The ascending steps would become their next obstacle, as though the challenges weren't stacked against them enough as it was.
As compelling as the idea was to turn and look behind her as the steps gave her visibility of the on goings behind, it was taking just about all of her focus just ascending these steps without stumbling.
As though having scaled Mount Everest, she finally reached the top of the steps and the crowds loosened up a little, as people stepped free of the narrow confines of the escalator and quickly made for all available exits.
Ria ran out into the open and inhaled as though it were the last gasp of air she was entitled to, relieved to finally be free of that crushing crowd. After a moment spent catching her breath, she glanced around Sloane Square with hopes of spotting Terry or her kid brother, but neither were anywhere to be found.
Maybe it a good idea to put some distance between her and the station, she certainly didn't want to be around to witness what had started all of this commotion and several police cars racing past traffic towards South Kensington was enough to convince her that that was definitely not the direction she wanted to head in.
She wandered aimlessly down the road, people running past her on either side, unsure of what to do next. She kept glancing nervously back towards the station hoping that Terry and her brother would make an appearance and it was upon glancing that she spotted police cars pull up and surround Sloane Square station. She darted across the square and turned into Lower Sloane Street just in time to hear the unmistakable sound of gunfire. If that wasn’t compelling enough reason to run, nothing was.
She didn't stop running until she came to Chelsea Bridge, where she stopped to catch her breath. Traffic had grounded to a complete halt all along Chelsea Bridge Road and those in their vehicles on the adjacent side of the road appeared irritable, completely oblivious to the events occurring ahead of them.
"What the fuck?" Ria repeated hysterically once she had caught her breath. She had every good reason to panic the way she was, why would police officers start firing unless they had just cause to? Officers almost never held weapons, let alone fired them in the UK.
Terrorists? It had to be, this was another terrorist attack! But by who? NOMA? Was it an acid attack? Bombing? Gas? Were they shooting people?
"Ohmygod, oh my god! I can't believe this is happening!" She shrieked, running her fingers through her hair.
She glanced out towards the river and spotted what used to be Battersea Power Station, now a renovated luxury resort that only the super-rich could afford, surely there had to be someplace she could get another battery because she couldn’t remember a single number on her phone.
She grabbed the attention of a woman passing by with hopes that maybe she would know where the nearest stores were.
“There’s nothing around here love, you’ll probably need to head up to Victoria or Sloane Square for anything li…” The woman begun, but Ria interrupted her.
“I Just came from that direction, I can’t go back there, is there any phone shops around the power station over there?” Ria pointed towards the power station.
“No, just small corner shops, those types and they won't let you into the station unless you're a guest. There are phone shops in Clapham Junction though”.
“How far away is that from here?”
“About ten to fifteen minutes by bus, hop on the 344, or you could take the train at Battersea Park Station, takes about 3 minutes, the station is just past the park on the other side of the bridge, go directly across the roundabout and turn left, you’ll find it just beyond the bridge”.
Ria thanked the woman, warned her not to continue walking towards Sloane Square and broke into a sprint towards the station.
She stopped before the station at 12:39, all the while praying that it wasn’t closed like the underground and found that it hadn’t been, at least not entirely, trains were coming from London, just not going into London.
Panting, she ran up the train station steps onto the platform and hopped onto the next train heading towards Clapham Junction. The train was relatively empty and only one stop long, so the journey took no more than a few minutes before she was stepping off at Clapham Junction.
She hopped off the train and made her way onto the high street, asking anyone who would stop to listen for directions to the nearest phone shop, which with time and help she would eventually find on St John’s Road and she couldn’t have been more elated to see it.
She walked back out ten minutes later with a brand-new battery in hand. Finally, she had another battery! How on Earth had she managed to survive this long without her phone? It was like her very pride and joy.
She popped the battery in and switched it on, only to be bombarded with several notifications she had missed during the spell it was off.
Several were from Lacey and one from Terry, including a missed call from her mother. Had her father forgotten that he had taken her phone battery? She read his text.
‘They detrained us at St James's Park, so we took the bus to South Kensington, if you get this, wait there, we’ll find you’. This text was sent at 11:58, so a substantial amount of time had already passed since then.
“No Terry! Don’t do that! That’s where the terrorists are!” She wasted no time calling him back and was relieved to hear his voice, but he didn’t sound relaxed, if anything, he sounded panicked, frightened.
“Ria! You’re okay! Thank god! Where are you?”
“Clapham Junction, where are you?”
“Clapham Junction? What the heck are you doing all the way there? No, never mind, at least you are safe. I wouldn’t have wanted you anywhere near South Kensington, it’s…” He went silent.
“It’s what, Terry?”
“Don’t worry, stay exactly where you are and keep your phone on, we’ll try to get to you, we’re on King’s Road”.
“Okay, I’ll wait here. Did you hear anything about the terrorists?”
“What terrorists?”
