Survival: After It Happened Book 1 (4 page)

“It seems some introductions are in order” said the woman as she stood and smoothed her clothes.

“I’m Penny, pleased to meet you Daniel”

Dan shook the offered hand, dumbstruck.

“And who is this young lady?” she said, bending down to Leah with a smile.

“I’m Leah” she replied, returning the smile.

“How did you…?” Dan said

“Oh I was just wandering around until I scared Neil here half to death!”

Neil stood there smiling, and offered a guilty shrug.

Dan recovered slightly and turned to Leah, “Looks like you won’t have that caravan all to yourself after all”

“I don’t mind” Leah said, still smiling.

Dan shook himself out of the shock of suddenly having two more mouths to feed; and a woman and child to protect at that.

“Right then ladies, I think we need to take you both shopping. You’ll both need new clothes and sleeping bags”

Neil offered to stay and cook dinner whilst they went. All agreed and Dan started to clear out the scavenged stuff from his Defender. Neil bagged a speed jack and Dan told him that where he’d been definitely needing clearing out to equip the garage he’d have when they got permanently settled.

Dan drove them back to the camping shop and started collecting more wind up lamps and other tools whilst Penny breezed through the shop selecting items for them both. After ten minutes they both had a few sets of clothes packed into their new backpacks and a pair of walking boots. He suggested they get a good, warm waterproof each which they did. They took an armful of sleeping bags to boot, which seemed sensible because of the rate they were gathering survivors, and loaded the Land Rover.

Penny saw another shop and asked Dan very formally if he would kindly open the doors for them and give them both a minute. The large pry bar got the sliding doors to a small Primark open quickly, and he asked them to stay outside just whilst he checked it was ok; he didn’t want either of them to trip over a body. He couldn’t smell anything as he walked through the shop, Glock in hand. He grabbed a few packs of boxer shorts and socks for him and Neil and returned outside.

“I’ll be out here ladies, take as long as you need” he said.

They went inside. They clearly needed underwear too, but they weren’t exactly well acquainted enough to discuss it openly yet.

Dan lit up and kept an eye up and down the high street. He was finishing his second smoke by the time they reappeared, bags in hand and carrying some pillows.

“I took the liberty of getting a pillow each for you two” said Penny

“Thankyou” he replied “Do you need to go anywhere else?”

They didn’t. By the time they got back to camp Neil had set up more camping chairs and erected a gazebo over the cooking area. Very cosy.

They sat around, waiting for whatever Neil was cooking to be ready and discussed the plans for the next day. Thankfully Penny seemed to be a natural planner; she suggested that Neil and Dan would go out and ‘shop’ again – she still couldn’t use words like ‘scavenge’ and ‘survivors’, whilst she and Leah stayed there and started to sort out bringing the food out of Morrisons and load the lorry.

They talked about plans and ideas for a while. Leah sat and listened until she stifled the third yawn in a row. Penny packed her off to bed after making her do her teeth with her new toothbrush and went in the female caravan for a while to settle her.

Penny came back out and sat down with a sigh. By this point Neil had produced the scotch and poured two, Penny raised an eyebrow to him until he poured a third.

“That poor girl. She must be very confused about all this and we must shelter her from these horrors for as long as possible”

“Penny” said Neil hesitantly, changing the subject “Have you ever used a gun?”

Penny chuckled, and said that she’d done clay pigeon shooting before.

“So you may as well leave me one of those shotguns and a box of cartridges when you go tomorrow. I won’t need it but it’s probably sensible to leave it here.”

They agreed, and sat in silence for a while before their emerging matriarch dismissed them to bed as they had an early start.

Kev got up like normal in his clockwork life. His Mum wasn’t up already, which was strange. He was used to her waking him up for breakfast before he went to work, but she had gone to bed early and he’d fallen asleep to the sound of her coughing.

He tried to wake her up, but she was still and cold. He put an extra blanket over her and left her to rest, just like she did when he was poorly.

