The Gathering

We entered the house to see Joe, Harry and Warren sitting round the table in the centre of the room. Warren and Harry turned their heads and looked over at us, their eyes widening and shock appearing on Warren’s face.

“My goodness Lydia, sit down. Sit down. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” I said. I held up my wrists. “Just a few cuts and scratches.”

“And on your cheek,” said Warren.

“And on your leg,” said Harry.

I smiled, not letting the stinging sensation which was running all through my body get the better of me. When I looked over to Allan he was staring at the floor, his face red and teeth clenched.

Warren interrupted the silence.

“Let me get something for your wounds.”

I thanked him as I took his seat. Looking through cupboards, he pulled out a large old cloth. Soaking it in water, he wrapped it around my wrists.

“What happened?” he asked.

I shook my head, and told him that all he needed to know was that I was safe and alive. I had no broken bones, and had come away lightly from what could have been a worse situation. The pain of slowly slicing flesh was just as bad as broken bones " I knew from previous experience " but I kept my mouth shut. There were some things you didn’t need to tell your group.

“So,” I changed the subject. “What have we found?”

Joe smiled, gesturing at Warren and Allan to take a seat. Warren sat next to Joe. Allan remained standing, still not looking at anyone but Joe.

“I managed to build an escape route in the prison cell,” he said. Warren grinned. Joe continued. “When our people next get taken prisoners, we have a shortcut which will help us get them out quicker and safer. The guards won’t see it as it’s a hatch, so when we have to save the innocents then I’ll tell you all exactly where it is.”

“Why won’t you tell us now?” I asked.

This made Warren grin wider.

“While I was building the hatch, Harry overheard a conversation while he was on guard.”

With this Allan leaned in closer, keeping his eyes glued on Joe. Joe smiled. He was glad he had gotten silence and a captive audience.

“Well, you tell them Harry.”

All eyes turned to Harry. He nodded and began.

“The Sheriff’s brother is coming to town. He’s bringing money.”

“How much money?” asked Allan.

“Fifty thousand,” said Warren.

“Say what?”

Warren replied with a smile even wider than before, not humanly possible. Joe laughed quietly to himself, looking at each of our faces with a satisfied smile.

As he stood up, all eyes turned back to him.

“If we manage to take the money, and pull this off, we would never have to steal again. The town would be looked after with enough money, and there would be plenty left over.”

“For us?”

“No Allan. For emergencies, for the future, for treatments and medicine. These people need our help and we can give it to them. No more stealing a hundred one month and fifty another. This is big. This is our big opportunity.”

“It’s also our riskiest,” I said.

All smiles faded. I had pointed out the big elephant in the room. Consequence. The fact that we could get caught hadn’t dawned on them. They were too happy with the news.

Except for Joe. While everyone started frowning, he looked at me with an unusual look.

“Correct. This time, if we get caught, it’s over.”

“No,” Allan replied.

Harry and Warren turned to Allan to argue but Joe held up his hand. They stopped and merely looked at each other. I looked at Allan but his expression couldn’t be read.

“I know this is nothing like what we’ve done before, but all our petty thieving will be over. We won’t have to risk our lives time and time again for a small sum. If we pull this off, we can be free of it. We’ll never have to go to that castle again.”

We all knew that was a lie. Innocent bystanders would still somehow get sentenced to prison, or worse, death. We would still have to save them, but Joe was talking about theft. It was a big decision to make, but one which was obvious.

“I’m in,” said Harry.

“And me,” said Warren.

Allan and Joe looked at me. Joe was looking into my eyes whereas Allan was preoccupied by my wounds.

“Allan,” I stood up and walked over to him. “I’m responsible for myself. You don’t need to protect me.”

Allan looked down and carefully took my hands in his. When he looked up, his eyes scanned my face.

“Lydia is always the distraction. What if this time we’re too late?”

There was a pause.

Joe stepped forwards until he was between the two of us.

“Then we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Allan looked over to him, then back to me. I nodded to him, attempting a smile to encourage him. He nodded in response, letting go of my hands and backing away.

“We’re in then,” he said.

He walked towards the door, swinging it open and leaving us behind.

“Where are you going?” Warren shouted.

Allan didn’t answer. Joe looked after him and began to walk.

“You stay,” I told him. “I’ll go.”

Joe held the door open for me as I left, walking quickly after Allan and following him into the pub.