Chapter 1: Jackie gets caught

"Why did I take that last lift? The sod dropped me in this God forsaken place. No traffic, no people, nothing. How was I to know the place he was going to was only a two house dump?" Jackie muttered as she trudged sore footed through the latest of a series of tiny picturesque rural villages; villages that, even if they sported a shop, it was closed. A signpost at a crossroad indicated 'Marlesford 7'. "Seven miles to the next place that is big enough to be put on a sign. I shan't get there tonight and I can't afford a B&B anyway. I need to find somewhere to sleep and get something to eat. Only had a Mars bar since last night and my guts feel sodden empty. Weather doesn't look too good for sleeping out either. Maybe there'll be a barn or something."

A mile further on, nestling alongside a large area of woodland, she came to a farmhouse with a barn standing a little beyond. "That's it!" Jackie said to herself, "I'm not walking any further today. Looks like some apple trees too. I don't care if they're not ripe. Should be though. It's September. If I sneak through the woods maybe I can get to the barn without being seen from the house." Jackie tossed her rucksack over the barbed wire fence, pressed the lower strand of wire down and slipped through the opening without snagging her clothing. The slight track she thought to follow petered out after only a short distance causing her to make detours to avoid brambles and nettles. "Glad I wore jeans otherwise my legs would be scratched to hell. I only really wore them because my shorts seemed too provocative and might have gotten me into trouble with some of the drivers." Eventually she came to an opening in the trees close to the barn and squatted down to assess the situation.

The wooden clad barn was typical of the area. Probably a century or more old, with the ground area open on one side for the storage of farm machinery and above it the building was enclosed except for large square openings in the end walls. Originally these openings were covered with double wooden doors and used to give access to the upper floor when grain and other crops needed storing. One door at each end had long since disappeared and the place seemed unused.

"There's little cover between the woods and the barn but I'll make a dash for it and hope no one in the house is looking this way. It's only about twenty yards so there's a pretty good chance that I won't be seen." Putting her thoughts into action, Jackie dashed across the open ground and into the open lower part of the building and crouched behind a tractor. With bated breath she waited to see if there was any sign of movement from the house. There wasn't. "I'd better look upstairs to see if there is anywhere I can sleep and then go and scrump a few apples before it gets too dark."

At the inner end of the open area, a set of rickety stairs led to the next floor. It was gloomy and with a distinct odour. "Smells like a chicken shed but they can't keep hens up here. More like a junk store." The only light came from the two openings at each end and near one she saw a stack of straw bales. "I'll make a bed out of them and I should be okay for one night." Before she had moved any, a noise outside caused her to freeze and lay down flat on the straw. Footsteps; footsteps from heavy boots. They didn't stop. Her heart pounding, cautiously she peered through the opening and saw the back of a heavyset man with a shotgun in the crook of his arm, heading towards the house. "I'd better wait a bit longer before I go scrumping. Better give him a chance to settle down in the house and by then it will be nearly dark. Wish this straw didn't smell quite so strong. Smells of bird shit." Moments later she found out why. A flock of pigeons flew in to roost for the night. "Just my bloody luck to have to share my bedroom with them," she cursed. "Better get to the apple trees."

Slowly, with great caution and, keeping a low profile, she ran to the nearest tree, reached up and quickly picked four. Pulling her shirttails from inside her jeans, she clasped them basket-like to hold the purloined fruit. Everything was very quiet. "I wonder if there is anything edible in the kitchen garden?" Greatly daring she moved nearer to the house, all the time keeping in the shadows as far as she could. In the dim light she peered to see what was growing. "Carrots. Apples and carrots, not the best menu I've ever had but better than nothing at all." She pulled a few and started back.

The silence was broken by the sound of a door opening. Jackie dropped to the ground and lay still, her heart beating faster than she thought possible.

"Grrrrr! Grrrrr! Wooof wooof." "Oh God no! They've got a bloody fierce dog." Still clutching her shirttails she started to run. The man yelled something in an angry voice then, more clearly, a younger voice yelled for her to stay still. The dog was almost at her side and growling ferociously.

"Stay still, then he won't bite you," the young man's voice commanded.

"Don't let him get away Mark. It's time we caught one of those young varmints and this time I'll certainly give the bugger something to remember his visit here." It was the older man's angry voice and Jackie could see the silhouette of him with his shotgun again under his arm. She started to walk away, not really knowing why. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. The dog growled and nipped at her ankles without actually biting them but it was enough to cause her to fall. She screamed as the dog jumped on her.

"It's a girl dad," the young man called out. "Here Nero. Here boy!" Obediently the dog left Jackie and went to his master.

"Bring her into the house son. I'll give her a taste of my belt anyway. She won't want to come stealing from us again," the father's gruff voice ordered.

"No please, I only wanted somewhere to sleep," Jackie pleaded, "And I needed something to eat. Don't hurt me please. I didn't mean any harm." Tears ran down her face.

By now the younger man was standing over her, "Get up," he said quietly, "I'll take you into the house and see what is to be done with you." Thinking he was going to thrash her Jackie put up her fists and managed to land a few totally ineffective punches on his chest. The lad laughed, tossed her over his shoulder and started to carry her back to the house. Fearful and angry, Jackie screamed and beat on the lad's back with her fists but desisted when a hard slap landed on her arse. "Calm down," the boy said, "You haven't been hurt yet."

"That's right boy, don't let the little bitch get the better of you," growled the older man.

"Well what have you brought in this time Mark? Certainly doesn't look like a brace of pheasants. What's your name luv?" the large woman asked when Mark deposited the girl in the kitchen. "You're not from about here are you? Haven't seen you around before."

"Jackie, Jacqueline Holmes. I'm from Colne in Lancashire. Please don't let them hurt me. I only wanted somewhere to spend the night and I've not had anything much to eat since yesterday." Tears still streamed down Jackie's face.

"It's okay luv. I'm Pauline Britton and this is my husband Roland and my son Mark. I guess from the smell of you that you intended sleeping with the pigeons. Well I think we can do better than that. I'll make the bed up in the spare room and I'm sure we can find you something a bit more filling than what you could find in the garden. Get yourself sat at the table lass. I originally came from up north too."

"Don't be so soft with her woman," Roland grumbled, "She was stealing our stuff..."

"Oh stop moaning man," Pauline chided, "What she would have taken is nothing, nothing compared to those thieves that came with a trailer t'other week."