Читать книгу The Dead Fathers Club - Matt Haig - Страница 14

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Hadrians Wall

Mrs Fell said Many Romans believed that Hadrians Wall was near the end of the world because in those days everybody thought the world was flat and if you went too far you would fall off the edge and die.

Then she said Where you are standing now was the most northern part of the Roman Empire and so it was a very scary place for a lot of the soldiers who worked here.

It was cold and the wind was making whistle sounds like our coats were musical instruments and I think everyone wanted to go back and get warm even Mrs Fell who had an orange coat that said QUIKSILVER but Charlotte Ward had her hand up.

Mrs Fell said Yes Charlotte.

And Charlotte said Were all the soldiers from England or were they from Rome?

Mrs Fells collar on her coat flapped in her face and she put it back and said Most of them came from outside Britain not always Rome but warmer places in the southern parts of the Empire. Imagine what it must have been like! After years spent in warm sunshine having to cross the rough English Channel to a country which was known to be very unfriendly. There was not only the bad weather and the hills but many Britons hated being part of the Roman Empire and would throw stones or vegetables or even spit on the new soldiers.

Right then I felt someone gob on the back of my neck and I touched it with my hand and turned round and saw Dominic Weekly and Jordan Harper laughing at me through closed mouths. Mrs Fell couldnt see them laughing but she could see me turning round.

She said in a soft voice that was very small and quiet in the wind Philip is something the matter?

I said No Miss.

Her curly hair was blowing across her face and she pulled it behind her ears and then she carried on talking.

Dominic said Helmet hows your Dad?

Jordan giggled behind me and Dominic kept saying it dead quiet.

Hows your Dad?

Mrs Fell said And the soldiers knew that over this wall was not only the end of the world but also some of the most violent tribes they had ever heard of.

I wiped my hand on my jeans and then Charlotte Ward said How long was it Miss?

Hows your Dad?

Mrs Fell said The wall went right across the country from east to west and it was 80 miles long and it was 15 feet high which is three times the height of me.

Hows your Dad?

Mrs Fell said Dominic is there something you want to share with us?

Dominic said No Miss.

Jordan giggled a fart out of his mouth.

Then Mrs Fell said Where we are now was one of the watch towers. Can you see the stones in the ground curve round? These watch towers were used to send signals up and down the wall if any invaders were coming. Most of the time though the soldiers were not fighting. Most of the time they did more boring jobs like working on repairs or checking who was passing through. Like when you go on holiday and have to show your passport! There were villages nearby and places where the soldiers could eat and drink but it still must have been very hard for them coming to this harsh world away from their families to start again.

this

harsh

world

Charlotte said Would they ever see their families again?

Mrs Fell said Sometimes they saw them again but they had to serve 25 years in the army and after that some stayed here and some went home but Roman men on average lived until they were 41 and they didnt finish their service until they were at least 43 because the earliest age to join the Roman army was 18 so many of them didnt get the chance to see their families again Charlotte.

And she carried on talking but I wasnt looking I was thinking that 41 was the age Dad was when he died and I thought that was weird.

Where we stayed was in a youth hostel and it was in the middle of nowhere and there were three buildings. One of the buildings was big and that was the main building and that is where we ate. And in that building we had mashed potato which was served out of the biggest pan ever and it tasted DISGUSTING and it had lumps in.

I sat on the table with the Teachers and Mr Rosen said All right Philip?

And I said Yes.

And there were two more buildings and one was nice and it was where the girls slept and some of the boys but the other one was horrible and made out of dark brown wood and it used to be a stables where they used to keep horses and there were eight beds in it and they were bunk beds.

Mrs Fell and Mr Rosen told everyone where they were sleeping and I was sleeping in the stables and I had to sleep above Dominic Weekly. And I couldnt get to sleep for ages and ages and my mind kept moving really fast and I kept seeing different things flashing like photos in my brain. I kept on seeing the circle of stones on the ground and different other things like the field of cows which we passed on the way in the mini bus. And then I kept thinking of Dad and wondered if he was with the Dead Fathers Club or if he was off in the Terrors. I worried about Mum and I hoped Uncle Alan wasnt there and I hoped he wouldnt hurt her.

And then I started to go to sleep but it wasnt like a real sleep. It was somewhere in the middle of being asleep and being awake and after a bit I heard myself talking and I was talking rubbish and very fast and what I was saying was

kelhamisinnewarkkelhamisinnewarkkelhamisinnewark which is a stupid thing to say anyway because Kelham is not in Newark it is two miles away where Dad died. But I was getting louder and even though I could hear myself I couldnt stop because I wasnt properly awake and then I heard really loud laughing and it was Dominic and I woke up then and I was scared because he had heard and he started saying

kelhamisinnewarkkelhamisinnewarkkelhamisinnewark and then other boys were laughing in the dark and there was nothing else in the UNIVERSE just the laughing.

Dominic said Helmets gone Skitso.

Jordan said Skitso Skitso Skitso.

But that wasnt the end because my eyes were heavy even though my brain was moving fast and I went back to sleep but bad sleep and I had nightmares but I dont know what about and when I woke up I was standing on the wooden floor and the window was smashed and there was blood on my hands and I was screaming something and the light was on and the next thing Mr Rosen was holding my shoulders and saying Its all right Philip its all right calm down and I looked round at the faces and all their eyes were scared even Dominic and all the eyes added up and added up inside me and made my legs weak and I fell onto the floor and there was blackness again.

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