Chương 19: At the Gate

Will struck the gate hard enough to send the chain snapping against the bars.

"Sam!" The man near the barn raised his shotgun, then froze before the stock reached his shoulder. His gaze moved across Will, Marcus, and Owen before settling on the golden spear in Thomas's hands.

"Dad?" Will leaned into the gate, gripping its upper rail with both hands.

"Yes, it's me. Lower the gun and get this chain open." Sam obeyed slowly, keeping the barrel pointed toward the ground as he crossed the farmyard. Mud covered his trousers above the knees, and dried blood had stiffened his left sleeve from wrist to elbow. Several days of beard darkened his face, while exhaustion had carved deeper shadows beneath his eyes.

"Where's Mum?" he asked before reaching the gate.

"She's safe at Richmond Castle, where she was ordering thirty people around when we left this morning." Will pushed one arm between the bars as Sam began struggling with the chain.

"She practically threw me out of the chapel once we decided someone had to check the farm."

"You left her in a castle full of strangers?"

"I left her with everyone we've collected since the world went wrong. Margaret is probably safer than any of us." Sam's fingers slipped from the chain, and Will caught the lower links before they fell. Together they unwound the twisted section from the bars.

"You walked here from Richmond?" Sam asked.

"All of you?"

"It took the whole day. The roads are still going in the same directions, but everything between the landmarks has stretched."

"I thought I was losing my mind when the west field kept getting farther from the house." Sam pulled the final loop free and dragged the gate inward, though the lower rail caught against ground that had risen beneath it.

"Jenny said the farm looked wider. I told her we were exhausted."

"You were both right." The gate opened only far enough for one person to squeeze through. Will entered first, turning sideways beneath the chain still hanging from Sam's hand. Sam caught his father around the shoulders before Will had fully cleared the bars. Will pulled him close with enough force to drive the shotgun awkwardly between them, and Sam finally let it fall into the grass. They stayed that way for several breaths.

When Sam stepped back, Will immediately caught the bloodied sleeve and turned his son's arm toward the fading evening light.

"Tell me this belongs to an animal."

"Most of it does. A ewe caught herself in the western fence yesterday, and the cut across my palm opened again while I was moving hurdles."

"Most is doing dangerous work in that answer." Sam showed him the strip of torn cloth wrapped around his hand. The older stain had dried brown along the edges, though a narrow line of fresher blood marked the bandage near his thumb.

"It needs cleaning and wrapping properly," Will said.

"Where's Jenny?"

"She's inside, and she's fine. Tired, furious, and carrying a knife everywhere, but fine." The kitchen door opened before Sam finished speaking. Jenny stepped into the yard with a long carving knife held close to her thigh. A strip of blue cloth kept her hair away from her face, and dirt stained both knees of her jeans. Her gaze found Will immediately, then moved past him toward the road.

"Where's Marg?"

"She's at Richmond Castle, and I saw her this morning before we left." Jenny closed her eyes briefly, taking a slow breath before crossing the yard.

"You actually saw her? You didn't hear from somebody who heard from somebody else?"

"I sat beside her while she counted food for thirty-one people. She sent me here because the castle has enough rations for three or four days."

"She sent you," Jenny repeated as she stopped in front of him.

"That means she's completely fine or refusing to admit she isn't."

"She was reorganising a chapel while arguing that everyone else needed sleep."

"Completely fine, then." Will embraced her, and what began as a quick greeting lasted longer when Jenny tightened both arms around his back. She kept the knife turned safely away from him until they separated. Sam recovered the shotgun from the grass and nodded toward the other men waiting beyond the gate.

"You should probably explain the armed procession." Will turned and motioned them through.

"Marcus has been handling our defences. Thomas is the one with the disappearing spear, and Owen remembers every route he walks under the System." Marcus entered first and drew the loose chain behind him. Owen followed while studying the road over his shoulder, fixing the final approach into his Route Runner memory. Thomas dismissed the spear, allowing its golden shaft to fold inward until only the original iron point remained in his palm. Sam watched the weapon disappear.

"I'm going to need that explained eventually."

"So am I," Thomas said as he slipped the spearhead into his pocket.

"The practical version is that I can summon it again." Sam looked from Thomas's empty hands to the packs and folded sacks they carried.

"You came because the castle needs food." Will's expression tightened.

