LAST WEEK, we shared a short story created by members of Wokingham Library’s Writers Group.
They’ve been hard at work creating fiction based on the theme of isolation.
And in these socially distanced times, it’s an understandable theme.
This week, local author Harry Dunn shares his story with us.
If Harry’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s penned a series of thrillers including Death Run and Smiles of the Viper, which can be ordered from Watertsone’s in Peach Place when it reopens.
For more information about Wokingham Writers contact heather.dyson@wokingham.gov.uk
Isolation
The clearing he found was surrounded by 50 metres of dense scrub and he painstakingly cut a tunnel through it to pitch his tent and camouflage it with the branches he had cut away.
He knew no one would find their way through the thorny bushes to his hiding place.
He was off grid and he loved it.
His night forays took him to weekend holiday cabins dotted throughout the woods and as his skill at lock picking improved,
he soon had a steady supply of survival supplies.
He stole only what he needed taking flashlights, small gas canisters, tinned food, soft drinks, toilet rolls and books. His favourite was Robinson Crusoe.
One night he returned to his den just as dawn was breaking.
After unpacking his rucksack, he moved across to the board leaning against the rear of the tent. Scoring out the last number, he scratched 10,950 next to it.
As he sat down on his tree stump seat, he realised it was going to be a big day. He’d been in his solitary existence for 30 years. The exact amount of time he reckoned he would have spent in prison for murdering that annoying old man.
As he lit up his small stove to cook breakfast, he smiled at the thought of having served his time at no expense to the taxpayer.
© Harry Dunn 2020