“NOMA! This has to be them, right?”
“Is that speculation or was that confirmed?”
“It’s... I mean... I heard gunshots. The police were shooting at someone or something".
“Where? When? Did you see who they shot?”
“Erm... no, I ran before they started shooting, I just heard the shots behind me. We had to leave the train and return on foot along the tracks to Sloane Square, then everyone started screaming and running and everything”.
“Okay, well I'm glad you are safe. I tried calling your mother, but it went to her voicemail. Just stay where you are, I’m coming. Promise me you won’t move”.
Something about Terry’s tone made her believe he might know something.
“Did you see something?”
“I’ll explain when I get there. Promise me you won't move!”
“What did you…?” She began.
“Dammit! Promise me, Ria!”
“Okay, okay, I promise”.
“I have to go now”. Just like that, the line cut as he put down the phone. She stared at it in disbelief for a minute, before deciding to put her ordeal on Chirper, a social network -
@ria_riley<3OMG! Something crazy is happening at #sloanesquare
And not a single opportunity to make it all known did she miss, as well as on Myface, another social network -
Ria Riley: Day from hell!!! Something happened at South Kensington, think it was a terrorist attack, probably NOMA again!! Heard gunshots!
CHAPTER 6 - GEORGE: 11:45am - Outbreak
An hour prior, George clung unto his father’s hand as they stood on the packed underground train. For a boy as small as he, this was a nightmare, but at least he was with his dad. Just being with his dad was more than enough to make George happy, because they spent less time together these days.
They were coming into St James's Park now and soon they would reach South Kensington where they would find Ria, so not much more of these stuffy conditions.
&nb
sp; Ria was quite the moody one today, what was her problem and why was she always directing it at dad? This was a mystery George could not solve, for she had once loved him unconditionally and now loathed him more than loathing would allow. What could have made her change so drastically like that?
Dad was by no means perfect, he made his fair share of mistakes and he would sometimes miss or be late to things, but he had always doted on them, always tried his best to make up for his flaws. After all, mum did get with that Daniel man, so it was only natural dad would be upset and make more mistakes.
George didn’t like Daniel much, he often tried too hard to take his dad's place and would make condescending remarks about his father. Nobody could speak badly about his father and expect to liked, regardless of how many fancy things they bought him. This warm and comfortable feeling right here towards his real dad was worth more than any material possession.
George suddenly noticed they had been sitting at St James's Park for a while now with the doors remaining open. Passengers had already gotten off and on, so what was the hold up?
The man on the intercom answered that question mere minutes later.
"Customer information, we are being held here momentarily, hopefully we should be on our way shortly. Something is happening at South Kensington, so all trains before us have been called to a stop. I have no details as of yet, but as soon as I hear anything I'll let you know. Thank you for your patience and apologies for the delay this will cause to your journey".
So that was it, something had happened and all the trains could go no further. Terry looked down to George.
"You okay, kiddo?" He asked, to which George nodded.
"Did all the trains stop?"
"They sure did, we should be moving again once they sort out the problem".
"Will Ria be there?"
"I sure hope so, otherwise I won't be pleased". George smiled up at his father and asked no further questions. However, the situation did not improve and before long the intercom clicked back on.
"Customer information, sorry but it appears that the situation at South Kensington is more severe than I thought, we have been told not to let any further trains enter the station until the situation has been resolved. As such this train will be de-trained, I repeat, this train will be de-trained. Please exit the train calmly and make your way off of the platform, thank you".
"What?" George’s father grumbled as people began exiting the train. He tightened his grip around George’s wrist a little and led him off the train.
"Come, we need to find out what happened to Ria". His father led the way towards one of the platform attendants.
"Excuse me, what exactly is going on? Care to explain?"
"We know not much more than you, sir. All we can say is that something happened at South Kensington and is likely still happening, though they can't give us any details themselves".
"What do you mean they can't give you any details? How difficult is it to just assess a situation and return to tell someone briefly what is going on?”
"Sir, I understand your frustration, but we have to assume that if the situation was severe enough to suspend all trains so suddenly, then there's the chance it might be more difficult to do something even as miniscule as that as you might believe. We are simply doing what we deem most fit for the situation and right now that is to get you all off the train for your own wellbeing".
"But my daughter is on one of the trains in front, what are you going to do about that?"
"Sir, don't panic, there are procedures in place for that too. I suggest you step outside and try to reach her, you might find she has undergone a similar situation. It is dangerous with overcrowding on the platform and we have another train just behind full of people".
"So, I just wait then?"
"That's the only thing I can advise, sir".
"For fuck sake", George’s father grumbled, grabbing his wrist and leading him towards the escalators amongst the crowd.
"Sorry about that, son", he said, glancing down towards George, “Looks like we’re going to have to take the bus”. They made their way up the escalator and outside to wait for a bus.