"I came because your mother and I had no idea whether either of you survived. The food matters now that we know you're alive, but nothing leaves until we work out what the farm can spare." Jenny looked at the expedition's supplies before turning to Marcus.

"How bad is it at the castle?"

"We had thirty-one survivors when we left, although more may have arrived today. Their bottled water lasts through tomorrow, and Margaret calculated three days of food at portions already below what people need." Sam glanced toward the pantry window.

"We can help, but the farm has taken damage, and we've lost animals." Marcus rested one hand against the gate while watching the surrounding hedges.

"Walk us through everything that happened, starting with anything that came onto the property." Sam looked toward the western fields and gathered his thoughts before answering.

"The first night was mostly noise and broken equipment. The animals panicked when the ground started shifting, then the power went out, and the kitchen pipes tore loose from the extension. Yesterday morning, we found the west fence down, six sheep missing, and a feed sack dragged beneath the store door."

"The tracks had long claws," Jenny added.

"Whatever left them stayed low to the ground, and there were at least three moving together. One crossed the yard last night and came close enough to hit the kitchen door before Sam fired."

"I found blood on the stones afterwards," Sam said, "but it made it back through the hedge." Marcus glanced at the shotgun.

"How many shells remain?"

"Eleven. We had more, but I fired twice yesterday afternoon when something came for the sheep, then once at the house last night." The sun had dropped behind the western trees while they spoke, leaving the farmyard in uneven amber light. Marcus studied the farmhouse, barn, stone walls, and thick hedges before checking the sky.

"We have less than an hour before visibility becomes a problem. Show us the well and the nearest damaged boundary while you explain the rest." Will started forward, though Sam caught his sleeve before he had taken two steps.

"You've spent ten hours walking through whatever happened to the roads. Sit down for five minutes while Jenny gets you something."

"I've spent two days wondering whether my son and his wife were dead. I can sit after I know what's on this farm."

"That worry hasn't done anything useful for your legs."

"They carried me here." Jenny stepped beside them, ending the argument before either man settled into it.

"You can both be stubborn while walking. Start with the well and lower field, because the old house is stable, the extension is pulling away, and the electric pump stopped when the pipes broke." They crossed the yard together, with Marcus and Owen following several steps behind the family. The oldest section of the farmhouse had survived the expansion with little visible damage. Local stone supported the slate roof, while narrow windows remained square within their frames.

The kitchen extension had separated from the main structure by several inches, exposing insulation and pipework stretched across the widening seam. A length of gutter hung between the rooflines, bowing under its own weight. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The equipment shed had suffered worse. Its metal supports leaned at conflicting angles, twisting the roof and trapping the tractor behind folded cladding.

A broad crack crossed the concrete floor from the doorway to the rear wall. Jenny pointed toward the damaged extension.

"The freezer still feels cold, so we've stopped opening it unless we need something. We moved the dry food into the old pantry, and most of the grain stores are intact. The feed-store door jammed after something pulled the sack underneath it." Will walked past her toward the old hand pump beside the yard wall. Its iron handle rose from a weathered stone curb, polished smooth by generations of hands. Recent concrete around the base had cracked into several uneven plates, although the pump itself remained upright.

Will drove the handle down until cloudy water spilt into the trough, then continued until the flow ran clear.

"We've been drinking from it since the pipes failed," Jenny said.

"Neither of us has been sick." Marcus crouched long enough to inspect the water and smell it.

"Keep using the well, and boil what you drink whenever you have time."

"The stove works if we light it manually," Sam said.

"The gas tank hasn't shifted as far as the shed."

"That already puts this place ahead of the castle." Will left one hand wrapped around the pump handle after the trough began filling. Thomas felt mana shift beneath the yard. It travelled through the stone curb, then spread across compacted earth and into the boundaries surrounding the farm. The pressure followed old drainage channels, animal tracks, walls, and foundations repaired through generations of work.

Richmond Castle gathered mana within defended rooms and corridors, while Harland Farm extended outward through every part of the land that people had maintained. Will lifted his head, and his gaze moved across the barn before settling on the lower fields.

"The west fence is open again near the ash tree. Two sheep are outside the boundary, and another is hurt beside the trough." Sam stared at him.

"You can't see any of that from here."

"We counted the flock less than an hour ago," Jenny said.

"There were thirty-six."

