Aftermath: The complete collection

by John Wilkinson

  ‘Are you sure, it feels like something must be broke’ I said, raising my eyebrows, but then instantly regretting it, as the bruising around my forehead throbbed.

  ‘It’s going to take a couple of weeks to recover, but the generals have taken advice from the medical staff, and signed you off until after Christmas. How do you feel?’

  ‘Like I’ve had the shit kicked out of me.’

  ‘You look like you’ve had the shit kicked out of you.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Bernard told me what had happened the night I was brought back to the camp, a vehicle arrived at Security Base Delta, and I was thrown out of the back, before it sped away. I didn’t recall any of it, the last thing I remember was the van journey back, constantly waking up in pain, unable to sleep.

  ‘The generals want an update’ he said. ‘Sergeant Welsh has been in your room since you arrived back, I sent him to get some lunch.’

  ‘Why Welsh?’

  ‘Not sure, I think the generals have tasked him with getting an update from you when you come around. Rumour around camp is there’s been a complaint from within his company, about him and his methods, they might be trying to cool the situation before it blows up.’

  ‘Do the children know what’s happened?’

  ‘No, not really. Emma knows something’s not right, but she knows you’re safe.’

  ‘Can you bring her to see me? And the boys, I’d love to see them.’

  ‘Might be a bit early’ he replied, handing me a hand mirror off the side cabinet. I raised it to my face, and looked at my reflection, it was a shocking sight. I had a cut, black and blooded right eye, and a blooded nose and mouth. My head was covered with bruising, and a scar stretching across my forehead, around six inches long, that had been crudely stitched by a training nurse. I put the mirror on the bed, and closed my eyes for a few moments, how could it have ended like it did? Going so badly wrong.

  ‘I don’t want the children seeing me like this’ I said, opening my eyes to reaffirm my statement, before shutting them again. Bernard told me to get some more sleep, he would bring the children when my face was a little less aggressive. I slept the rest of the day and night, when I woke, Welsh was sat at the end of my bed on an uncomfortable looking chair. ‘You awake?’ He said, standing up and stretching. ‘Bernard told me what happened to Davis and Rhino, I’m sorry.’

  ‘Me too.’

  ‘The generals want you to write it up, every bit of detail.’

  ‘What have they done?’

  ‘Nothing yet, they want your report before they make any decisions.’

  ‘We are going to war, that’s the only decision. I want that fucker dead.’

  ‘Maybe so, they just want a better understanding of what we’ll be facing.’

  I spent the next couple of hours writing up what happened, in as much detail as I could. I kept going back and putting extra bits in, as the cogs of my memory started rotating and found a rhythm. Welsh waited until I had finished, and then took the notes to the generals, like they were important royal papers. When he left, there was nothing for me to do but write up this entry, and sit on my own, re living memories I wanted to forget. I didn’t eat much of my dinner, I couldn’t face it. I didn’t feel like doing much but sleeping, just going through the motions, speaking to doctors and nurses when required, when all I really wanted was to be left alone, I had no heart for doing anything.

  17/12/27 - Time 17:20

  I was woken by a nurse in the early hours, I had been shouting and swearing, fully invested in a nightmare. Sweat was pouring off me as I fought with her, and she struggled to calm me down. After, she sat with me for a while until I dropped back off again, reassuring me everything was fine, I was safe. I could hardly eat I was so down and depressed, I just felt shit. I needed to snap out of it, and needed help in achieving it. That help came from Keane, who I heard well before I saw him, ranting at the nurses about visiting hours at the camp being a joke. When he saw me, we shared a look that expressed both our feelings about what had happened, without words. Then, red eyed, we remembered what Chris and Rhino meant to Blue and White Company, and to us. They were our comrades, and our friends.

  ‘I should have been there’ said Keane, sitting down in the chair by my bed.

  ‘If you had, you’d be dead too. The only reason I’m not is because I am a private, and they saw me as the least import.’

  ‘You’re going to make sure they regret that decision, you’re going to play a part in bringing that fucker down.’

  ‘I want nothing more than to see him dead.’

