[Glory Brats Xmas Special] Not just for Christmas

 "There's lots of trees outside - why do we have to bring one inside?" Dee asked, helping to drag the felled pine through the snow.

"Just because." Sparrow answered shortly, out of breath from wielding the axe and now hauling the tree back to the house.

"It's tradition!" Tekla chirped, running alongside in her rubber boots, stumbling a little in the snow.

Dee tugged harder on the branches and followed in Sparrow's footsteps. He stamped his feet into the packed snow, but his toes still felt cold, despite the two pairs of socks. He curled them up inside his too-big shoes and thought of the hot food that would be waiting for them when they got back to the house.

"That's funny...." Sparrow dropped the trunk of the pine and pointed ahead. "There's no smoke from the chimney."

Dee's face fell. No smoke meant no fire, and no fire meant no hot food.

"I'll go see!" Tekla ran ahead before Sparrow could stop her. They hurried to catch up, but not before Tekla came running out of the house again. "There's no one there!"

They forced the tree in through the door and into the room with the fireplace. It was, as Tekla had said, empty. The remains of a fire smouldered in the grate, and their belongings were scattered around the room as they had been when they left to get the tree.

There was a noise at the door and shortly after, the other three came into the room. Bee was first, her staff tapping on the floor, then Zed, with as much firewood as he could carry with one arm. Rat was last, holding a struggling puppy in her arms, scratching and nipping with sharp baby teeth. Rat gently bit the puppy on the ear in retaliation. It squealed and wriggled to be set free, but she crouched down in the corner, still holding it tightly in her strong little arms. Tekla ran over to look.

Sparrow pointed at the fire. "You were supposed to be cooking!"

Zed hung his head. 

"Rat disappeared." Bee said. "We had to find her."

Zed hurried over to the fire and knelt down by it. "At least I brought back some firewood..."

"And what is that?" Sparrow's finger swung round to Rat and the puppy. 

"She won't let it go."

Tekla turned her face to Sparrow, "Can we keep it? Please? Please?"

But Sparrow was busy rummaging through the packs for food. She took her knife and started chopping potatoes and carrots on a plank of wood, scraping them into a metal pan as she did so. Zed poured in some water from the canister and set it at one side of the fire, nestled in the embers. Dee came back with more water from the pump and placed the bucket by the fireplace. Bee busied herself stuffing items back into the packs and generally tidying.

"Where's the bird?" Sparrow asked.

Zed pointed to a plastic bucket behind her and she reached in and pulled out the carcass of a turkey. A few feathers still stuck to the skin, and she plucked these off, grimacing as she did so. Although she was well used to eating meat now, the details of preparation still left her feeling a bit sick. She took her knife and messily cut into the flesh of the bird. She stripped as much of the meat as she could and put it in the frying pan which she then sat in the middle of the fire. "Keep an eye on that, Zed."

She went outside to wash her hands at the pump, and came back in ready to decorate the tree. They set it up in a corner of the room in a bucket filled with stones. Sparrow had found some red fabric and tore it into strips to drape around the branches. And in the kitchen Dee had found a roll of tinfoil. Sparrow took this and showed Tekla and Bee how to thread pieces of it onto string to make a garland. In a cupboard under the stairs they found a box of candles and they placed these on the floor around the tree so that the tinfoil glittered in a circle of light.

"It looks like stars..."Dee said to Bee.

Bee thought that Christmas smelt of pine needles and fire smoke. She felt the prickly branches of the tree and gently set the tinfoil garland swinging so that it made a sh-sh-sh sound as the pieces rubbed together.

"Now we need presents," Sparrow said.

"What's presents?" Dee asked.

"Things you give one another."

"Nice things..." Tekla added.

Dee thought a bit. He didn't have much but he did have a few collected things. He pulled out a handful from his pocket.

"Not now!" Sparrow said, "They have to be wrapped first. In secret." She produced a stack of old newspapers and put them in the middle of the floor. Everyone took a sheet and scurried away to odd corners of the house. Even Rat grabbed a crumpled bit of paper in her fist and took it away.