"There are thirty-four inside the lower field now, two beyond the western hedge, and something is missing from the north pasture." Will released the pump and walked toward the barn. Marcus motioned the others forward before following him. Thomas summoned the spear as they entered the narrow passage between the barn and lower wall, where the thickened hedges blocked most of the remaining daylight. Gold formed around the old iron point and lengthened into a stable shaft beneath his hands.

The sheep had gathered in the centre of the lower field. Several pressed close together, while others paced along the fence and bleated toward the farmyard. One ewe stood apart beside the trough, keeping her rear leg lifted. Blood had dried through the wool below the joint. Will pushed open the field gate. The flock moved away from everyone else, then opened a path as he approached. He crossed directly to the injured ewe and crouched beside her, finding a length of fencing wire twisted around the leg.

Sam followed him into the field.

"You knew where she was before you reached the gate."

"I can feel the field, although I don't know how to explain it better than that." Will steadied the ewe with one hand while loosening the wire.

"I know where the animals are, which parts of the boundary are damaged, and where something crossed onto the land. The house, barn, and well are part of it too." Jenny folded her arms as she watched him work.

"What class did you choose?"

"Homestead Defender." A tired laugh escaped her.

"Margaret is going to be unbearable once she hears that."

"She chose Homesteader."

"That will make it worse." Will freed the final loop from the ewe's leg. The animal jerked when the wire came away, then settled beneath his hand. Sam crouched across from his father.

"Did your class do anything at the castle?"

"It helped whenever I was protecting people, especially Margaret. Here, the whole farm presses against my awareness at once." Thomas remained near the gate and opened Mana Control carefully. Will's presence had settled through the field, connecting him to the stone wall, packed earth beneath the trough, foundations of the barn, and pathways worn through years of use. A gap in that pressure marked the western boundary. Will stood and wiped blood from his fingers onto the grass.

"Show us where you found the tracks." Sam led them beyond the ash tree. The field had expanded unevenly along the western edge. Newer wooden posts stood farther apart than their wire allowed, leaving several spans stretched until the fasteners tore free. Most of the older stonework remained intact, although thick hawthorn roots had lifted sections near the base. A broad gap opened where the timber fence met the hedge. Two sheep stood in the next field. One limped, while dark blood marked the other's flank.

Beyond them, flattened grass formed a trail leading toward the woods. Marcus crouched beside the nearest print. Four narrow toes ended in deep claw marks. The stride belonged to an animal larger than a fox, although its body remained close enough to the ground that its belly had brushed the wet grass. Several tracks overlapped around the breach.

"Three at least," Sam said.

"I thought there might be four, but the prints cross too often to count." Thomas studied the trail from behind Marcus.

"They've used the same opening in both directions, probably more than once." Marcus followed the flattened grass with his gaze.

"They know where the livestock are and have a route through the hedge." Jenny joined them, knife still in hand.

"The dogs refuse to come near this field now. Whenever the wind comes from the woods, they start whining and scratch at the tack-room door." Owen looked toward the farm buildings.

"You locked them inside?"

"After they nearly tore through the yard fence last night. They were making enough noise to draw everything in the fields." Will placed his palm against the broken post and remained there for several seconds. His attention shifted toward the barn and feed store behind them.

"Something crossed the yard near the store as well." Sam frowned.

"I checked it before you arrived. The door's jammed, but I didn't see anything inside."

"The boundary feels disturbed there, and whatever crossed it came after you repaired this section."

"The feed-store wall is inside the farmyard." Will pulled his hand away from the post.

"My class includes it in the same boundary, whether the map does or not." Marcus stood and brushed damp soil from one knee.

"We close this breach, move the sheep into the stone yard, then inspect the store before we lose the light."

"The stone yard is too small for the entire flock," Sam said.

"They'll crowd the lower rail, and the heavy hurdles are trapped behind the equipment shed."

"It only needs to hold them tonight," Will replied.

"We'll brace the rail and fix something better after sunrise." Jenny looked toward the barn while considering what remained accessible.

"Four lighter hurdles are stacked beside the lambing pens. Two can close this breach, and the others will narrow the stone-yard entrance enough to control the flock." Marcus pointed toward the buildings.

"Bring all four. Owen can help carry them, while Will stays here and Thomas and I secure what remains of the fence." Sam hesitated, glancing toward his father, but Jenny had already started toward the barn.

