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<h1>25</h1>

<p>While I was staring down the black barrel of Billy Ruine's shotgun, Paddy was running across the field behind Duncan's cottage. I needn't have worried about the bees, for when she was halfway across, leaping over clumps of thistle, she suddenly realised she was heading for the hives and veered sharply before she got near them.</p>

<p>In seconds, she was in the shelter of the trees, sliding down the little gully and up the slope on the far side.</p>

<p>By the time Father Gerry had sung his holy war chant and caved in the head of the running man, she was through the trees on the far side and into the pasture at the south side of McFall's farm, still running fast and panting for breath.</p>

<p>She reached the gate at the corner when the hedge erupted with a mighty crash and McFall's black Angus bull tore itself out of the brambles with an angry bellow. Paddy screamed in fright, slipped on the wet grass and fell heavily. The bull swivelled and hooked at the hedge with its spread of horns and turned around to face her. A long rope of saliva drooled from its mouth. It stood there, sides heaving and breath juddering.</p>

<p>Then it moved one foot forward and Paddy launched herself to her feet and ran for the hedge. Behind her, the beast bellowed again and charged. She could hear its hooves thud on the turf and could almost feel its breath on the back of her neck and panic rose up inside her like the scream that tried to burst out.</p>

<p>She knew the gate was too far to reach and that the bull would get her. Those horns would hook her and smash her down.</p>

<p>That's exactly what would have happened, for sure. But with only twenty yards between Paddy and the gate, twenty impossible yards, a minor miracle brought another shape darting in from the left. Paddy only caught a flicker of motion, because her entire being was focussed on the five bars on the gate. There was a screech and a thud and then a bellowing roar. Paddy's foot caught on a tangle of reeds and she tumbled headlong.</p>

<p>But the horns did not slam into her back. Nor did they crush her into the ground.</p>

<p>Paddy rolled over, wild-eyed and sobbing with fear. The bull had turned and was now attacking a man who held a big stick in both hands and was slamming at its nose with all his strength.</p>

<p>There was another thud and another bellow, not deep, but high and angry. Paddy couldn't take her eyes off the encounter. The bull kept jinking, trying to avoid the club that slammed into its nose, while at the same time, fixed on goring the man.</p>

<p>He raised the stick like a baseball player and it took the bull on the side of its mouth with sharp crack.</p>

<p>This time the bull just charged at the man who made a fast dive to the right, and the big animal crashed halfway through the hedge. It bellowed again and shook its great head, trying to free its horns from the tangled hawthorn.</p>

<p>The man scrambled to his feet, almost falling flat again as he slipped on the wet, and ran towards where Paddy still lay. He didn't stop when he reached her, but merely bent and grabbed the front of her jacket with one hand and kept on running.</p>

<p>Paddy was jerked off the ground. At the gate, the man just bundled her over the bars and on to the lane at the other side and vaulted over. Paddy felt her arm gripped tightly as she was propelled along the lane so fast she almost tripped. She was forced to take big leaps just to keep up with the big man.</p>

<p>But as soon as she heard the first crash as the bull smacked into the gate, cracking the bars and almost taking the whole thing off the posts, the fright lent her all the speed she needed.</p>

<p>Colin Blackwood hustled Paddy along the lane as fast as he could run. Behind them, the bull battered at the gate, and if it kept it up, it was only a matter of time before it would smash it down.</p>

<p>They got to the entrance to McFall's farmyard and Colin hauled the girl round the corner and made for the shelter of the brick pig-pen at the back of the byre. He heaved her across the wall and Paddy flopped to the ground, spent and gasping for breath.</p>

<p>The stranger crouched down beside her, chest heaving and held her close. She could feel his heart race through the plaid of his work-shirt and she looked up to see his face contorted, as if in pain. The two white streaks of hair that lined the black were almost standing on end, and his forehead glistened with perspiration.</p>

<p>His grip was almost painful, but Paddy didn't care. It was worth it to feel safe.</p>

<p>In the distance, the bull bellowed and crashed at the gate. It seemed to go on the a long time. Eventually, the thudding of the man's heart slowed and he started to breathe easier.</p>