  ‘We will, we will. He must know he cannot win.’

  ‘I’m not sure he does, he’s delusional. Anyway, your arms looking better, how’s it feeling?’

  ‘It’s fine now, all healed. Just got three more days to wait until I’m allowed back into the field. Fuck knows what the company will look like then though.’

  ‘No news on who will replace Chris?’

  ‘No, the generals are awfully quiet on the subject.’

  ‘What about you, Sergeant Keane?’

  ‘No chance, can you imagine?’

  We both managed a little smile, for the first time in a while.

  ‘What about Murphy?’ I asked, probably still clutching at straws.

  ‘With his temperament? Again, not a chance. We were a cobbled together group of alcoholic, mammas boys with anger issues, Chris made a company out of us, not a job anyone could do. Anyway, all the sergeants are in meetings, and have been for days. More important things to sort out at the moment, your report will be scaring the shit out of some of those half arsed pen pushers. I was having a run along the beach last night, and saw some of our tanks practicing manoeuvres across the sands.’

  ‘How many do we have up and running now?’

  ‘There were twelve taking part yesterday, not a lot of firing taking place, think we have a limited amount of shells, but the new tank drivers were looking good. They were also trialling drone tech again, but it ain’t going to work, they just cannot fly through that ash and shit, they weren’t even getting off the ground half the time. It’s going to be land warfare only, boots on the ground.’

  ‘I think Torriero was working on some form of vehicles, but we weren’t allowed near them.’

  ‘He could be working on all kinds of shit, but in the end, when the military machine grinds into gear, it will be too much for him.’

  ‘I hope so, while we were in the meeting with Torriero, he claimed he’d just been attacked by us.’

  ‘Well that’s bullshit,

  ‘I thought so.’

  ‘It didn’t happen.’

  ‘I didn’t think we had, the whole meeting was a set up, pre planned to make a statement.’

  ‘And he certainly did that.’

  After Keane had left, I filled in my diary entry, and did little else. Being restricted to this bed was driving me mad, I’m due to see the doctor tomorrow, hopeful I’ll feel well enough to have a walk around the medical centre. I need to speak to Little D, every day I put it off, the harder it’s going to get. I just don’t know what I’m going to say.

  18/12/27 - Time 11:20

  I had the best nights sleep for literally years, the medication probably helped, but I must have been ready for it. But once awake my mind was debilitated by brain numbing boredom, hours awake were spent trying to find conversations with other patients. I’ve not been this bored since I was trapped in the electrical box for three months, after the initial attack. I felt well enough to venture from my bed after lunch, and the doctor said I was on track for my recovery time. I heard rumors around the ward, that a full camp meeting had been called for ten am. As that time came and went, speculation was confirmed as Bernard arrived with the children, and stated the generals had offic
ially declared war on Torriero. The children could sense something was different, but I don’t think it was affecting them too much. I could tell with the look on Emma’s face, she was slightly taken aback when she saw me in the hospital bed, face still cut and bruised. She had an expression on her face I hadn’t seen before, a look of real concern for me. I didn’t recall her ever seeing me in hospital before, but she probably associates it with death, having the horrible experience with her mum. Having already lost one parent, I can only imagine what the fear of losing her dad would feel like, she was completely white faced. She didn’t speak much, only to tell me off for ending up in hospital, very much a trait of hers, and her mums for that matter. The boys were fine, far more interested in the state of my hand, the bandage hiding something that fascinated them. I didn’t tell them my finger had been cut off, I’ll leave that for a day when I’m looking less battered. After lunch, it was evident something unusual was taking place in the hospital, all the medical staff were running around in a mild panic. I climbed out off bed, and went for a walk, to see if I could find the source of the commotion. My body was still a little achy, particularly my ribs and side, but I soldiered on. When I reached the top floor, I noticed people milling around outside a room, just off the main corridor. I ventured over, to see what all the fuss was about. Inside I found a women laying on the bed giving birth, with doctors all around her. The room was full of medical staff and members of her family, surrounding the crying woman, helping her through it. I went and sat in the corridor, to give them some privacy and listened as the ladies screams were soon replaced by the baby’s, the first child born at Camp Blue. The more I sat thinking about it, the more I believed the camp should use this as positive news, to unite the camp for what’s to come, the face of the fight ahead. Everyone that came to visit the mother and child this afternoon, lit up when they saw how perfect they were. Janet, the mother, named the little boy Alex, after his dad, who had died getting her to the camp. When all the excitement had died down, I decided I needed to speak to Little D, and he must have had the same idea, for as I arrived back at my bed, he was sat on the chair beside it. He stood up as I approached, and we hugged silently for a few moments. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you’ I said, coming out of the hug, but keeping my hands on his shoulders. ‘I really should have done, but I didn’t want to face you. I didn’t know what to say, I’m sorry for your loss. I really wish I could have stopped it, I’d have done anything to stop it.’

