“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been in the army?”
“About eight years. Joined up and they put me through University, then Sandhurst for training. Seen a lot since then, never expected to be watching the end of the world though”.
“It’s hardly the end of the world”, I said, “just not such good news for us. For all we know this has happened dozens of times before and the world just kept going”.
“Perhaps”, he shrugged, “doesn’t help us much either way now, does it?”
I nodded and turned back to my desk, assuming the conversation was over, but Barnes touched my shoulder and leaned close.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?” He said quietly.
“Of course not, ask away”. I was intrigued, Barnes was the last person I expected to be sharing confidences with.
“The Colonel told me that when you and your friend Emily were rounded up, you were travelling up north to find your daughter, and that you’d been on the road for days, is that true?”
“Yeah, pretty much, why?”
He perched on the edge of my desk and gestured for me to take my chair.
“How bad is it out there, I mean really? We hear things here, of course, and there are the reports”, he paused and waved a hand around the room, “but it’s hard to get a proper feel for what’s going on from those”.
I thought carefully before speaking, trying to put everything I’d seen into words.
“It’s bad”, I said finally. “At first it was just a few people looting, those that survived the fires, but then the shops were emptied and people started fighting over what was left. We’d reached Maidenhead before we were attacked for what we were carrying and…”, I looked over at Emily, “other things”.
He followed my eyes and nodded. “That’s what we’re trying to avoid by doing this”, he said, but I wasn’t sure which of us he was trying to convince. “Things might be tough right now, but at least we’ve got some kind of order”.
“Things are a damn sight tougher for those out there”. The words came out before I could help myself and I flinched, waiting for the tirade that was sure to follow, but Barnes only nodded again.
“True, and that’s what…” He stopped and shook his head, then stood.
“Anyway”, he said brusquely, “I’m sure you have plenty to be getting on with, mustn’t keep you”.
He smiled briefly and hurried away before I could say anything else, leaving me with the distinct impression that he was troubled by what was happening here and desperate to talk to someone about it.
Filing the information away for future use, I turned back to my desk and began writing, only to tear off the piece of paper a few moments later and throw it in the bin.
Sighing, I pulled the pad closer and started again.
My friends in adversity…
Chapter 40
We stopped for dinner in the canteen before heading back to our room, Emily and I followed at a discreet distance by our ever-present guard.
Emily had been distracted during the meal, and barely said a word on the way back to the accommodation block, which worried me. I wanted to recapture the comfortable friendship we’d had on the journey when it had been just us, but I worried that too much had changed and I didn’t know where to begin.
We bumped into several officers in the hallways, a few of whom gave us strange looks but no one challenged us.
I opened the door and Emily stepped inside. I went to follow but paused and looked at the guard.
“Do you need a chair or something?” I asked, but he shook his head.
“No, my relief will be along shortly, he can get one if he needs one”.
I nodded and closed the door, then turned to see Emily sitting on the edge of the bed with several pieces of paper clutched in her hand.
“What’s that?” I asked, very aware of how small the room was with the two of us in it.
“Oh sit down”, she said as I hovered by the door, “I won’t bite”.
I shrugged and sat next to her on the bed, our legs almost touching.
“So what is it?”
She passed me the bundle of papers and I squinted down at the tiny words scrawled across the first page. It was a list of sites that showed possible stores of food and water, with today’s date at the top.
I scanned the page and looked back at her.
“What am I looking for?”
“Turn the page”.
I did, and saw yesterday’s date with another list of sites, most of which had been crossed through in pencil.
“And?”
“Keep going”.
I flicked through to the last page and stopped as two things immediately caught my attention. The first was that it was a printout. That in itself was enough to make me glance at the door to make sure it was firmly shut, but when I looked back at the paper it was the second thing that made my eyes widen.
“This is dated the 12th September!” It was an effort to keep my voice down.
Emily nodded. “That’s right. Two days before the flare hit”.
“But that means…”
“That someone knew about it before it was going to happen. Did you not wonder how they got this whole thing in place so quickly? It’s only been a week, but already they’ve got almost a thousand acres fenced off and nearly three thousand civilians under lock and key. I thought this whole setup felt wrong, somehow. Now we know why”.
I stood and began to pace, only able to take a few steps before turning the other way.
“It’s not just wrong, it’s criminal! How many people might have been saved if they’d known?”
Emily shook her head tiredly. “We’ll never know. The question is, what do we do know we have that?” She pointed at the paper clenched in my fist.
“It doesn’t change anything”, I said, “not for us. We still need to get out of here as soon as we can. Speaking of that, I think Barnes might be persuaded to help somehow”.
“Really? How?”
I told her about the conversation we’d had that afternoon and she made a noncommittal noise.
“It could be true”, she said, “but it could be some kind of test, see if you’re committed, so to speak”.