<p>Colin opened his arms and looked down at the little bundle that he'd been hugging tight. The girl stared up at him and gave him a small smile. He grinned back and loosened his grip to wipe the sweat from his brow.</p>

<p>
    'Barbara?'</p>

<p>'No. I'm Paddy.'</p>

<p>'Paddy. Not Barbara?'</p>

<p>'No. She's my mom.</p>

<p>The big man seemed to weight this up for a while. His expression went from puzzlement to delight in several stages, as if his mind was wading through mud, moving slowly and carefully every step of the way.</p>

<p>'Not Barbara. You're Paddy,' he eventually agreed.</p>

<p>
    'That's right. What's your name.'</p>

<p>'Badger. Badger Blackwood.'</p>

<p>
    'That's a funny name.'</p>

<p>The man's eyes went vacant for a second and his brow creased in concentration. Then, for another moment, the dark eyes focussed again and seemed to gleam with a new sharpness. He shook his head, as if clearing it.</p>

<p>'No. Not Badger. <em>Colin</em>. I'm Colin. <em>That's</em> who I am.'</p>

<p>'You saved me from the bull,' she said. 'That was very brave.'</p>

<p>'Colin Blackwood,' he said, as if she hadn't spoken. The light in his eyes flickered, became dull with doubt, then brightened again. 'And you're not Barbara. You're Paddy, who looks just like Barbara,' he said, and nodded, as if he'd solved a major problem. He grinned widely. 'That big bull nearly got us, eh? But we beat him, didn't we?'</p>

<p>He hugged Paddy closer, confirming their shared victory. Paddy looked up at him.</p>

<p>'I thought it was going to get me. I was scared.'</p>

<p>'You too? Me, I was scared too. I'm always scared.'</p>

<p>He nodded to himself.</p>

<p>
    'I've been scared all day. My mum hit me. She called me names and used bad words and hit me with a pot and I ran away. There's something wrong with her and I don't know what it is.'</p>

<p>He paused again, as if considering a problem.</p>

<p>
    'There's something wrong with
    <em>today</em>,' he finally said when he'd puzzled it out. 'Everything's gone bad. Everybody's different today. It's not
    <em>nice</em>.'</p>

<p>As the big man slowly put his thoughts into words, Paddy's mind formed a picture of just how
    <em>bad</em> things really were, and suddenly the picture of Nick sprawled against the wall at Duncan Bennett's cottage sprung to the front of her mind. She jerked and struggled against the big arm that held her close.
</p>

<p>
    'What's wrong Ba...Paddy?' Colin asked, concern flitting across his face.</p>

<p>Paddy squirmed and pushed at his arm.</p>

<p>
    'It's Nick,' she said. 'They've got guns.'</p>

<p>
    'Who?'</p>

<p>'I don't know. Men. They chased us and they've got Nick. They want to kill us.'</p>

<p>
    'Nick?'</p>

<p>'Nick Ryan. He's my mum's friend.'</p>

<p>'Mine too. Nicky's my friend as well. He helps me when I'm in trouble. He's <em>good.</em>'</p>

<p>'We have to find him. Will you help me?'</p>

<p>Collin nodded vigorously and got to his feet. Behind them the bull bellowed and crashed, still attacking the gate. Colin took Paddy's hand and they stepped away from the corner of the pig-pen and moved towards the maze of alleys that served as a corral. He opened a stile gate and let Paddy through and both of them walked across the churned up mud and straw towards the wall at the far side. From there they could quickly get to the old cottage.</p>

<p>They were half-way across the ground when a movement caught their attention and brought them up sharply.</p>

<p>Old Boot, the big boar that ruled the paddock behind the byre had been standing still when the man and the girl came through the gate to cross the path. His bulk merged with the rough pine pickets and he stopped chewing. As the pair squelched in the mud, his little red eyes swivelled to follow. A trail of pink saliva dripped from his mouth. The big animal waited until they were furthest from the nearest fence, then he suddenly whirled around and ran at them, snout wrinkled back and his mouth open to let out a screech like a stone-saw.</p>

