They walked around the edge of the field, sometimes silent, sometimes in strained conversation. At the top Sally found a gap in the hedge that they could squeeze through to the next field.

Eddie was sceptical, ‘we won’t get through there, let’s go back out to the road and get back in further up.’

‘No. Through here. I don’t want to go back to the road. This is safer. We can get through, we just have to weave …. it’s a lot more overgrown than last time.’ She wielded a big stick and hacked into stingers, pushed aside woody stems and trampled brambles, ‘here it is, through here, come on – ow – unhook me will you? – thanks. See, I told you.’

Eddie laughed, ‘very stealthy, no one would guess we came this way.’

Sally smiled, took his hand and pulled him through after her. The sun was setting and there was a beautiful orange glow across the fields. She’d intended to come alone but was glad he’d come. She held his strong hand and tried to keep up with his long strides, enjoying the temporary harmony between them. As they neared the edge of the next field, two magnificent deer sprang through the hedge right in front of them and bounded into the distance. Sally squeezed Eddie’s hand as they watched in awe and smiled at each other. Into the trees and over the barbed wire, carefully down the slope and up the other side, over more barbed wire and they entered the third field.

‘Is it much further?’ Eddie asked.

‘Not much.” Sally felt that familiar and always inconvenient hypoglycemic sensation of weak knees. “Can we sit down a minute? I feel funny.’

‘Oh I knew you hadn’t eaten enough. You always do this. Sit down here, you can lean against the tree. What did you bring? Sweets? Juice?’

‘I was full up when I left the table. You’re always cross with me as if I do this on purpose. Why can’t you just be sympathetic and help me?’ She rummaged in her bag.

‘I thought you could look after yourself! Is that all you brought?’

‘I’ve got these sweets, some juice and a packet of biscuits. I’m perfectly well prepared. Just give me a few minutes!’ She swigged the juice and munched the biscuits, feeling hurt, angry and wishing she was alone. ‘Why don’t you go back if it’s too much trouble for you? I can do this on my own.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not leaving you here like this.’

‘Like what? I’ll be ok again in a few minutes without any help from you.’

‘And how much further have you got to go? It’s going to be dark in half an hour, then how will you find your gaps in the hedge? I knew this was a stupid idea ….’

‘How can you say that? How can I not do this? It’s nearly September, this is the last chance. But if you don’t want to you don’t have to.’ Her rising agitation was giving her hiccups as she tried hurriedly to eat, drink and argue.

Eddie took a slow deep breath, ‘I’m sorry, I know you’re right. I do want to help. I just worry about you.’

‘You don’t seem worried you seem cross.’

‘Well I’m not.’

They sat for five minutes in silence while Sally drank more juice and finished half the biscuits, then they continued across the darkening landscape. Through some trees and over the next barbed wire fence and they were walking through strong green stems and thick yellow heads of corn as tall as Sally. Eddie, who was slightly ahead, stopped suddenly and put his hand back to stop Sally. A big golden brown hare was in their path, sitting up on his hind legs, looking straight at them. He must have been a hare because he was so much grander than any rabbit they’d seen. He was splendid and dignified and he just looked at them. Not wanting to chase him off they held their breath and didn’t move until he made the decision to leave.

‘Wow,’ Eddie smiled at his wife who beamed back at him.

‘Nearly there,’ she said ‘they’re in the top right hand corner of this field. At least they were last year.’

‘Do you mean the top right hand corner that’s fifty feet away from that tractor working in the next field?’

‘Oh don’t worry about him, he’s busy ploughing or whatever he’s doing, making a lot of noise, and he can’t see us with two hedges and a road between us. Plus it’s nearly dark.’

‘Which is why he’s got his massive tractor main beams on! This is too risky – we should go back.’

‘Shush! Let’s get it done. It’ll be fine.’

