As the Light Dies (81 page)

No more parents came. The children began dozing on and off, on the gym mats. Some cried themselves to sleep only to wake up again ten minutes later and repeat the cycle.

Bill, Mandy and Lisa all took turns reading stories to the children trying their best to keep them company and reassure them through the night.

In between the quiet times Lisa could see the strain on Bil
l’
s face, she knew he had five-week old twins at home and a three year old
.

He must be sick with worry
,
she thought.

Mandy on the other hand had no immediate family but she did have a tom cat called Buffy that she was desperately worried about.

Slowly but surely morning came around, not that yo
u’
d know it by looking out of the window.

It was still as black as night!

Bill insisted that both women take turns about, taking a break from the library and go for a lie down in his office to try and recharge, and currently Lisa lay on the cushioned chairs that were still warm from Mand
y’
s body heat.

Lisa rubbed her sore bloodshot eyes; they felt like sh
e’
d gotten grit in them. She looked around the dark room aimlessly. All she could think of was Leann. That was one whole night now that they had been separated because of this damn ash and snow and she prayed Leann was safe even though she was
n’
t the slightest bit religious. She could
n’
t think what had caused so many of the parents not to have made it in yet. Thinking about it, she remembered what that mother had said yesterday about people attacking each other like animals and a shiver ran down her spine!

What on earth is going on!
’
she wondered
,
we can’t stay here forever
!

After less than ten minutes it was no use she had to get up. She pulled off the curtains used for blankets and got up. She thought sh
e’
d go to the kitchens and do a stock check to see what needed to be used up first now that the freezers were
n’
t working.

She made her way down the hallway being quiet as she came closer to the library. She peered in through the window thinking that sh
e’
d check to see if she was needed and let Bill and Mandy know where she was going in case they needed her. But she was surprised to find the room was empty! She opened the door carefully not wanting to wake any sleeping children and leaned in for a proper look. The room was totally empty, and the makeshift blankets on the gym mats were all folded neatly and piled up to the side.

She began to wonder if she had fallen asleep after all.

Her wristwatch was long dead, and so was the wall clock so she could
n’
t gauge any passing of time. She and Bill had to keep asking Mandy for the time from her wind up wristwatch. Closing the door she headed towards the kitchens feeling a little disorientated but before sh
e’
d walked far she heard the sound of happy, busy children.

As she passed by the schoo
l’
s main entrance she was a little shocked to see how deep the snow was outside where it butted up against the glass doors. It was up to her knees on the other side of the glass. Suddenly Lisa flinched when all the children screamed in unison, making her ears ring. Confused she hurried to the canteen swing doors and pushed them open.

Bill looked up smiling as she entered the dining hall. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up and was leaning over with his hands on his knees slightly out of breath.

They were playing British Bulldog and he was currently the bull dog, trying to catch the children as they ran around him trying their best to avoid him and reach the other side of the hall.

“
Aha! Sleeping beauty awakes
,”
he said standing up and stretching his back.

Lisa glimpsed Mandy behind the canteen counter moving soup bowls that had obviously been used for breakfast. Mandy smiled and waved. Lisa nodded and smiled back feeling embarrassed.

“I’
m sorry, I, I had no idea
,”
she said looking at Bill.

Smiling, he said
,“
Relax, we all need to try and sleep at some point. And after all, it is what you went in there to do.
I’
m glad you managed to doze off
.
”

“LOOK!”
screeched one of the children pointing towards the patio doors.

Everyone in the hall turned to look but could
n’
t see anything apart from swirling black snow.

The child, a small girl ran halfway across the hall still pointing outside screaming
,
“LOOK! LOOK! LOOK!”

Bill and Lisa started walking towards the patio doors trying to see what it was that had the little girl so worked up. A lightning bolt flashed and crackled as it raced in to the ground nearby and practically blinded the ones closest the windows and glass patio doors as they peered out.

For the ones that were
n’
t momentarily blinded it illuminated several figures traipsing through the deep snow towards the school.

“
My God
!”
said Mandy coming out from behind the counter.

“
It must be their parents
,”
said Bill, and at the mention of the word parents all of the children flocked to the patio doors and the windows along the side of the dining hall trying to see.

Lightning flashed again. Brighter than before, and it completely blinded the children pressed up against the glass this time, as they peered out wide-eyed and excited.

The ones worst affected by the lightning were quickly pushed back from the glass as they repeatedly blinked and rubbed their hurting eyes, and others filled their place desperate to see if their parents were amongst the newcomers.