<p>This is where I came back into the picture. I had roughly followed Paddy's trail through the trees and up the side of the gully, but I'd come out further along the lane. Behind me, a big bull was madly butting the gate that was cracked and splintered but still holding. I ran to the farm,, because I was sure the bars wouldn't hold much longer, and I didn't want to be caught in the lane with that thing at my back.</p>

<p>Up at the farm, there was no sign of Paddy. I didn't know that she and Colin were huddled in the pen and if I had, then things would have been easier.</p>

<p>I came around the side of the byre and leaned over the sty wall where the big boar stood near the barrier, a mound of meat and muscle, scoffing away in that breathless way pigs have. I could see the jaws working away and hear the snuffling chomp as they closed on the feed. The animal turned its head a little and suddenly my stomach gave a real lurch.</p>

<p>Dangling from those jaws was the shin and foot and black shoe of a small child.</p>

<p>I was stunned with shock. I couldn't draw my eyes away.</p>

<p>Then the boar shook its head and there was a crunching sound as it chewed into bone. The little shoe dangled and then fell off into mud that was scarlet with blood.</p>

<p>That was enough to unfreeze me and I turned and threw up what little was left inside. I sank down on my haunches and then to all fours and retched again, a dry racking spasm that brought out nothing but bile. My eyes felt as if they might pop.</p>

<p>For a minute I was paralysed and I remember moaning aloud and feeling such despair and horror that I wanted to roll over and cry until all this went away.</p>

<p>A child. A <em>child</em>!</p>

<p>Then the thought flashed through my mind that the child must be Paddy.</p>

<p>I heaved again.</p>

<p>Then, for some reason, I recalled that she had not been wearing black shoes.</p>

<p>I eased myself round and turned from the slick of bile, still shuddering from the aftermath of dry heaves and waited to get my breath back, wishing I would wake up from this prolonged nightmare and find me and the rest of the world sane and safe and back to normal.</p>

<p>That was when all hell broke loose on the other side of the wall. There was a high screech, like metal scraped on stone, followed by a shrill scream and instantly I was on my feet again. Paddy was halfway across the muddy corral with a big man dragging her and that huge boar was lurching towards them from the wall where I'd cowered and vomited.</p>

<p>Her face was stretched white. The big man snatched her up by the waist and was off and running for the far side with the grunting boar in pursuit.</p>

<p>Ordinarily I would have run a mile in the opposite direction, but I didn't. I jumped the fence in one go and ran as fast as I could at an angle towards where the man and girl and pig were certain to meet. The boar made a lunge and caught the heel of his shoe and I heard the jaws snap together as the big guy went down. Paddy was thrown about three yards forward into the mud, but she was running when she landed and went for the fence. Old Boot had a grip of that shoe and was shaking its massive head, and big though the man was, he was being tossed about like a rat in a dog's jaws. Then the boar let go and dived for the man's belly and he rolled to avoid those tusks.</p>

<p>I got here just at that moment and without thinking, I sunk my boot as hard as I could right into the big rough scrotum under the tail. If the screech when it attacked was loud, the one it let out when I kicked its balls would have woken the dead. Instead of snapping his jaws shut on Colin's belly, it missed its strike and nose-dived into the mud. Colin rolled to the side and scrambled almost upright. The boar whirled around and had another go at him and he slipped on his backside. I ran in and kicked it again, this time in the ribs, and I nearly broke my toes.</p>

<p>The boar lurched and whirled to face me. Its jaws were wide open and it was creaming in fury and pain.</p>

<p>It came at me, mouth snapping and if those tusks had connected they'd have taken my leg off at the knee. I jumped to the side. The teeth ripped my jeans at the ankle, but missed my skin.</p>

<p>It turned again, quick as a cat, and lunged again.</p>

<p>Then it stopped, just before the jaws snapped shut.</p>

<p>I scrambled backwards out of reach and saw that Colin Blackwood was hauling on its tail, heaving so hard that its hind hooves were lifted right out of the mud and bucking in the air. The weight of the beast must have been enormous, for Colin's feet were dragged forward. But he held on tight and when the boar found he couldn't attack me, he turned round to bite.</p>

