Chapter Eight. Party Progress

Laurence, Jack and Felix quietly yet eagerly, follow the path toward the hut down by the lake. Nicholas and Edward, not quite sharing their fellow searcher's enthusiasm, tag along slowly behind. It feels good to be in the great outdoors albeit slightly risky. The moon is full yet every now and then the clouds obscure its view inducing an eerie darkness. A light mist gently hovers just above the surface of the lake making for a rather dramatic scene. Shadows lurk swaying with the direction of the wind, and the rustle of trees and bushes add to the tension. Nicholas catches sight of something ahead.
'Look!' he whispers, his voice tight with tension, but it turns out to be only shadows.
'What , where!' Felix stops in his tracks Laurence slams into him, followed by Jack and the three of them fall clumsily to the mud soaked ground. Nicholas and Edward stop before joining the human dominoes and Edward lets out a guffaw.
'Thank lord for the bubble wrap.' flusters Felix, clearly annoyed. They pick themselves up and look in the direction of the perceived shape.
'Can't see a damned thing.' whispers Felix, in a rather bothered way. They move on quietly making for the rickety bridge. The bridge is slippery wet and they must tread carefully. The men proceed to cross, the bridge creaking underfoot, but as Edward crosses, the bridge gives way, and he crashes into the stream with an almighty splash, a branch besides him cracks and pebbles spread with gravel like crunch beneath his almighty weight.
'Good God Edward man! Cries Felix.
'Blinkin' heck Ed, you alright?
Nicholas, Laurence and Jack quick into action attempt to pull Edward, arms stretched above his head, expression contort with shock and bewilderment. In any other setting, an afternoon picnic perhaps, this would be a highly amusing event, but Edward's falling has only heightens the potential hazards which lay before them. Laurence and Jack continue to pull Edward whilst Nicholas gets around the back end of him down by the side of the stream and vigorously pushes him up toward the bank. He is indeed a rather heavy man and it takes a lot of pulling and pushing before he is finally up safely on the bank.
'Good men,' says Felix humbly realising with shame that he did not act in the heroic way he would have imagined, instead he became rooted to the spot. Edward felt remarkably heavy. The bubbles which he had unwittingly popped earlier along the walk were now brimming with water. He was cold and hungry and in desperate need of more cake.
'Come on,' Jack clearly eager to continue with the search, looks at Edward 'Do you feel OK Edward?'
Edward nods in reply, but in truth he wants nothing more than to return back to his cottage, to his cakes and his king sized bed.

The men approach the footpath ahead, eyeing the thick dark brambles, they hesitate, anxious they may not get through. Felix gets out the map, 'Mmm this is definitely the way, anyone know of an alternative route to avoid these ghastly brambles?'
'We could take the path to the left but its a fair trek, and even then I'm not sure it will take us straight to the Orchard.' says Laurence.
'Come on,' say Nicholas 'if we get down low we should just about get through without too many problems, time isn't really on our side chaps.'
Without further ado they fall to their knees. A precarious sight seeing they are all wrapped like little cocoons in the bubble wrap. They begin to crawl along on their bellies, accompanied by a rhythm of pops as thorns stab the tiny bubbles.
'At last!' whispers Felix, a note of triumph in his voice. Nicholas huffing, puffing and popping behind makes his exit, followed by Jack.
'Help!'
'Oh dear God and Mother of Mary what on earth is up now man?' Felix bobs down, peering through the brambles he spots Edward who is well and truly stuck. Every bubble, it seems, has been pierced and now lodged with thorns.
'The man's too blinkin' large' cries Felix.
Laurence is behind Edward and he is trying with all his might to release Edward from the brambles.
'Come on Edward push for your life mate.'
'I'm bleedin' stuck! Can't move an inch!' Edward hisses.
'Well you're going to have to try Edward we can't stay here all night, you'll freeze your billy balls off and so will Bob if we don't find him, now come on, on a count of three I want you to use all the strength you can muster and get free, one, two, three.'
Edward heaves, pulling and struggling with the bubble wrap he manages to move a knee, an arm and his belly slides a fraction only to come to a sudden halt. An overhanging bramble has now become embedded in the bubble wrap.
'Its no bleedin' good, I'm completely and utterly stuck!'
Laurence manages to back out of the brambles. He is as nimble as they come. 'Right, Edward stay where you are, I'm going back to fetch some gardening tools, don't panic, we'll have you out of there for sure.'
'Stay right here? Stay right here? are you barkin', where the bleedin' heck do you think I'm going for God sakes!' Edward curses.
'Its alright Ed, Laurence will have you out in no time, I'll stay here, you two go on we'll catch up with you.' Nicholas looks towards Jack and Felix, and they reluctantly head off toward the footpath parallel to the orchard.



Laurence is fast and nimble on his feet, heading off toward the village. He runs with new sense of purpose busying himself with thoughts of what tools would be best suited to untangling poor Edward; but no sooner is he clambering over the remains of the rickety old bridge something brushes his arm, losing his footing he stumbles and falls into a dip below a large old Oak before stopping short of possibly the most exquisite sight he has ever seen. He gasps. His heart momentarily stops. Eyes wide, jaw loose and tongue slightly protruding, he is slumped in wonderment, drinking in the sheer beauty before him.

Jack and Felix stay close. There is an intensity now their party has reduced in numbers and the silence offers time for reflection. Felix thinks about Bob and what could have happened. He thinks about the Smashers and how when Clive Crookshank came home he didn't mutter a single word for months, not even to Felix his closest friend. It had shocked and saddened Felix to see how much Clive had changed. Clive had become a recluse for those few months, not answering the door to anyone. Only Granny P was allowed access to him and it was Granny P who was responsible for slowly integrating Clive back into the community. It was a slow process Clive would help dig the allotment at the back of Granny P's cottage. He would take walks with her as the sun came up and again just as the sun went down. If anyone tried to talk to him it was Granny P who would gently request that Clive be left in peace. Eventually Clive made contact with Felix and piece by piece he shared his story and Felix would listen for hours, not saying much, after all what could he have said. But as his story unfolded Clive came slowly out of the shell he had built around himself and today his spirit is almost restored. It is only his eyes that will tell you that something very precious was taken away from him ,as it is his eyes that will let one know that he is deeply appreciative of the wonders of each day, each moment. 'Clive is a stronger man for it' thinks Felix with a stirring of pride and humbleness. However, Felix, now trembling cannot remove the image that taunts him daily. The image of Clive bound to a large wooden post in the centre of the Orchard clearing. The image of his dear friend being fed beetles and worms each day for what seemed like a lifetime was almost too much to bare. Clive had spoken of a women Smasher named Augustine Agarthorpe, she was the only sect member to have shown him any decency and care, and it was Augustine Agarthorpe who had clambered up to Clive one morning before day broke and set him free. 'She was my saviour' Clive had told Felix and Felix was touched by his friends kind words, even if they were directed toward a Smasher.

As the foliage thins out it is possible to see glimmers of activity within the orchard. An orange glow caresses the spaces beneath the dark silhouettes of the apple trees. What sounds like chanting, echos around the two men. Jack begins to feel a calm aura surrounding the orchard. Felix, trapped in his own pessimism is edgy with uncertainty. He is contemplating using physical force if the need arises. Just then a rustling sound erupts and the branches to their right suddenly shake wildly before they they part reveiling the open sky, and before they can say or do anything the most remarkable thing happens. Jack and Felix are gently lifted just above the ground and then slowly higher and higher until they are in full view of the orchard and its new inhabitants. Apart from the sounds of their own hearts furiously beating, there is a silence. A soft, yet exhilarating silence.