Free Arrowland by Paul Kane

wall she was hiding behind. The wall she and the other people of New Hope had built for just such a reason - to keep out intruders.
    Like the men who'd shown up here today and were attacking her village. She'd sensed there was something wrong, to be honest. Every now and then spotting unusual movement in the woods which flanked New Hope whenever she was on watch; fleeting glimpses of... she couldn't tell what. Gwen had the feeling that someone was watching their little community, but it wasn't like before. Like last year. Back then she'd felt safe, as if they were being watched over, protected. This time she just felt threatened.
    These were only feelings, suspicions, so she hadn't mentioned them to the rest of the villagers. She couldn't be sure of anything, couldn't prove anything. But still she had skipped out on the last couple of foraging missions for new weapons, relying instead on Graham Leicester. Once just an ordinary, gentle guy who'd worked in a garden centre, like her Graham had been changed forever by what happened when the Sheriff's men came to call. Now he was more soldier than agriculturalist. Gwen had seen him strip clean a Colt AR-15 machine-gun in minutes, putting the pieces back together like he was doing a jigsaw puzzle. He knew what he was looking for out there, knew just what they needed to defend themselves. The weapons she'd stolen from Robert's castle had given them a head start, but they were always searching for more.
    The wall - a huge brick affair, strengthened by sheet metal on the outside - had been young Darryl Wade's idea. Darryl, whose father had been a handyman and had luckily passed on much of his expertise. He'd been helping Clive fix up the school when Javier and his men had-
    Gwen had to keep stopping herself from thinking about that day, those painful memories. While it was true at certain times they'd given her strength, now they twisted her guts up in knots. If she didn't have Clive Jr, son of the man she'd loved so much, she didn't know what she might do. What those memories might drive her to. But she did, and that child was the only thing driving her these days.
    She'd got her first actual proof that the village was being observed five hours ago, when Graham had returned from his latest foray in her jeep. He'd unexpectedly drawn fire from several locations in the woods. Andy Hobbs, another founding member of Hope, shouted for her to come quickly - which she'd done, leaving Clive Jr in the capable hands of Dr Ken Jeffreys, who'd joined them from a group in Worksop. When she got to the lookout post on the wall, shouldering her M16 rifle as she climbed the ladder next to the gate, she saw why Andy was so concerned.
    Flashes of light from the woods, bursts of automatic gunfire which were spraying the jeep Graham and his team were in. The vehicle was barrelling down the country lane, barely big enough to accommodate it, and Gwen watched as Graham leaned out of the side, returning fire. Whoever was shooting at her people was dug in well, using the trees and surrounding woodland for cover. It was only what they did themselves, the countryside concealing them from any passing unwanted attention. Javier had been a one-off; they'd never encountered another wandering army like that here since. It crossed her mind briefly to wonder whether the shooters out there had come specifically for them.
    "Unlock the gates!" Andy shouted down, pointing to the wrought iron monstrosities that were also Darryl's brainchild.
    "Wait," Gwen said, brushing a strand of auburn hair out of her eyes. "What do you think you're doing?"
    "We have to risk it," he replied.
    Andy was right of course, she knew that. Graham was one of them, she'd known him almost as long as she'd known... would have known Clive. But there was still that nagging part of her wanting to keep the rest of them - wanting to keep Clive Jr - locked up behind those gates, behind these walls. Risk was a thing she had a problem with when it came to