He was hungry, but he was going to be late for work if he didn’t go soon. He liked his routine; it gave him purpose and every day ran like clockwork for him. He got dressed, got his bike from the hallway of their small maisonette, and locked the front door before he cycled off to work.

He got the industrial area where the factory was after ten minutes. Kev hadn’t noticed that there was nobody around; his brain didn’t work like that.

Nobody was at the factory, which wasn’t right. Kev didn’t like it when things weren’t right and he was scared. Two people walked along the road drinking from glass bottles, they saw him sat there and started to shout at him.

People being nasty to Kev was something he was used to, so he did what he always did and turned his face away, screwing his eyes shut to ignore them. They stood in front of where he sat and shouted, but he wouldn’t answer them. One of them picked his bike up, and when Kev looked at him with his temper rising they laughed. They threw his bike over the railings where it landed in the small rubbish-filled brook.

Kev jumped to his feet and let out an angry keening noise. When they saw his size – well over six feet tall and very heavily built – they ran away, laughing.

Kev sat down again. He was scared, he was angry and he started to cry. He sat there all day, not wanting to miss his shift. He didn’t have a watch because he couldn’t tell the time very well. His clockwork life was in complete turmoil, and he stayed there all night.

The next morning, cold and terrified, Jimmy found him. He liked Jimmy, who told him that he would look after him now.

Dan woke early to the sound of Neil getting dressed. He followed suit and both walked a respectable distance along the side of the store to relieve themselves.

Neil’s plan was to finish clearing the industrial estate nearby, and wanted to get the fuel pump going so they had a ready supply of diesel. If they were going to have to go further afield to scavenge, they’d need to be carrying plenty of fuel. He decided they should also have a few mobile battery packs for starting cars, and said that they should recover more Defenders like the ones they have. They both agreed to bring back an extra caravan each that day, hoping for more people to fill them.

The spare weapons were hidden away in their caravan under the lounge settees, apart from the shotgun Penny selected. They emptied their Land Rovers, and checked them over. Each packed a bag of food and water, and put a lightweight sleeping bag in just in case. Another large breakfast of bacon and eggs was produced – Penny cooked, telling them that they should eat up before it spoils. She was already putting things into cool boxes and getting very organised. Leah was still asleep.

Neil and Dan shook hands and wished each other luck. They again agreed on what messages they would leave on key buildings that would attract other survivors.

Dan set off towards the nearest big town, about a ten-mile drive. He went slowly, looking for any signs of life. He still had the Glock but had a .22 rifle on the dash in front of him. Nothing spectacular; eight round magazine bolt-action but it had a good optic on it. They had both taken a local A-Z and had decided to mark sites that needed properly clearing in the future, Dan stopped and made a note about a small shop with a pharmacy. Medicines would become very important soon. To minimise the risk of infections – which wouldn’t have been an issue last week – they decided to wear gloves and use hand sanitiser. Gas masks were to be worn when moving bodies too.

He took the smaller roads as he thought he wouldn’t see much from the dual track. He stopped by a large pub, and used spray paint to write a message on the wall directing survivors to the Morrisons base camp.

As he climbed back in he saw a sign to HMP Manor Grange. The thought of those bodies rotting in their cells, never to be released, was a grim one.

He continued to the town centre, marking the locations of another two shops worth visiting when they had more hands to help. He saw movement by some houses and stopped to paint another message on the side, not wanting a repeat and scaring someone like he did with Leah. Softly, softly, catchee monkey.

He marked another industrial estate, and as he drove slowly through he saw a man siphoning fuel from a van. The man straightened when he heard the engine, and stood up tall with a crowbar in his right hand. He was huge. Taller than Dan and outweighing him.

He pulled up well short of the big man, and got out slowly. The man said nothing, and Dan broke the silence.

“Hi” he said, getting no reply

“We’re gathering survivors together. There’s four of us already and we have a plan. Come with us?”