Before long, the bus had arrived. They boarded and sat down. Given the circumstances and how crowded the bus now was, it wasn’t likely they would reach South Kensington any time soon.
George stared out of the window, he was suddenly reminded of a prior trip he and his father had taken to Highbury Stadium to watch his favourite football team play off against their biggest rivals in the season finale. It was his first attended and the most important game of the season. The atmosphere was electric and thousands of fans chanting in unison was unlike anything he had ever experienced. George couldn’t have been more exciting if he tried and it was moments like that that made his father’s recent woes irrelevant. That day they laughed, jumped and cheered until their voices ran dry, both dressed to support their team. Even after that they sat down to a cheeseburger each. It was such a perfect day and George could only wish to have more days like that.
The two of them never used to miss a match on television, it was really the only time his mother allowed him to have snacks and his favourites were toffee popcorn and fizzy snakes. Daniel didn't like football, he called it the game of ruffians, so any bonding potential was immediately dashed with that remark.
Why did football suddenly pop to mind now though? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were rushing to get to that on time too because that bus broke down.
George turned to his father and found him texting someone. Noticing his glances, his father explained himself.
“I’m texting your sister, I have a feeling she’ll wander off somewhere”.
George was silent for a minute, before hitting his father with a realisation.
“But didn’t you take Ria’s battery?”
“Oh yes! Good call, I did, didn’t I. Well I already sent the text, so there’s not much I can do about that. I’m idle minded today, bear with me, son. I better call your mother, you know how she worries”.
His father dialled in his mother’s number and put the phone to his ear. A few seconds later, he put it down and hung up.
“Voicemail. She’s probably in a meeting. I’ll send her a text instead”. He proceeded to text George’s mother, but no sooner had he finished, they were distracted by the sirens of police cars whizzing by and driving on the pavements in order to bypass the traffic. As a seemingly endless stream of police cars drove by towards South Kensington, the situation became growingly disconcerting.
George’s father leaned over him to peer out of the window, but neither of them could see anything from this angle and it appeared that they weren’t the only curious ones, for other bus commuters and even those outside took notice.
What could be drastic enough to draw this much attention?
“Sorry everyone, it appears that there is a bit of drama up ahead, so we may be stuck here for a while, I can’t say how long unfortunately”, the lady bus driver announced.
George’s father tutted and muttered something under his breath.
"We'd be better off walking at this rate", his father grumbled. It was clear that he was anxious.
They were stuck there for a few minutes longer, possibly waiting for a miracle, before what sounded like gunfire erupted ahead. Initially, the sound could have been mistaken for the crackle of something, but it soon became distinctive and it was more than enough to put everyone on board in edge.
People standing on the roads ducked and some began running in the opposite direction. The ruckus drew the attention of those sitting in their cars, as they stepped out to investigate the commotion, but soon enough they too were ducking.
"Get down!" A man on the bus shouted and everyone ducked, but George’s curiosity got the better of him and he peeped out of the windows again, but what he saw made him wish he hadn't. People were running, policemen were backing off and shooting at something, some were injured and being dragged
or carried, before being abandoned. This was like something from an action movie, although George had never seen anything quite like this
As if that wasn't enough, window screens shattered as recoil and stray bullets hit vehicles and people in the process. Parked car alarms went off, people on the bus started screaming, the gunfire grew louder and the entire scene erupted into further anarchy as though anarchy weren't enough as it was.
Some of the bus passengers started banging on the doors to the bus demanding to be let off, others took cover in the aisle between the seats.
Suddenly George’s father pulled George’s head back down, preventing him from seeing anything further.
As the passengers managed to open the bus doors, George’s father grabbed George’s wrist and led him off the bus.
"Don't lose me! Keep your eyes on me, don't look at anything else! Do you hear me, George!"
"Yes daddy", George replied meekly, terror in his voice.
They stepped over people cowering on the floor and made their way out of the door and on to the warzone Pelham Street.
His heart racing, George’s father ordered him to keep his head down and follow. Even despite spotting from the corner of his eyes human sized objects lying in the middle of the road between cars, George resisted the urge to look and kept his eyes transfixed on his father, at least until a tremendous explosion from somewhere behind them tore his attention away.
People screamed, blood was everywhere, bullets were whizzing back and forth, it was like a battlefield and George couldn't see what they were shooting at during all this commotion.
The loud smash of glass attracted their attention to the bus they were just in and a few minutes later blood splattered across the rear window.
"George! Focus on me!" His father snapped, with more assertion in his tone than George had ever seen in his life. They ran without looking back, but soon found themselves blocked by a woman and man just standing there in front of them. The question of why quickly became apparent when they gazed upwards to see a man standing atop a car bonnet twitching erratically as though having an epileptic fit. Behind his eyes was stark emptiness, he foamed at the mouth and his behaviour was somewhat hostile. Why was he standing there and what was wrong with him?
Cryptophobia (Book 1): Outbreak [Fear The Unknown] Page 5