  ‘I know you would, don’t blame yourself, there’s nothing you could’ve done.’

  ‘I keep reliving it, to see if we missed anything, a sign for what was to come. But there was nothing. It was his plan all along.’

  ‘Chris always put Blue and White Company forward for the dangerous missions, the ones nobody wanted.’

  ‘The generals trusted him, knew he would deliver, he was a victim of his own success.’

  ‘But this was a job too far.’

  ‘We’re going to bring that fucker down, mark my words, I will not rest until I’ve seen his dead body.’

  ‘We can agree on that.’

  Little D was silent for a moment, looking at my injuries, and then my hand. ‘Did he suffer?’ He asked, pointing at my bandage.

  ‘No it was quick. Chris never saw it coming, none of us did, he was dead before any of us saw a gun.’

  I asked him if there was any news on Blue and White Company, who were now looking particularly under bodied.

  ‘Keane is re-joining after the weekend, and we are pencilled in for the week following Christmas. I think Murphy and Keane are having discussions with the generals regarding our first mission, due to leave that first week, a twenty strong company assault on the mills, used for the disposal of bodies.’

  ‘What about a new sergeant?’

  ‘They are taking new applicants for the position, and the one squad vacancy. We will end up with a new recruit, making us weaker as a company, it’s just the way it goes.’

  We sat and talked for a few hours, about the future mainly. Little D was very upset Chris and Rhino’s bodies had not come back to the camp with me, so they could be buried properly, with military honours. It was the least they deserved, but Torriero wasn’t going to even give them that, and he accused us of being disrespectful. Little D was dealing with Chris’s death as well as can be hoped, while losing a loved one is always difficult, we’ve all seen so much death. He left soon after, so he didn’t miss the lunch run, spotting the food trolley heading towards his floor. He seemed to be walking fine now, without any sign of an injury. After writing up the days entry, I decided to have an early night, to help continue my recovery.

  30/12/27 - Time 13:30

  As I write this, I am sat in the back of a Viking, as we head towards our first mission, with our newly assembled company. I will briefly fill you in on what has happened since my last entry, as I completed my recovery in preparation for today.

  On the twentieth of December, the camp received a message from Torriero, brought to camp by a lone stranger. The message was less important than the other information we gleaned from him later, it was just a simple hand written response to our declaration of war, which Torriero reciprocated declaring war on us. The man was named Adam Lucas, he’d been fighting for Torriero’s army, but discovered his wife had died in their camp, from starvation of all things. One of Torriero’s soldiers had told him, at high risk to himself, unhappy with how the camp was being run. Lucas had confronted an unapologetic Torriero, who had sent him to us with his response to war, fully aware he would no longer fight on his behalf. Lucas was able to help us understand a few things about how Torriero was running his operation, and where we might find success in our fight with him. A large amount of Torriero’s fighters were Leeds locals, and other desperate men he has picked up. They had pledged their allegiance to him in exchange for food and shelter, and did not really have any loyalty towards him. Lucas himself was from the city of Leeds, which had been completely looted by Torriero’s camp, leaving the locals with no food or water. His men had surrounded the city over a period of around two months, allowing no one out. He and his wife had been within this city while it happened, desperation set in soon after, with no food or water anywhere. The city was besieged with crime, murder and in the end cannibalism, with no way for anyone to call for help. After a couple of months living under those circumstances, any still alive were willing to do whatever Torriero wanted, particularly when he fed them, and housed them in what would’ve felt like luxury. Torriero claims his own army is close to seven thousand men strong, however this is an exaggeration, and the real figure is closer to four thousand, which was still two thousand more than we had accounted for. So add to that around two thousand men who might fight, and you have an army. Lucas claimed Torriero was using brain washing techniques and torture on some men, to try and influence their decision making, and had achieved results in some subjects. Finally, he claimed Torriero is planning an all out attack on the camp, that will decide the outcome of the war, win or lose.