<p>The torque swung Colin off his feet and the ensuing chase would have been comical if it had been slapstick. Colin held on grimly and Old Boot spun and snapped at him until both were covered in mud and shit.</p>

<p>I had got to my feet by the time Colin was thrown again. The boar squealed and heaved forward and my feet got stuck in the mud when I tried to move.</p>

<p>The big snout went in and I heard him let out a whoof of breath as it hit and in my mind's eye I saw his blood spattered all over the wall. There was a loud blast in my ears and a spray of red and a shock from just beside me that almost knocked me off my feet.</p>

<p>A gaping hole suddenly appeared in the boar's back, just above the shoulders and a mass of blood and fat splattered on to the wall.</p>

<p>The animal gave a lurch and swung its head round and I saw a raggedy flap that used to be it's ear and cheek.</p>

<p>Another crack rang out and its right flank blew out in an explosion of red. Old Boot's legs slipped from under him and he crashed to the ground. His jaws worked, but the scream was silenced.</p>

<p>I was still three frames behind and stared bemused at the red bulk in the mud, totally confused.</p>

<p>Then a voice from the other side of the wall called out.</p>

<p>'By god, Nick. You'll be all the better for a bath. And there's better ways to get bacon.'</p>

<p>Major MacDonald leaned against the wall with what I can only describe as a grim smile on his face, and a gun that looked as if it could put a hole in an elephant.</p>

<p>The four of us stood for a long moment. Colin hauled himself up, with hardly a scratch to show for his battle. His leather belt had been sliced clean through, but the tusks had missed him. My jeans were tattered from the knee down and both of us were slathered in mud, Paddy peered at us through the slats in the fence.</p>

<p>'Well, don't just stand there,' the Major called out. 'Unless you really like playing around in that stuff.'</p>

<p>I waded through the sludge and clambered over the wall. Paddy ran from the fence right into my arms, almost knocking the wind out of me. Colin followed me over and bumped into both of is, knocking us against the Major and suddenly we were all holding on to each other. I could feel my left knee shaking and Paddy was crying. Colin was hugging her and slapping me on the back and through the mud I could see his face was split with a wide white grin.</p>

<p>'A fine mess you've got yourself into,' Nick, the Major said, looking at my mud-splattered clothes.</p>

<p>'Me and the whole town, by the look of things,' I said.</p>

<p>'What the hell's come over the place? It's like Dante's inferno down there.' He nodded in the direction of Arden. 'And out here's just as bad.'</p>

<p>
    'What's happening in town?'</p>

<p>'Everybody is running about like headless chickens. And them three old buggers, World War Three, your friend Jimmy calls them. They've barricaded themselves in a house and they're shooting at anybody who gets near. I tell you, this place has just gone mad. Mad.'</p>

<p>
    'That's some gun,' I said. 'I'm glad you brought it.'</p>

<p>'An Armalite. A wee souvenir from my fun days. With all the trouble in the town, I thought I'd bring it along for company.' He looked over to where the old boar sprawled in a mess of blood. 'Just as well I did, an' all.'</p>

<p>'How did you know we were here?'</p>

<p>'I didn't. I was just coming across the field. I was going to try to get up to the high road, the new by-pass, and get to Kirkland. Somebody has to tell them what's happening here, for there's few in Arden knows which way is up today.</p>

<p>'Even down at the police station. Murdo Morrison and the constable have disappeared and there's a dead man in a cell. Another fellow screamed for mercy as soon as he saw me. Scared out of his mind, the poor soul. He was going on about Murdo killing the other man. The way things have been going on, I'm not sure I don't believe him.'</p>

<p>'Things are crazy all right,' I said. 'And they've been going that way for a while. I'm not sure what we can do about it, except try to stay alive.'</p>