I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s that good an actor. I’m used to listening to people, remember. I think he’s genuine”.
“So how does it help us?”
“I don’t know”. I stopped pacing and dropped to the bed, making the springs squeak.
“Well at least you smell better than you did yesterday”, she said with a ghost of a smile, “can you believe they’ve managed to get the showers working?”
I nodded. “Yeah, gas apparently”.
We both stared at each other as the words came out, the idea forming in my mind mirrored in her eyes.
“And what’s the problem with gas?” She asked quietly.
I raised a warning finger and walked to the door, pressing my ear against the thin wood and listening carefully. I couldn’t hear anything on the other side, but that could mean anything.
“Fancy a walk?” I asked loudly, and Emily nodded.
I pulled the door open quickly, half expecting to find the guard with his own ear against the door, but instead of the man from earlier another soldier lounged against the far wall, a man in his twenties with arms like tree trunks and small, piggy eyes that were too close together under his shaven hair.
“I assume we’re allowed to go for a walk?” I asked, stepping out into the corridor with Emily close behind, the papers no longer in sight.
He straightened and shrugged, a movement like boulders rubbing together.
“Don’t see why not”.
He followed us out into the yard, keeping us in sight but allowing us enough privacy to talk, which put my mind at ease. Had he heard anything suspicious when we’d been talking in the room, he would have been on our heels.
“Where shall we go?” I asked, looking out over the pla
ying field and seeing the crews hard at work while the sun was still above the horizon.
“Not that way”, she said, leading me towards the other side of the buildings so that we walked between them and the high fence that separated the base from the nearby village.
I nodded at the small houses. “I guess they were the first ones to be brought under the Secretary’s wing”.
“Probably. What do you make of him?”
“The Secretary? I think he’s a self-serving, public school idiot with more power than sense”. I stared at the empty houses as we walked, the blank windows looking uncomfortably like they were watching eyes, stripped of hope and left to do nothing but wait for the ravages of time. I shivered at the thought.
“There we are”, Emily said, nodding towards a small building with a white gas tank next to it, a series of pipes connecting the two as they disappeared inside the brickwork.
“Great, now what?”
She glanced up at me. “Why do I have to come up with all the ideas?”
“Because you’re an engineer. I’m just a puking journo, remember?”
I smiled as I said it and got an answering grin. It was like the sun coming up, and heat flared in my stomach.
Perhaps she felt it too, because she suddenly looked down and cleared her throat.
“Right then, let’s walk a little bit further and then head back, eh?”
I nodded and we carried on, passing the small building without showing too much interest for the sake of our constant shadow.
We walked on for another few minutes, then rounded the far side of the admin building and headed back, taking our time in the cool evening air.
I didn’t have much to say, but just being in Emily’s company was enough. I longed to reach out and take her hand but I was too scared of being turned down, or worse, laughed at, so instead I contented myself with walking close enough that every so often my hand brushed her arm, and convinced myself that was enough.
The sun was beginning to set as we reached the accommodation block, a golden-orange disk slipping over the horizon and turning everything to amber. I wondered for a moment how something so beautiful could be so deadly, but then wasn’t that often the way with nature?
When we returned to the room the door was ajar. A stab of worry hit me, even though I had nothing personal to steal, but as I hurried in I saw that a large pile of books and papers had been left in an untidy stack next to the bed.
Emily closed the door behind her.
“What the hell is that?”
“No idea”. I picked up the first book and saw that it was a 2013 diary, the red cover worn and the gilt lettering already flaking.
I opened it and flicked through, reading an entry here and there until I realised what it was.
Dropping it back on the pile I picked up a small notepad, scanning the pages until I was sure.
“He was bloody serious!”
“What?” She asked, picking up the discarded diary and reading a few pages.
“Is this the Secretary’s?”
I nodded. “It sure is. I’d hoped he was joking when he told me he wanted me to write his biography. He must have been making notes and collecting things for years. Who in hell brings their notes to an end-of-the-world party?”
“The man in charge, I guess”.
“Yeah, well at least we know how we’re starting the fire now”.
She laughed, a delicate peal that made me smile in return.
“So what happens after we’ve started the fire?” She asked, the laughter fading as quickly as it had come.
“We use the distraction to find a vehicle and don’t stop driving until we run out of fuel, I guess”.
She frowned. “Doesn’t sound like much of a plan”.
I shrugged. “If you’ve got a better one then I’m all ears”.
“Not off the top of my head. When do you want to try it?”
“I don’t know. I suppose we’ll just have to wait until we can find the right moment, then make a break for it”.
Only, as it turned out, we didn’t have to wait after all.
Chapter 41
I was woken by someone pounding on the door. I sat up, almost falling out of the narrow bed as Emily shifted beside me. We’d fallen asleep pressed against each other in the cramped confines, but by unspoken agreement neither of us had done more than rest an arm on the other. Whatever might blossom between us one day, it wouldn’t happen here.