Bill was
n’
t too badly affected being a little further back from the windows. He saw the illuminated figures approaching and guessed that there were roughly twelve or so heading for the main doors. Thinking the same thing, Lisa said
,“
They wo
n’
t get in through the main doors. The sno
w’
s too deep. I looked as I passed just now
.
”

“
Yo
u’
re right
,”
said Bill without taking his eyes away from the silhouettes outside as they laboured through the thick snow
.“
The
y’
ll have to dig themselves in
,”
he said.

“
Or us out
,”
said Lisa.

“
Well, that as well
,”
said Bill having to raise his voice over the excited children
.“
Quick
,”
he said
,“I’
m sure ther
e’
s an old snow shovel in the store cupboard in the cloakroom. We can pass it out through one of the windows
.”
Before he finished saying windows h
e’
d started off to the cloakroom to dig out the shovel he was sure was there.

The children started to knock on the windows trying to get the attention of the adults, calling out for their mum and dad.

The emotion in their little calls tugged at Lis
a’
s heart strings and she saw it was having the same effect on Mandy when she caught her wiping away a tear.

Mandy was trying to calm the kids down telling them not to knock too hard for fear the
y’
d hurt their little knuckles against the cold glass. One little boy already had, Lisa saw him wiping his bloody hands down his creased uniform, yet despite all the noise the children were making none of the figures seemed to react. Not one of them turned to look. It was as if they could
n’
t hear them!

“
Please calm down kids
,”
pleaded Mandy still having little to no effect.

Lisa tried to help in urging some of them away from the windows. The ones at the front were being squashed by the ones at the back and two little girls started fighting because one had stood on the othe
r’
s foot.

Lisa thought she was having a positive effect by urging them back a little, but as soon as she took her eyes off them, they darted straight back up against the windows.

Bless the little poppets
,
she thought
.
They’re all just so excited
.

She just hoped that all the parents were out there. There seemed to be the right number of adults, maybe even too many.

Strange how they’ve all come at the same time
,
she thought.

Then she heard Bill from out in the hall way. He was shouting!

“I’
ll pass it through the window in the dining hall next door, we wo
n’
t get the doors open and these windows do
n’
t open wide enough to pass it through. I
t’
s better than nothing, yo
u’
ll be in, in no time, just head back over to the dining hall windows and
I’
ll pass it through to you now,
c’
mon
.
”

Bill re-emerged from the corridor. He smiled at Lisa and waved the shovel in the air.

“
Told you
,”
he called over, and as he finished there was a loud thump from behind him making him jump!

He spun around looking back the way he had come and after a brief moment he looked back at Lisa shrugging his shoulders passing it off as something falling down in the cloakroom and carried on when there was another loud thump!

He glanced at Lisa confused. Then after a secon
d’
s pause he trotted back to the dining hall doors and looked back through
.
THUMP
!

Someone’
s
doing that, thought Lisa watching him.

“
Hey! Do
n’
t do that
!”
called Bill along the corridor
,“I’
ll pass the shovel through to you right now, you just need to come to one of the dining hall windows.
C’
mon.
I’
ll pass it through right now
.
”

He turned and trotted back across the dining hall towards the windows shooting Lisa a confused look
.“
God
,”
he said
,“
some of them just do
n’
t listen do they. I see where the children get it from
.”
He paused for a moment and then said
,“
That was wrong of me. I suppose the
y’
re just desperate to get to their children
.
”

Lisa nodded not entirely convinced.

“
Mind out of the way children. Watch out
!”
he said weaving through them towards the windows.

He reached one of the windows and started tugging at the latch.

He tugged it this way and that way, trying to break it free from the cold frost that held it in place. It was hard going on his hands and he had to keep swapping them over to save his palms.

While he struggled with the latch the children carried on calling for their mums and dads and he wondered why none of the parents had come over. They still had
n’
t done what h
e’
d asked either, no -one was waiting on the other side for the shovel.

The latch finally gave way with a satisfying crack as the brittle frost gave way and Bill tried to open the window but it was frozen in place as well!

He tried pushing against the window with his shoulder, but it still was
n’
t budging so he started gently bumping his shoulder against it not wanting to break the glass or injure himself.

“
Its frozen shut
,”
he called back to the others as an almighty bang erupted from down the hall! Several of the children jumped, Lisa included. She felt uneasy!

The parents could clearly see Bill was trying to open a window to pass them a shovel so they could clear the snow from the main doors. But they still tried to smash their way in through the front doors!