The man still said nothing and stood still. A flicker of his eyes over Dan’s shoulder and the slightest crunch of gravel made him spin and draw the Glock. A younger man had crept dangerously close behind him carrying another crowbar. He panicked and dropped it straight away, holding both hands up.

“Whoa! Whoa! Don’t shoot me! Fuck! Sorry .. sorry, it’s just that Kev here doesn’t trust people any more. Not after they nicked his bike”

The younger man still cowered, backing away and shaking. A quick glance behind at Kev showed that he hadn’t moved an inch. He assessed them both; Kev was about thirty and huge. Shaved head, dull eyes. The younger one was probably early twenties. Lean but with an intelligence and clearly some stealth as he’d got way too close to Dan undetected.

He made a judgement call and holstered the Glock, although he was sure to keep his hand close by it.

“Sorry boys, bit jumpy myself. Kev, you want to put that down mate?”

Kev just looked at the other guy, who walked over to him and spoke like he was talking to a child.

“It’s ok Kev, he’s not bad like the others”

Kev didn’t speak, just looked at the other man with a questioning, almost pleading face.

The younger man looked at Dan, not entirely convinced himself and said “Yeah mate, he won’t hurt you”

Dan went to the Defender and retrieved a thermos full of coffee.

“Brew lads?” he asked. Always a deal maker.

As they stood by the front of the Land Rover, Dan offered out the fags. Jimmy took one, Kev just shook his head and looked at the floor. He told them the brief version of their story and asked Kev and Jimmy what had happened to them.

“We work in one of the factories here. Known Kev for ages; he’s a big lump but wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

In a hushed voice he added “Kev had the cord round his neck when he was born, he’s a bit slow but he’s a good lad really”

Kev heard anyway and smiled at what he took as a compliment. Jimmy continued, “Kev got up and rode his bike to work like normal. I found him here sat on the floor and it looks like someone knocked him down and took his bike. They just threw it over the fence for no reason. Bastards. We’ve been trying to put some supplies together and that’s what we were doing when you drove up.”

Dan told them again that he wanted them to join the group. He offered them food, company and their own caravan. He told them that he needed their help to collect enough supplies and survivors up to find somewhere permanent to live.

Jimmy liked the idea, and asked Kev if he wanted to go and meet Dan’s friends. Kev smiled and nodded. He drove them to the van they’d started to load and saw another 7.5 tonne truck similar to the one they already had back at camp.

Dan got to show off some burglary skills getting into the unit, where the keys were still on the desk. Jimmy used the fuel they’d collected to fill it up, and they began moving their supplies into the bigger vehicle. Dan saw they had a portable generator and when Kev went to pick it up he started to speak to warn him so he didn’t hurt himself. Before he’d managed a word, Kev braced himself and heaved it up. Impressive, those things were one hundred kilos plus.

Jimmy and Kev started their new ride, and followed Dan on the drive. The next stop, instead of marking the little pharmacy they saw, all three loaded everything into boxes and into the truck in about half an hour.

Dan stopped periodically to paint the message for other survivors. They didn’t see anyone else that day, and after the long way round and many stops to spread the good word, they found themselves back at the caravan sales pitch. Dan got out and lit a fag, offering one to Jimmy by habit.

“Kev, want to pick your caravan?” Kev looked at Jimmy who nodded to him. He was delighted and skipped off to look at them. Dan reckoned the acquired brain injury had left Kev like a six foot four, nineteen stone five-year-old who didn’t speak. For a while he utterly envied him, as ignorance would have been bliss right now.

Kev eventually chose one, bouncing on the spot and pointing. It got hitched to the Land Rover and they set off again, slowly this time as Dan’s towing experience had only started in this very spot a couple of days ago.

