Angus
Marcus and I decided to handle the cleanup, along with Fergus who came along to supervise and helpfully point out all the bits we'd missed. We used the power hose to wash away most of the blood, and decided to rely on the good old British weather to sluice away the rest. The disposal of the bodies was a bit tricky, but Fergus located a meat works two miles away with a handy offal pit. We removed all the clothing and carried the bodies in groups of four or five across fields and farm tracks to the works, where we unceremoniously dumped them in the sludge at the bottom of the pit. It was hard to tell which smelled worse, the bloodsuckers or the offal, but in the end they blended together to form a whole new stench. I doubted any normal human could tell the difference, though. The reek was so overpowering that their sense of smell would probably just shut down completely, if it hadn't already.
Jack's headless body joined the rest in the pit. Marcus had decided to keep the head, as well as sundry other bits and pieces from the bloodsuckers. I had decided that Marcus would use the van to transport his gory cargo back to the estate, while I drove Fergus and Rebecca in the Bentley.
After a couple of long hot showers, Marcus and I joined the others at the dinner table. Julia and Rebecca had made supper, and the others were all hungrily devouring it. They had all washed and changed - all the blood splatters and torn clothes had disappeared, and everyone looked very civilised again. Oliver lounged comfortably in his chair, the pain completely wiped from his features. It was almost as if his evisceration hadn't even happened.
Julia had a new kind of peace about her. She and Oliver and Simon had decided to bury Bill Colborne under one of the old trees. Lucy had come out of hiding in her bedroom to help them say goodbye to her father, and her tearstained face showed how much she had lost today. But she had joined everyone for supper, and although she seemed subdued, she looked as if she was making an effort. I felt sorry for her. Her life was about to become a lot more complicated.
As if she read my thoughts, Julia asked, "What now?"
The million dollar question. We knew they'd be coming for us. What we didn't know was when, or how or even how many. We also had no idea how much they knew.
Marcus spoke first. "Come with us to Russia. We're leaving tonight. We have a large base there, and you would be welcome to stay as long as you wanted. Jack never knew about it."