The room was pitch black and it took me a few seconds to get my bearings.
“I’m awake”, I called, and the door opened to show the outline of our guard in the eye-watering light of the LED lantern he held.
“You need to get up and get dressed”, he said shortly, “the Secretary needs you now”.
I felt Emily tense. The only reason I could think of for being woken in the middle of the night was the discovery that the paperwork she had stolen was missing, and we exchanged a worried glance as the guard set his lantern on the floor and closed the door.
As soon as he was gone I jumped out of bed and pulled my combats on. We’d both worn underwear and T-shirts in bed, and as Emily swung her long legs out from under the blanket I tried not to stare.
“Does he mean both of us?” She asked as she began to dress.
“No idea, but if I’m going, I want you there with me”.
She nodded and began to button her uniform shirt.
“Do you think it’s about this?” She waved the papers at me.
“I don’t know, but I don’t see what else it can be about”. I reached out and took the bundle, stuffing it deep into the pile of notes the Secretary had left for me. “Good luck to them finding it in that lot”.
In a few moments we were ready, and I opened the door with lantern in hand to find the guard almost hopping from foot to foot in the hallway.
“This way”, he said the moment he saw us, leading us out of the building without another word, clearly anxious to deliver his package.
The night sky was a riot of colour, the swirling snakes of blue, red and green almost taking my breath away with their beauty. It drew my eyes even as we walked, shimmering curtains like a veil across the stars, brighter than a full moon.
A shout from outside the Admin building made me tear my eyes from the sky to see several Landrovers outside the offices, bonnets up and batteries being replaced while soldiers in battle gear hurried to and fro.
“What’s going on?” I asked the guard, but he ignored me and picked up the pace instead, only halting when we reached the vehicles.
A soldier a few years older than me with the crown of a Major on his chest tab and a fierce expression under his Kevlar helmet accepted a salute from the guard and gestured at me irritably.
“You go in the second vehicle with the Secretary, but I’ve got no orders about her”. He hiked a thumb as Emily as if she was a piece of luggage, instantly putting my back up.
“What’s your name?” I demanded, suddenly tired of all this military posturing and following orders.
“Major Curtis”.
“Well, Major, I’m not sure what my official title is but I’m on the Secretary’s staff. If I say she goes, she goes”. I tried to look imposing as I spoke, forcing away the remembered reflection of dandelion hair and hollow eyes.
The Major looked at me for several long seconds and then shrugged.
“Fine. Not worth the hold up to argue. Second vehicle, if you please”.
I nodded and climbed into the rear of the second Landrover, wedging myself in between two soldiers and a man in a civilian suit with a hard expression and a tiny pin on his lapel that I’d seen somewhere before.
Two more men with suits were in the vehicle, one driving while the other sat on his own on the seat just behind, with space next to him for the Secretary.
Emily sat next to me, and suspecting I wouldn’t get any answers from the other passengers I chose to wait until the secretary arrived for an explanation about our midnight r
ide.
I didn’t have to wait long. Outside, soldiers leapt into vehicles and then the Secretary himself came out, a Kevlar vest strapped over his shirt and an incongruous-looking helmet perched on his head with the rim touching his glasses.
He climbed in and looked around, nodding at me before slapping the driver on the shoulder.
“Are we good, Geoff?” He asked, sounding wired.
The driver nodded. “We’re good sir. Following the Major’s lead until we get there”.
As one the vehicles pulled away, soldiers on the gate lifting the barrier and dropping it again the moment the last vehicle was through.
The Secretary half-turned in his seat to look at me, frowning slightly when he saw Emily but not passing comment.
“I guess you want to know where we’re going, eh?” He asked, his hands fidgeting with the top of his vest.
I nodded. “Wouldn’t say no”.
“About an hour ago, one of our patrols ran into another army unit. They had the audacity to tell our men to stand down and submit to their authority, claimed they were acting on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister”.
I felt a sudden surge of hope. If there were other, higher members of the cabinet out there then the Secretary’s reign could be cut thankfully short.
“What happened?”
“What do you think happened? Our men refused and then some hothead on the other side started shooting. We had greater numbers and the upper hand, of course, but now the others are holed up in a petrol station and we can’t dig them out. One of ours was sent back for reinforcements, so I’m going out there to wave the olive branch and see if we can’t bring them over to us”.
“But surely if they are working for the Deputy Prime Minister then we’ve got a duty to submit to his lead?” I asked, instantly regretting it the Secretary spluttered with rage.
“Have you ever met the man?” He demanded. “Edwin Collins couldn’t lead ants to a jam pot! He’s a pencil-pusher of the worst order, and one of the coalition, not even a proper politician if you ask me!”
“So why am I here?”
He took a deep breath, visibly forcing himself to be calm before continuing.
Flare Page 19