<p>
    'It's <em>bad</em>,' Paddy said. 'It wants to kill us.'</p>

<p>'What does?' Donald asked.</p>

<p>'I don't know what it is, but I know it's really bad.'</p>

<p>'We have to kill it.'</p>

<p>Donald and I looked around at Colin, who still held Paddy's hand. For a moment I caught a look in his eyes that was different from the Badger Blackwood who drank half-pints in Holly's bar and looked about him with a bewildered expression.</p>

<p>'It tried to kill us before, and now it's trying again,' he said. 'We have to kill it.'</p>

<p>'What do we have to kill?' Donald asked quietly.</p>

<p>I looked at Colin. His eyes lost that brief spark as if a flame had been snuffed out.</p>

<p>'I don't know,' he said, slowly, shaking his head and frowning hard as if trying to grasp something just beyond reach.</p>

<p>'Something <em>bad.</em> I can't remember now<em>.'</em></p>

<p>Donald clapped him on the shoulder. 'Well, if it comes back to you, you let us know, and we'll see what we can do.'</p>

<p>He looked the three of us up and down. 'I think the best idea is to get up to the new road and take it from there. I don't think we should go into Arden at the moment, and I think we should stay together, since I've got this,' he said, hefting the gun from where it stood against the wall.</p>

<p>'But before that, I think you three should get yourselves cleaned up a bit. You're a sorry sight.'</p>

<p>Neither myself, for Paddy and Colin wanted to hang about the farm, so we went back through the trees to the cottage. Donald led the way, gun at the ready. I told him about Billy Ruine and his team and I reckon the Major was in the mood to shoot first and ask questions later.</p>

<p>We reached the road and walked along in a tight group and were half way to Bennett's cottage when Paddy let out a startled gasp. We all stopped.</p>

<p>Father Gerry sat astride the big black bike that had driven into a tangle of saplings. His front wheel was wedged between two thin trunks, which kept the machine upright.</p>

<p>His hand was still raised up, still holding the crucifix. The carved end had caught on some twigs, and that's all that kept his arm raised.</p>

<p>The back of his leather jacket was torn to shreds and there was a hole the size of a dinner plate deep between his shoulders. His head lolled to the side and it was clear he had died instantly.</p>

<p>'Oh Christ,' I murmured.</p>

<p>I owed the dead priest my life and there was no way I could repay him.</p>

<p>Why he had come roaring down the road like a crusader in a holy war, I had no idea. Maybe he'd been affected by the madness that swept through town, or maybe some higher power had send him to save us. Whatever the reason, his sudden appearance had given me the time to escape. But for him, I'd have had a big gaping hole between my shoulders.</p>

<p>'Come on,' Donald said, turning away. 'There's nothing we can do for the poor bugger now.'</p>

<p>I made to follow, pulling Paddy behind me. We walked a few paces and I turned round. Colin was still standing, gaping.</p>

<p>
    'Let's go,' I called.</p>

<p>He stayed where he was, slowly nodding. I had to turn back to take his arm.</p>

<p>'I saw him,' Colin said. 'It was <em>him</em>. The black knight. I saw him before.'</p>

<p>That flash of awareness sparked again in his eyes.</p>

<p>'I saw him killing people with his sword and I got scared and ran away. But it's
    <em>him.</em> The knight from....from <em>before.</em>'</p>

<p>'From before what?'</p>

<p>The brightness faded from his eyes. Colin stood there, now shaking his head.</p>

<p>'I don't remember now. I just don't remember when I was <em>different.</em>'</p>

<p>'Different from what?'</p>

<p>'When I was <em>before</em>.'</p>

<p>Suddenly, with a clarity of vision I had not experienced in days, I realised that Colin's childhood daydream with us by the stream, had been some sort of prescience.</p>

<p>Who would have believed, back then, that a priest would be screeching along a country road in black leathers, astride a powerful motorbike and wielding a gold crucifix like an avenging angel.</p>

<p>Hell, who would believe it today?</p>

<p>No matter what, that long-gone hazy day of summer was linked by some sort of force, by some kind of time-twist, to what was happening her and now.</p>

<p>And, though I didn't know it, the one-and-onlies were almost together again.</p>

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