After the food was all eaten, Sparrow said it was time to do presents. Rat and Tekla sat in the corner, feeding the puppy strips of leftover turkey. Sparrow went first. She gave Bee one of her old school ribbons, one of the satin ones that felt so nice when you ran your finger over them. Dee gave Zed one of his precious bottle tops with pictures printed on. Tekla gave Rat a long coloured feather. Rat looked as though she was thinking very hard and then pushed the puppy into the middle of the circle, covered with the sheet of newspaper. The puppy whined and nosed at the paper. 

Sparrow lifted the paper off. "I suppose we're keeping the puppy then..."

[Glory Brats 15] Tag, you're It!

A few adults glanced at them strangely as they picked their way in and out of the turf houses and wooden buildings, but after a while they became aware that they were being watched by other eyes. Every time Sparrow thought she'd caught them out, they ducked out of sight or ran behind another house. They could hear smothered laughter too, and whisperings just before they turned a corner.

Someone darted out from a doorway and pushed Sparrow, "Tag, you're It!" They yelled as they sped away. Sparrow took off after them, leaving the others behind, somewhat confused.

"It's a game..." Tekla explained. "You gots to not be caught by the other person who's It. An' if you DO get caught, then YOU become It.

[Glory Brats 14] Food and Rest

Once Rat's hands were checked and bandaged up, Rosa took them to join the others. They were in one of the grass covered houses, sitting on benches at a long wooden table. Bowls of soup were in front of them, being hastily demolished. Inside the house it was dark but cosy, with lamps hanging from the ceiling and dotted around the place. Sparrow and Rat sat down at the table and each got some soup and bread. Rat tried to lift the bowl with her bandaged hands and dropped it. A bit of the soup slopped over the side onto the table. Rat bent her face down and licked it all up.

[Glory Brats 13] Outsiders

 "Here we are," said Hana, and Sparrow looked up. They rode through a gate set into a high wooden fence. Someone shut the gate behind them. Beyond the fence were houses that looked half sunk into the earth, the corrugated metal fronts looking strange beside the grass-covered rooftops. The houses were built surrounding a huge stone tower, circular in shape, with a door high up in the wall that was reached by a wooden ramp.

[Glory Brats 12] The Brats make a discovery

In a moss-lined hollow lay a squirming mass of puppies. They had short, soft fur and velvety ears, and were wriggling and squealing as Tekla and Rat picked them up. She knelt down and stroked one that was trying to clamber out of the way of the others. Then she drew her hand back and stood up.

[Glory Brats 11] Brats on the run

Sparrow took a last look at the figure in the distance before setting off. She ran in the shadow of the building, feeling every minute that someone was going to call out and she'd be caught again. The barrier was just a large block of concrete, but was big enough to hide her if she crouched down. When she reached the safety of the final building she looked back to check on the others.

[Glory Brats 10] The brats attempt an escape

Sparrow shut her eyes and counted to forty under her breath. When she opened her eyes again, she could see a faint light coming from the corner of the room. She went over to investigate. Near the top of the wall there was a small hole leading to outside. Some bricks and rubble lay on the floor underneath where they had fallen in. Sparrow tried to reach the hole but she was too short, and she just scraped her fingers on the rough wall.

[Glory Brats 9 ] The Brats get caught.

Sparrow took off first, and ran straight into a woman with a rifle slung over her shoulder. The woman gripped Sparrow's shoulder and looked around. Spotting the other two figures by the wall, she gave a shout, and several figures from the bonfire came running over. Zed tried to duck away from them, but they grabbed his arm firmly. Bee was caught too, and the three of them were dragged into the light of the bonfire.

[Glory Brats 8] remnants of the past

The hollow was filled with bones, sticking out of the ground where the trees had blown over, the roots not anchored in the shallow, stony, ground. Some still had scraps of fabric clinging to them, bleached by the sun and tattered by the wind. Every step they took revealed a new skeleton, half buried in the slippery leaf mould. Sparrow swallowed down her desire to be sick and scrambled back onto the safety of the hill. 

[Glory Brats 7] An encounter in the ruins

Bee shifted slightly, reaching around for the bit of metal pipe she had picked up in the hut earlier in the day. Both girls waited, listening, as the sounds of crunching leaves got closer and closer. Then all at once, a flaming torch appeared above them. People came into view, shouting. Sparrow stood up, holding the knife out in front of her. Bee got to her feet and waved the pipe above her head. The shouting turned to hesitant laughter.

