Survivors

A few days later they’d eaten a good supper and were all sat in the main living quarters playing a game of cards with Bretnel. Describing it as a “game” is probably the wrong word to use. The game was so complicated and needed so much brain power and focus that it was more like sitting some sort of maths test than anything you’d do for fun. None of them really liked playing Bretnels games, apart from Bretnel of course, but it was at least better than doing nothing. There wasn’t normally much laughing, banter or even playfulness when they were engaged in these games , but tonight the mood was worse than normal because Luke was being particularly grumpy. The source of Luke’s grumpiness seemed to be that Bretnel had disappeared off to his “secret” part of the base for most of the day. This always seemed to really annoy Luke. So far he’d managed to make his bad mood last all afternoon, right through supper and now well into the evening.

“I don’t know why he lets it get to him” whispered Holly to Joe “I mean it’s not like he likes having Bretnel around is it?”

“You know Luke” sniggered Joe “He’s never happier than when he’s got something to be unhappy about”.

“But that doesn’t explain why he gets annoyed about this” insisted Holly.

“It’s because he doesn’t know what Bretnel gets up to” said Joe with a sigh. “There is nothing that winds Luke up more than not knowing something. That’s why he’s miserable most of the time, because let’s face it, Luke’s just clever enough to realise how thick he is!” At this point Joe burst into fits of giggles at his own joke. Luke looked at them sharply which sent Joe into even more hysterical guffaws and made Holly have to bite her lip so she didn’t join in.

“It’s your go” snapped Luke at Joe.

“Sorry, sorry” said Joe staring through tear filled eyes at his cards trying to compose himself. After about thirty seconds of intense concentration he looked up and said “Look, I’m really sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, can you explain the rules again”.

“Oh for gods sake” hissed Luke, throwing his cards onto the table “I give up, what’s the point!”

“Sorry!” snapped Joe

“Not to worry young sir” beamed Bretnel “I will elucidate you again, though not perhaps tonight, as the hour is late and even my intellect is feeling a little tired. In my humble opinion it is probably time for our repose and therefore a delicious cup of my special bedtime chocolate”. He got up with a grin and wink and headed off into the kitchen.

They sat and played a couple of hands of pontoon in a fairly disinterested way and when they couldn’t be bothered to do that they just sat listlessly waiting for Bretnel to come back. After a while Holly sat up and looked around quizzically “Bretnels been gone a long time” she said.

“Oh he’s probably off in ga ga land” said Joe, pulling a stupid face and then freezing staring blanky into space.

“Don’t” said Holly gently slapping him and laughing.

“I’ll go and check” said Luke getting up “We don’t want him setting fire to the place”.

He walked off into the kitchen and sure enough there was Bretnel standing stock still gazing ahead of him. Luke wasn’t sure if Bretnel was at all aware of what was going on around him but he decided that he was going to go up and take the micky, when he suddenly stopped. Then for some reason, that Luke couldn’t quite explain, he crept quietly towards Bretnel, making sure he always kept behind him right out of his line of sight. Luke could see the tin of coco and a boiling pan of milk, a bowl of sugar, a small bar of dark chocolate and in Bretnels hand an open plastic bottle with a clear liquid in it.

“So it is booze” thought Luke. He crept further forward and tried to sniff the open neck of the bottle from over Bretnels elbow. He sniffed deeply...nothing...nothing...it didn’t smell of anything. The hooch the adults had brewed at the camp had smelt really strong, not a pleasant smell to be honest, a bit like a cross between vodka and bleach. They’d also come across the odd bottles of whiskey, gin and of beer while they’d been scavenging, and even though these drinks had all had their own distinctive smells somewhere underneath this they’d all had that same smell of alcohol. Whatever it was that was in the bottle it didn’t have it.

“That’s weird” thought Joe.

He tried to look at the bottle to see if it had a label on it. There was a label but Bretnels’ hand covered most of it so all he could see was “-EST 423”.

All at once Bretnel snapped back to life. He saw Luke, who sprang back looking very guilty. Bretnel glanced at the bottle in his hand then up at Luke. For a moment his expression was blank, unreadable, almost as if he’d blacked out again, but then he grinned.

“Ahh, young sir, it looks like you have discovered my little secret, my little errant misdemeanour”. My little luxury, my little touch of Harry in the night!”

“What?”

“Shakespeare dear boy, Shakespeare!”

“And what about that” said Luke, nodding at the bottle.

“Oh this” replied Bretnel, casually waving the bottle “I slip a little of the homebrew into the coco, to you know...stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. That’s” he winked.

“Henry the fifth, yes I know” interrupted Luke, turning to go.

“You won’t tell the others will you” said Bretnel “Let’s keep this as our little secret. It does no harm and just aids us into the arms of Morpheus. Helps us drift off to sleep and while we’re slumbering I swear it keeps the nightmares at away”

Luke stared at Bretnel not saying anything.

“I can tell you don’t trust me” continued Bretnel “What can I do to reassure you?”

Luke paused for a while still staring hard at Bretnel then said “You drink some”

“Drink this” gasped Bretnel “Neat!”

“Yeah”

“Ohh, do I have to” groaned Bretnel “It’s so rough neat”. He looked imploringly at Luke, who just gazed steadily and coldly back. Bretnel met his gaze for a few seconds and then seemed to make up his mind, he shrugged and raised the bottle to his lips and took a big swig. Almost instantly he grimaced and made a rasping wheezing noise.

“Not my best brew” by a long shot he gasped hoarsely, “definitely needs the coco”. He puffed out his cheeks “Do you want some” he asked offering the bottle.

“No thanks, I’m fine” said Luke evenly.

“Can’t say I blame you” said Bretnel still coughing. He carefully poured the milk into the four cups. “Can you get the biscuits please” smiled Bretnel picking up the tray “Let’s have our coco”.