Free Flare by Paul Grzegorzek

going”, she said, then turned to Jerry.  “We’ve got a diesel generator in the shed.  It’s old, but we’ve got plenty of diesel so you should be able to get it going if you need power”.
    Jerry instantly brightened and stood.  “That would be great, thank you”.
    “But perhaps we’ll see Ralph and young Malcolm off first, eh?”
    “Oh, yes, of course”.  He sat again, looking slightly embarrassed, just as Ralph came back into the room with a green canvas shooting bag slung over one shoulder and a pair of double barrelled shotguns, one of which I recognised from the night before.
    He passed the other to me and I took it uncertainly, just the touch of the smooth wood and metal making my heart thump with the first stirrings of fear.
    “You know how to use it?”  He asked, passing me a handful of cartridges.
    “I’ve been clay shooting a few times, never shot at anything breathing though”.
    “Well hopefully you won’t have to; it’s for just in case”.
    I nodded and stood, picking the car keys up from the table.  The painkillers were beginning to work now and I could put a little more weight on my foot.
    “Right then”, I said, moving the shotgun to my left hand and reaching out to shake Jerry’s with the other.  “We’ll see you soon”.
    “Good luck, and remember to bring my car back in one piece!”
    Harriet crossed the room and gave Ralph a peck on the cheek and a quick hug, then to my surprise she did the same to me.
    “Thank you”, she whispered, squeezing my free hand, “this means a lot”.
    I reddened as Ralph glared at me over her head, and then disentangled myself as graciously as I could.
    “It’s my pleasure”, I said, following the old man out to the car, “we’ll see you in an hour or so and you can pay me back with lunch”.
    Outside, Ralph took the keys and motioned me into the passenger seat. 
    “I’ll drive on the way there, I know where it is”, he said by way of explanation as he started the car, “so you better keep that shotgun loaded and pointed in the right direction.  I don’t mean to let anyone stop me getting my little girl back, and I expect you to follow my lead no matter what happens.  Are we clear?”
    “As crystal”, I said, sliding a pair of cartridges into the breech and snapping it closed, all the while wondering if I’d have the guts to use it, even if my life depended on it.
     
     
     
    Chapter 13
    Ralph drove as if the devil himself were chasing us, speeding along country roads that were little more than a single lane but were supposed to accommodate two-way traffic, hedgerows and small wooded copses flashing past at frightening speed.
    So far we hadn’t encountered any abandoned cars, but I had a very real fear that his ageing reflexes wouldn’t hit the brakes in time if we did, and I was haunted by visions of us ending up parked in the back seat of another car, bleeding out slowly with no one to come to our aid.
    “So”, I said, more to distract myself from the constant threat of imminent death than any real desire for conversation, “Harriet mentioned something last night about the farm not being worked at the moment.  What’s all that about?”
    “Government thing.  Too many farms producing food means the market gets flooded, so some farmers get paid to let their fields lie fallow.  The owner lives in London now, gets paid every year for just having the land while we keep an eye on things.  Works pretty well for us, we get the cottage paid for and a bit left over, and in turn he leaves us to it.  ‘Sposed to end next year, but I reckon he’d be wise to start getting everything ready now after last night”.
    I nodded in agreement.  I’d heard of the deal before, but until I’d seen the sheer number of fallow fields we’d driven through that morning, I hadn’t realised just how wasteful a thing it was.  Hundreds of acres of prime farmland were just sitting there, the fields slowly succumbing to nature while the