The Resistance

flickered into life. Tentatively, he moved his hands towards the keyboard which was wedged on the kitchen counter, between two boxes of cereal and the solar-powered toaster, and started to type.
    Peter2124: Jude are you there? Don’t know if this is going to work. Let me know if gets through. Peter.
    He only had to wait a few seconds for a reply.
    Jude2124: Loud and clear.
    Peter2124: So how’s things?
    Jude2124: Things? I couldn’t possibly tell you about any things; Pip would have to kill me. And then you.
    Peter chuckled, imagining Jude’s impatience with Pip’s demands, imagining them bickering as they had bickered in the few days they’d shared together after escaping from Pincent Pharma. To Peter it had been like old times – hiding in cellars, making plans to leave London – but infinitely better because this time he hadn’t felt alone. He’d had Anna, he’d had Ben, and he’d had Jude. Jude, who made everyone laugh, who rolled his eyes at everything, who thought he knew better than everyone, who reminded Peter of himself more than he ever cared to admit.
    Peter2124: Is he still fixated on the weather for passwords?
    Jude2124: He’s moved on to flora and fauna. I tried to get him to use something else, but he wasn’t having any of it. Did you get the package I sent, by the way?
    Peter looked down at the small box on the floor beside him. It had arrived that morning. In it, to his surprise, to his relief, he’d found his ring, the one he’d thrown away, the one he didn’t want but which his hand felt naked without.
    Peter2124: Where did you get it? I don’t want it. I threw it away, remember?
    Jude2124: Of course I remember. It hit the guard holding me when you threw it away at the end of your little speech at Pincent Pharma. Gave me an opportunity to get out the gun Pip gave me. I think maybe it’s a lucky ring.
    Peter frowned.
    Peter2124: So you kept it for a few weeks, then. What were you going to do, sell it?
    Jude2124: Wish I had now, since you’re so sure you don’t want it. Probably worth a bit.
    Peter bit his lip.
    Jude2124: Actually, I kind of liked it. Thought I’d wear it. But it’s yours. Pip said you should hold on to it.
    Peter2124: The AF. It stands for Albert Fern.
    Jude2124: That’s what Pip said. He’s the guy who invented Longevity, right? You. certainly have some interesting relatives, don’t you.
    Peter2124: Interesting’s one word for it. Fine, I’ll keep the ring. Thanks for looking after it for me.
    Jude2124: You’re welcome. So you’re happy out there, wherever it is you are?
    Peter looked out of the window, over the fields stretching out into the distance.
    Peter2124: Really happy, yeah.
    As he typed the words, he found himself smiling – he actually was happy, he realised. Properly happy, probably for the first time ever. They’d been here for a few weeks now; their location secret, chosen for its remoteness, its seclusion. The Authorities would be looking for them but for now, at least, they were safe; safe and free at last. He and Anna had land, were determined to be self-sufficient, and for the first time in his life Peter felt in control, unburdened. Ben had started to walk and say the odd word, and their unborn child had begun to move inside Anna, making its presence felt with fluttering movements and forcing Peter to work as hard as he could to feed the insatiable hunger it had created in its mother. It had already enslaved him, he realised, just as he’d been warned it would, just as the land he now worked and nature herself enslaved him with constant demands, with rain, with wind, with dark nights and bright mornings. What he hadn’t known was that he’d be enslaved willingly; that he would meet the whims of his taskmasters with love, with devotion, with joy in his heart.
    Jude2124: And there’s really no one there? You’re living in the wilderness? Can’t think of anything worse myself.
    Peter grinned. Their nearest neighbour was over five miles away – even in over-populated Britain, the wilds of northern Scotland still provided solitude.
    Peter2124: You kind of get a taste for it. So how about you? How’s Sheila?
    Jude2124: Sheila? She’s fine. So far she’s failed to fall for my many charms, but she’ll succumb eventually. She certainly talks a lot. Says I’ve been badly trained. Says I wouldn’t have lasted a minute in Grange Hall.
    Peter grinned.
    Peter2124: To be honest, I think she’s right.
    Jude2124: So look, I’d better