary. Now put those guns on the ground and move twenty yards back down the tracks away from the bridge."

"How do we know that you won't just shoot us?" one of the men asked.

"I don't want to waste ammunition or attract attention," Andrew answered. "Anyway, if I wanted you dead, you already would be."

Grumbling, they put down the shotguns and moved back. He was wondering what to do next when he heard David, just below him on the embankment, whispering, "It's me; Mum send me up."

Andrew sent David back down the slope to help the others make their way up with their supplies. "We're supposed to charge you a toll for crossing the bridge," one of the guards said optimistically.

"You really think that's going to happen?" Andrew responded.

After a few minutes the family was up on the embankment with all their supplies and they started to make their way along the bridge. Andrew went last, walking backwards to keep an eye on the two guards while David carried their two shotguns.

"Can we have our guns back?" one of them asked. He seemed to be becoming increasingly nervous.

"In a minute," Andrew answered. "We'll leave them just up here and you can come and collect them..."

Suddenly there was a scream from Elizabeth.

Andrew hurried to catch up with her. She was staring in wide eyed horror at the rubbish pile just in front of her. Annie was doing her 'silent crying' thing and Martin looked as if he was about to do the same.

Then he saw. The pile of rubbish wasn't rubbish. It was bodies. Lots of bodies.

With a furious expression, he turned on the men who were standing a short distance away. "Was this you?" he demanded.

"No, it was Bushy's lot"

"Who's Bushy."

"He sort of runs the place," one of the men said and nodded back up the railway line.