they were the worse for drink. Jan inwardly froze. Her companion had warned her about possible trouble at chucking-out time, and she wasn’t sure what to expect. The men then started shouting abuse at them. It was extremely offensive and hurtful and Jan was ready to answer back, but she felt a hand on her arm and instinctively knew it was a warning to keep quiet. Receiving no response, the men then started throwing missiles. Several bottles fell short of their intended target and smashed on to the concrete floor around them. One did hit home and caught her companion heavily on his shoulder, but he instinctively caught the bottle before it too smashed on the ground. Jan then found herself being pelted with chips, and a half-finished parcel landed beside her. Finally, no missiles left to hand and finding no fresh abuse to hurl, laughing and joking together the men went on their way.
Deeply insulted, Jan snapped, ‘How could you just sit there and not retaliate?’
‘And give them an excuse to give me a beating? As you know yourself, no one will come to the rescue. When you encounter people like that it’s best to do nothing to provoke them further. Then, like those thugs just did, eventually they’ll get fed up and move on. Look on the bright side, though.’
She gawped at him, stunned. ‘Bright side! What bright side?’
‘We’ve landed ourselves supper,’ Glen told her, picking several chips off his coat and putting them in his mouth. He then took a swallow from the remains of the bottle of beer he’d managed to catch hold of. ‘That’s good. Long time since I’ve had a drink of beer. Want some?’ he asked her, holding the bottle out towards her.
It was just what she needed to help steady her nerves but Jan dreaded to think how long it was since her companion had last cleaned his teeth. She politely refused the beer. The newspaper parcel at her side was a different matter, though. She grabbed it, delighted to see a good portion of chips still left inside, and started ravenously ramming them into her mouth as if she hadn’t eaten for months, totally forgetting her manners and to offer a share to her companion as he had to her.
The chips were far from a banquet but enough to take the edge off Jan’s hunger. She had to stop herself from licking the last of the crumbs off the newspaper. She made to screw up the greasy paper until she remembered her companion’s words that in the world she was in now every object had value, so she smoothed it out and folded it up instead, then handed it to him.
Glen thanked her, saying as he put it in his sack of belongings, ‘That’ll come in handy to help light a fire with when I’m on my travels in the countryside.’ He then suggested to Jan that they move into the doorway next-door because of the danger to them both from the broken glass surrounding them.
Rehoused in their new shelter, Jan once again began to shuffle herself about, trying her best to get comfortable enough to snatch some sleep, her ears ringing to the sound of her companion’s snores. Finally, from sheer exhaustion sleep began to steal over her, but just before oblivion hit an idea struck her. Eyes wide open, she proclaimed, ‘Well, how stupid of me not to have thought of that before.’
Always with his senses on alert, at the sound of her voice Glen shot bolt upright, one hand automatically diving into his pocket to grab hold of the penknife while his eyes darted round seeking any potential danger. When he realised it was Jan who had woken him, he snapped at her, ‘You shouted out. What for?’
She shot him a triumphant look. ‘Because I know how we can get you cleaned up.’ The only part of his face that was visible, his eyes, told her he was utterly confused as to how and, as exhaustion had overtaken her again, at this moment she lacked the energy to go into detail. Lying back down again, her eyes closing without any effort on her part, she mumbled to him, ‘Tell you later.’
CHAPTER FIVE
It was with emotions of sorrow and misery mingled with fear that Cait let herself into the house, a gabled four-bedroomed detached property situated in the affluent leafy suburb of Oadby on the outskirts of the city. She took off her coat which she hung on the