"We've got less than an hour before we're trying to do this by touch," she called over her shoulder.

"You can argue with him while carrying something." Sam followed her, with Owen several steps behind. Will began gathering loose wire from the hedge while Thomas dismissed his spear and helped coil the damaged length. Marcus threaded rope through the surviving posts and tested each one before trusting it with any pressure.

"Did you know Sam and Jenny were alive before you saw the chimney smoke?" Thomas asked.

"I knew two people were inside the house after I crossed the gate, but I couldn't tell who they were." Will wound the wire carefully around his forearm.

"The farm hit me all at once—the animals, the water, every building and damaged stretch of fence. For a second, I thought my legs had gone."

"You kept standing."

"I had just found my son." Marcus pulled the rope tight against the stone post.

"Save the class discussion until we've closed the field." Thomas held the damaged fence upright while Marcus tied the first knot. By the time they finished the temporary line, Sam and Jenny had returned carrying a hurdle between them. Owen followed with another balanced across one shoulder. The metal frames had bent during the expansion, though their hinges still worked. They fitted two across the western breach and tied each end to older stonework.

Will opened the narrow gap long enough to retrieve the stranded sheep. He entered the next field, called once, and waited. Both animals turned toward him. The injured ewe limped through first, followed by the bloodied sheep, and Will closed the hurdle behind them. Sam watched from the other side.

"You used to need feed to get them through a strange gate."

"They know where the opening is."

"They know you opened it." Will checked the latch before answering.

"Probably both." Moving the flock into the stone yard took longer than closing the breach. Sam and Jenny circled behind the sheep while Will controlled their approach to the gate. Owen blocked the track leading toward the northern field, and Marcus watched the hedges for movement. Thomas kept the spear summoned while following the animals through Mana Control, searching among their warm signatures for anything colder. The flock entered the yard in a dense, nervous stream.

Several animals pushed against the old walls when the space narrowed, while one struck the lower rail hard enough to shake the entire gate. Jenny wedged a timber brace beneath that corner, and Sam secured the upper latch with rope. Will remained inside until the injured ewe crossed, then slipped through the opening before Sam pulled it closed. Chest-high stone walls enclosed the yard. Mana rested throughout them with the same settled weight Thomas had felt in the farmhouse and around the well.

The sheep gradually quieted, though several kept their heads pointed toward the western fields. Sam leaned against the wall and caught his breath.

"There's grain in the stone store, tins in the house, fuel in the tank, and seed in the north barn. The tractor is trapped, but the smaller handcart still works, and we could move more once the shed is cleared." Will joined him at the gate.

"How much can you spare without leaving yourselves short?"

"For Richmond?"

"For the castle and for both of you." Sam looked toward the farmhouse, where Jenny had gone to check the damaged kitchen door.

"We can spare food, although we can't empty the stores. Grain and tins will keep longer than anything in the freezer, and the rear store has tools, wire, sheet metal, and older equipment. Mum will want half the seed."

"She'll want all of it."

"That's why I'm planning to offer half." Will rested both forearms on the wall.

"We'll count everything in daylight. Nothing gets loaded tonight, and nobody goes back on that road until we know this place will hold."

"I wasn't planning to drag a cart through the dark." The pressure across the farm changed before Will could answer. Thomas felt it gather beneath the yard, then spread outward through walls, fields, buildings, livestock, and the old well. Sam straightened beside his father. Jenny emerged from the farmhouse and turned toward the western boundary, while Marcus stepped away from the gate. A System window appeared.

┌────────────────────────────┐ Event Quest: Defend the Farm Objective: Preserve Harland Farm's essential resources until dawn. Reward: Minor attribute increase. Increased chance to awaken defence or logistics-related skills. └────────────────────────────┘ Jenny stopped beside Sam.

"I was hoping people had exaggerated those."

"They hadn't," Will said. A sheep struck the stone-yard gate, and several others crowded away from the western wall while bleating over one another. The dogs began barking inside the tack room, their claws scraping across the wooden door. Will turned toward the hedge. Its upper branches dipped as something moved beneath them, then rose behind it before another section began shaking closer to the farmyard. Marcus took Sam's shotgun from where it rested against the wall and checked the chamber.

"Bring every tool that can be used as a weapon," he said.

"Then we decide where we're meeting them."