They emerged from the corn to find another world. Vast green landscape behind them; hideous miniature concentration camp in front. There were four mesh-covered, chicken-wire pens, with about fifty frantic partridges in each. The chicken wire was old and dirty, with dead leaves, feathers and other muck stuck to it. Littered on the ground around the pens was a pile of empty plastic feed bags, a roll of rusty barbed wire, a mouldy cage trap and a couple of tatty feeders. The birds began desperately throwing themselves at the sides and tops of the pens, or running frenetic laps around their enclosures as the couple approached. The bodies of two birds hung from the soft roof mesh having got tangled up in failed escape attempts. Eddie felt as passionately as Sally that freeing the birds was the right thing to do but he looked again at the tractor still working over the road, and the small gate which might admit hostile opposition.

Sally was already cutting into the soft mesh top with her Stanley Knife. ‘You open each door at the end of the pens,’ she told him.

He quietly acquiesced while continually looking over his shoulder at the gate and the tractor. Most of the birds quickly exited when their cage was broken open and Sally and Eddie watched with exhilaration as each mini-flock arced into the air and flew away across the dark blue sky. A few bangs of the heel of Sally’s hand on the outside of the pen chased the last few out. When the third pen was emptied and Sally, without looking up, was moving on to the fourth, Eddie glanced behind him again to check on the tractor – it wasn’t moving.

The stationary tractor, lights still on, sat at the field edge nearest the road, next to the open gate. Eddie realised then that all the birds had flown over that field. The farmer must have seen them, flying in groups in near dark, when all the wild birds were already roosting.

‘He’s coming! We’ve got to go now!’ He rushed over to Sally and tried to pull her away.

‘Nearly done. Last one. Can’t leave them. Open the door – quick – open the door!’ She cut along two adjacent sides of the top mesh and he ran back to open the door at the other end. He kept peering over at the small gate but she didn’t look up, she had to finish.

There was no sign of anyone chasing on foot and the tractor still hadn’t moved but now they could hear another vehicle. Then the tractor’s lights and engine were turned off and a car door slammed.

Eddie was at her side again, ‘Come on! Keep left!’ He started to run towards the edge of the field but she headed straight up into the corn, thinking that was the best way to stay hidden. He ran after her. ‘They can come through here in a 4×4 and run you down. We need to get out of the field, back into the trees.’ He was a fast runner but held back for her. Holding her hand he pulled her and she struggled to keep up.

‘I can’t. I’m too tired. You go – I’ll hide down here.’

‘No! Come on! Nearly there!’ Now he could see headlights shining on the empty pens behind them and knew that if the nimrods had seen the birds flying they must know the culprits had only just left.

They reached the barbed wire and he helped his wife clamber over, out of the field and into the trees. He followed her, relieved they’d made it out of the field but fully aware they still had a long way to go. Sally was guzzling her juice again and feeling in her pocket for her sweets. He shook his head when she offered some to him and she gratefully finished it. Eddie hoped that maybe there were only two pursuers who might be reluctant to continue chasing an unknown quantity of saboteurs. Then they might safely wait in the trees until Old MacDonald and friend had retreated, before resuming their own return journey. Sadly, that wasn’t the case and when he looked back towards the pens he saw at least four torch lights approaching. While Sally rested he ran across the twenty foot narrow strip of trees to look over the wire into the field on the other side. From there he counted three more torches.

‘Crap! How did he get reinforcements so quickly?’

‘What?’

‘Sally – have you been doing a lot of this kind of thing round here?’

‘Some. Why?’

‘I think you’ve really ticked off the natives – and they’ve got organised!’

‘Eh?’

‘Never mind. Erm … are you feeling better? We’ve got to move.’ Eddie took her hand again and they kept heading through the trees, between the fields, towards the main road. Thankfully the torches searching the corn were slowed considerably by their task and still a long way back. Torches on the other side, however, were being shone into the trees not far behind. He could hear their muffled voices now too, which meant he and Sally would also be heard if they kept moving over snapping twigs and rustling leaves.

‘Ow!’ Sally cried.

‘Shh! What’s the matter?’ Eddie whispered impatiently.

‘I just banged my head on something metal. I didn’t even see it.’ She stood still, rubbing her head. Eddie reached out and touched a cold metal frame of some sort. He strained his eyes until he could see what looked like a ladder, a metal ladder tied to the tree. He could just about make out a platform, high up at the top.