  There were no reports of skirmishes on the first day of war, it was a day much like any other. Captain Jones walked through the hospital handing out gas masks, as a precaution due to our limited knowledge of what Torriero might have at his disposal. Lauren, who visited me in the afternoon, mentioned the gas masks had been handed out throughout the camp, one per person, to be kept in our hotel rooms. The camps air raid siren, removed from Blackpool Museum’s World War Two exhibition, was given an airing, to give the community a better understanding of what the mechanical siren sounded like. It was an eerie sound, echoing around a silent camp, as everyone stopped what they were doing to listen. Security around each security base was also tightened, with a hundred extra spotters taking up positions along all approaches.

  On the morning of the twenty first, I watched a convey of vehicles leave the camp, from the window in my ward. There were arou
nd twenty vehicles in all, all non military, with two men per car. Keane later told me they were the reconnaissance teams, sent out to different locations around the north west, to keep an eye on all of Torriero’s movements, and strategic positions. After a check up with the doctor in the morning, I was finally discharged, so I could get back to the hotel. I’ve never been more thankful for something in my life, the solitude had driven me mad. I packed what little belongings Bernard had brought from the hotel, into my rucksack, and headed back. Outside, I walked past an extension being built in the three semi detached houses, to the right of the medical centre. There will be an extra hundred beds within the buildings, the workers were just giving them a final lick of paint, in preparation for the coming battle, and inevitably wounded men. In the afternoon, two trucks out on supply runs, didn’t arrive back within their expected time slots. An attempt to contact them was made, but was unsuccessful, leading to speculation within the camp. Four Vikings were sent out at four pm, along the route taken by the vehicles. At around five pm, a crash site was discovered, where a gun fight took place between members of Torriero’s army and our team. One member of the army was injured, with three members of Torriero’s gang killed, and no arrests. The crash scene was examined, to find the cause of the incident. The truck had been blown to pieces, probably by an IED, with its contents burned. The vehicle had been carrying mainly food, looted from Preston, all destroyed in the fire. There were no survivors, just pieces of bodies. The second truck was never found, although later that night we received a message from Torriero, claiming responsibly for the attack on the first truck, and the disappearance of the second. This caused panic at Camp Blue, particularly within the general community, which culminated in a false alarm with the air raid siren, sending people running for cover. The realities of war were manifesting within our community, and we weren’t prepared for it. The morning of the twenty second continued as the previous day had ended. Four supply runs went out first thing, with extra security cars following behind, but by the end of the day, only one had returned. The three that didn’t return, were found burned out, with all members dead. The fourth truck arrived back, with a story of how it was attacked, and survived. Torriero seemed to know the routes our supply vehicles were taking, and quickly put an end to them. The IED, set to destroy the fourth truck, only half exploded, causing significant damage, but not destruction. The truck and the security car were shot at, by the ambush, but managed to stay on the road and escape. An emergency meeting was called by General Harris, where discussions with the supply team were held. New routes were agreed upon, to be implemented after Christmas, with all runs cancelled until after the holiday. Rations were also imposed on all food and water within the camp, which although not presently low, will fast become so with no supplies coming in, and a lot of mouths to feed in Camp Blue. All chefs and kitchen hands were talked through the rations system, how much each adult and child can have. Implementing it should be easy, with the camp already using a food voucher system.