As there was still a lot of daylight left, Dan asked Jimmy if they wouldn’t mind staying out for a few more hours until their truck was full. Jimmy agreed, and spoke to Kev “Still got some graft left Kev?” Kev just smiled and nodded. Jimmy acted like the little big brother to him. It turned out that Kev had worked in the factory since he was sixteen. Jimmy had left school at the same age without much in the way of prospects, but after the rounds of working as a labourer for a few years he found himself on the line next to Kev, until he was made foreman before too long. Jimmy had a kind of sharp intelligence; not in the way of an educated man but something far more useful. He was switched on, savvy, cunning but kind. “The thing with Kev is, he doesn’t know to do stuff by himself mostly. Tell him what to do and he won’t rest until it’s done but he’d just starve to death if he was on his own because nobody would cook for him or remind him to eat. He was in a mess when I found him; sat outside work cold and hungry. He’d waited all night for the doors to open and I found him the next day. He’s strong as an ox but gentle with it. Not a bad bone in his body.”

They helped themselves to crisps and drinks at a garage, again emptying the shelves of long-dated food stuff, plus all the cigarettes and alcohol, before loading up and setting off again. They found a DIY shop and Dan marked it on his map whilst Jimmy and Kev broke in. They came back with some fuel cans and a circular concrete saw; Jimmy’s idea of a key in our new world.

“Great minds” Dan said. “We got two of those yesterday!”

He spent some time looking at the A-Z over a coffee and a smoke, cooking some ideas, whilst Jimmy started with the spray paint. He left a message on the shop then started to daub something on the truck.

Intrigued, Dan walked over to look. On the side of their small lorry Kev had painted, ‘Survivor camp, join today for free – ask driver for details’ like it was a breakdown service.

With a smile, Dan said they should probably head back. As they drove into the car park they could see another caravan already in place. The pump at the petrol station seemed to have been finished, and all the empty fuel cans were gone.

As they pulled up, he was happy to see another face he didn’t yet know standing nervously by Penny. He was glad that she was turning out to be a kind of mother hen figure. He had a plan to build a kind of society for as many people as they could find, but he couldn’t do what he wanted to do – go and find those survivors – if he was stuck at base camp organising everything.

Penny wasted no time in welcoming the new members. Dan introduced Kev and Jimmy and gave a quick run-down of how he met them, adding under his breath that Kev had an acquired brain injury.

“James. Kevin.” She said formally, offering a hand to both in turn. “Pleasure to have you with us” She gently grilled Jimmy about their history and skills, quickly figuring that the addition of two physically capable men was a plus. They went into their new caravan which was being set up by Neil to stow their new gear and take a look around what was now home.

She in turn introduced their own recruit. The new person was called Andrew, and was very usefully an accountant. Tall and thin with a permanently worried expression. Dan quickly realised that he didn’t have much of a clue when it came to life without modern comforts, but every extra pair of hands was a godsend to their cause and every surviving human being was a miracle.

Penny hadn’t been idle; a healthy stack of supplies was loaded into Neil’s 7.5 tonner and organised well. Andrew had wandered up to them not long after Dan and Neil had left, and after a small induction was put to work emptying the shop. Leah had helped under Penny’s direction, and smiled at Dan when she saw him. God only knows what is going through her head, he thought.

He walked away with Neil to the fuel pumps nominally to look over what he’d done, but more to discuss their new recruits. Neil had managed to pump out nearly two hundred litres of diesel – plenty for what they needed in the short term, but he still wanted a fuel tanker if we saw one.

“Andrew’s a bit of a wet lettuce, but he seems nice enough” Neil said quietly. “Doesn’t have much of an idea what to do, but Penny’s been working him hard all day!”

Dan smiled, “Already we’re in a matriarchal society, and I thought things might be different now…” They both chuckled, and trailed off into silence, thinking of their own matriarchs of last week, no longer with them.

A meal on the camp stoves, all seven of them quiet in their own thoughts, made Dan think that cooking for a group any larger would take full-time organising. He made a mental note to rescue a commercial chef at the first opportunity.

They turned in; Dan and Neil to their caravan, Penny and Leah to theirs, Jimmy and Kev to one of the new additions to the circus and Andrew on his own.

Then there were seven.