"It's just some kids!"

Sparrow scowled. "Don't come any closer!"

[Glory Brats 6] Into the woods

The woods spanned out in front of them, trees as far as they could see. Branches weighed down towards the ground, dripping greying lichen to meet miniature moss forests of bright green. Underfoot, the ground was soft with layers of pine needles and dry slippy leaves. Cobwebs brushed against their faces as they looked up at the criss-crossed layers of branches between them and the sky.

[Glory Brats 5] Through the fields

The path they followed was different now, thinner and dustier, and wound around fields of crops that lay limply in the late afternoon sun. As they got closer, the glinting buildings turned out to be greenhouses, full of plants that pushed green leaves against the glass as if they would burst out. Inside they felt warm all over, and the air smelt of soil, and damp and green things growing. They picked tomatoes and cucumbers, and even grapes, although not many of the grapes made it into the cart. When they came out, the air was cool on their faces. Sparrow marched them on past the greenhouses, and towards the other cluster of buildings by the fields. A big barn surrounded by grass loomed ahead of them, with birds perched along the roof. Another tall fence enclosed the grass, and set it apart from an area of wilderness that lay beyond, with trees beyond that. The tree-line stretched as far as they could see on either side.

[Glory Brats 4] Glad rags and new shoes

Everything in the room was too small for Bee, so they tried the next room. Rat followed them and discovered the mirror. She head-butted her reflection, then tried to bite the glass. When that didn't work she squished her nose against the glass like she had done with the door in the hospital, trying to peer through. Sparrow opened the cupboard to see clothes hanging on a rail inside. Bee trailed her hands along the fabrics until she reached one she liked and tugged it down. It was a soft long-sleeved cardigan, that tied around the middle. She pulled it on and rubbed her chin against the soft bit at her shoulder. "This is nice," she said shortly.

[Glory Brats 3] Bonfire

 Sparrow had scrunched up the paper and the birch bark, and made a thin framework of the twigs over that. She took out a tool that made sparks when she scraped the two bits together. The sparks fell on the paper and it flared up, flames licking around the twigs.

"How does that work?" Zed asked.

Sparrow hesitated. She liked being able to show-off how much more she knew, but didn't want to give up the secret of fire so easily. "Oh, it's very difficult to do." She said airily, feeding the fire with torn up bits of the cardboard file. The flames got bigger and she placed a few of the smaller bits of wood around the edges. The others watched as she knelt down and blew on the fire at just the right place so that it didn't blow out, but instead got stronger, needing more wood. While Sparrow was busy doing this, Zed took a bit of wood from the pile and went to add it to the steadily growing flames. Unfortunately, he did this at the same time as Sparrow was blowing on the embers. He dropped the wood and drew his hand back quickly, crying out.

[Glory Brats 2 ] the brats cook up a storm

Zed showed Sparrow through the different corridors. She carefully read the labels on all the doors until they came to one that said 'Kitchen'. "In here." She said, and pushed the door open with her foot, her arms full of the box of food supplies.

Rat scuttled in behind them. Sparrow set the ingredients out on the counter. "We're going to have soup and crackers to start, then vegetables with rice, and then biscuit cake and hot custard for pudding."

Zed watched as she pulled pots and pans out of cupboards, emptied tins and mixed things from packets and jars into a pot that looked big enough to fit Rat or Tekla in. Rat sat on the tiles by the door, making sure to keep a clear escape route.

[Glory Brats 1] the brats finally get together for the first time

"And one of you must be Zed." Sparrow reached out and helped one of the figures climb out from the broken vent in the wall. Three others followed, of various shapes and sizes. They stared at Sparrow without saying a word. There was a tall girl with dark skin and hair. A strip of fabric covered her eyes. There was a fair-haired boy who held his left arm against his side in an awkward manner; another, smaller boy was strangely pale, with white hair and milky eyes. Finally, there was a child about Tekla's size, with tousled brown hair and a wild look in her eyes. All were barefoot and dressed in the same loose grey tunics and trousers.