‘It’s a shooting platform. I never thought I’d be glad to see one of these.’ he whispered. ‘Sally, up here, now. Quickly!’

Her mind was regaining focus now that her sugar levels were rising and for the first time she looked back and saw the torches closing in. So glad that her husband was with her, she followed his good advice and began to climb. He was right behind her and in a few short moments they were sitting together on the platform.

‘Eoo … I’m sitting on something soft! Gross gross gross! What is it?’ Sally whispered.

Eddie felt around them on the platform. ‘It’s ok, it’s just a camouflage net – good grief these people are freaks! Quick – lift your bum.’ Sally leaned to one side and Eddie tugged the net free before draping it over the two of them. Sally squirmed and objected to the dust, cobwebs and bugs now adorning her hair but Eddie clutched both her hands and held her still. ‘Shh!’

On the ground, hunters were now among the trees. Torches shined over every inch of the soil there, into bushes and empty barrels and around every tree. Only one occasionally shone up but thanks to the camouflage and the heavy leaf coverage it revealed nothing. Sally and Eddie kept quiet and still, holding tight to each other and breathing as silently as possible. Sally’s eyes were closed but Eddie watched it all. From his privileged position he could see the main road they’d been heading for and was glad they hadn’t made it. Vehicles with lights on and engines running were waiting there. In the corn field, torch carriers on foot had been joined by a tractor dragging a plough, trashing the now useless golden cover crop as it searched. Three quad bikes tore across the other field and were joined by two Land Rovers rigged out for lamping.

Fifty three anxious minutes passed slowly, and gradually the hunters diminished in number. The couple waited still, stiff and cold, for the last two standing below them to admit defeat. Sally, who realised she must have eaten too many biscuits, was now feeling the unfortunate side-effect of high blood sugar. She started to wriggle. Eddie held her tighter, he could hear the men talking.

‘This is pointless – let’s go,’ a bald man suggested.

His shorter companion disagreed. ‘They must still be here, we had the place completely surrounded. No way they could have got out.’

‘They’re not here though are they? We’ve covered every inch. What’s the point of catching them anyway – won’t bring the birds back.’

‘Teach ’em a lesson though won’t we! Make sure they don’t do it again! Beat ’em senseless I will – they won’t come on our property again!’

‘Yeah right,’ the bald one scoffed, ‘you’ve probably been hoping we don’t find them.’

‘I’ve been looking harder than anyone! I’ve looked everywhere.’

‘You’ve looked everywhere I’ve looked. Haven’t seen you search anywhere by yourself.’

‘Yes I have, I went -‘

‘Where?’

‘Well, there’s not that many places here, you were always going where I was going.’

There was a pause while the bald man looked around, then up the ladder. ‘Why don’t you look up there? Perhaps they’ve been hiding up there all along.’ Eddie and Sally tried not to flinch as the fading torch light passed over them again.

‘They’re not up there – that platform’s rusted at the top, it wouldn’t take their weight.’

‘How do you know? We don’t know how many or how heavy they are. You’re just scared you’re gonna come face to face with a massive sab thug who’ll push you off the top!’ The bald man laughed at his scowling comrade.

‘Naff off! They’re not up there!’

‘I’m going home.’

‘No you’re not – Dad said we have to stay here ’til he comes and gets us.’

Sally wriggled again and Eddie whispered almost inaudibly in her ear, ‘sit still.’

‘I need to pee. I can’t hold it.’ She was literally desperate. They peered down at the men, willing them to leave. Several agonising minutes later, the bald man had finally had enough.

‘Sod this, I’m going to bed.’ He walked away leaving his nervous brother dithering alone at the bottom of the ladder. But not for long.

‘Great. Now it’s raining,’ the short one complained, and he left too.

Eddie restrained his laughter but his shoulders shook quietly as he looked at his wife. ‘Did you -?’

‘Just another day in a diabetic life,’ she shrugged. ‘Not enough sugar – you lose your legs and your mind; too much sugar – you pee your pants.’ She grinned as she cuddled her protective husband. ‘Let’s go home.’

****

Violet’s Vegan Comics – creating funny, exciting and sometimes action-packed vegan-friendly fiction since 2012