Society: After It Happened Book 3 (12 page)

THE BODYGUARD

Their evening wasn’t unpleasant.  The people all went about their business in a subdued manner and Steve was reminded of the times he had spent aboard large Navy ships.  They were allowed to mix freely with the hundred or so people, and Emma had found a fellow medical science type.  They talked for a couple of hours about their theories and findings before Emma outright asked about Richards.

She was assured that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed, but the way of life she described was basically military rule.  They brought requests and suggestions to Richards, who had brought a handful of very well equipped soldiers and lots of military hardware to the fold.  It was a very tight ship they lived on, but they were protected, safe and there was a plan.

They were given a tent with camp cots and showed where to get washed and after their evening meal, and Steve had relaxed sufficiently to not feel the need to keep the gun close.

Richards found them at breakfast and resumed his recruitment attempts.

“I trust you slept safely?” he asked, wearing his rigid smile.  Steve first thought it was a pretence; that Richards was more likely to force his will on people than respect an individual’s choice.  He was starting to realise that he was just a little awkward, and the smile was a bit of light social armour.

“Fine, thank you” Steve said “I’d like to get on the road as soon as possible though”

“I thought you would” Richards replied and turned over his shoulder “Andrews!” he called out.  Andrews came up and saluted before standing himself at ease.  It may be a tight military run camp, but the slightly relaxed drill formalities spoke of a compromise for efficiency.  Andrews was about Steve’s height and build but at least fifteen years his junior.  Dressed in camouflage fatigues like Richards and carrying a sidearm on his right leg.

“All ready, Sir” he said, nodding greetings to Steve and Emma.

“Andrews here will see you safely to your destination, not that I think you’re incapable at all!” Richards said with genuine humour in his eyes.

They shook hands and promised to return with their answer on the way south.  They followed Andrews out to the vehicles and saw a military Land Rover parked next to their own.  Andrews put on a tactical webbing vest and loaded his rifle; a British army SA80 with a scope.  He didn’t ask for the destination, just got behind the wheel and waited to follow.  Steve had to wonder whether they were being guarded or protected.

Their journey resumed its normal pace as the weather closed in.  This far north they saw the damage that winter had caused to some of the roads as huge potholes carved chunks of the roads away.  Normal cars would struggle to negotiate some of the bigger bits of damage, and Steve guessed that nothing short of an off-road vehicle would be able to travel within two years in some places.  They made a couple of stops, both times Andrews was alert and capable, covering with his rifle and providing backup for Steve.  When they finally stopped for the evening after a bumpy day’s travel Steve tried to get Andrews talking.  He expected a brick wall of short answers and was surprised when he opened up.  His name was Mitchell, he preferred Mitch, but the military habit of surnames had stuck. 

He had never shed the bounds of army service despite the end of the world, and seemed fiercely loyal to Richards.  He wasn’t his Captain; in fact, of the eight army personnel there only one was from Richards’ unit originally.  Mitch was one of six trained infantrymen who had been cobbled together to form the blades of Richards’ survival camp.

“It’s not that bad.  We’ve had hard times and a few insurgent issues, but on the whole its good” he said genuinely “and when the plan comes together we’ll be stronger and hopefully pick up more people on the way.  It’s no small task to get this many people across country nowadays”

“True, it isn’t” Steve agreed, sipping the coffee made on the camp stove “Tell me about this helicopter” he asked.

“Airfield fifty miles from base.  Chinook inside a hangar with some other fixed wings” he replied.

“Any other helicopters?” Steve probed.

“None.  The chinook seems to be in good nick though, when we found it we locked the place down tight for winter.  It’s been sealed up ever since then so should be well preserved.”

“It’d need a full service; all the fluids would need changing” Steve said to nobody in particular, the thought of flying again clearly occupying his mind.  “Tell me about the ‘insurgents’ you mentioned” he asked.

Mitch explained about the raids; attempts to steal their supplies by a group in the night.  They had captured some of them and offered them a place at the table so they didn’t have to steal.  Some of them took the offered inclusion, others didn’t.

“It went on for a few months.  I think in the end we killed enough of them to make it too much bother” he finished.

Their own story wasn’t to dissimilar to how Richards’ camp had grown; the main difference being that this groups core was military with an established hierarchy whereas their own was based more on a civilian government style.  Both ways seemed to work.  Richards had established a guard, trained capable civilians in weapon drills, fortified their position and sent out scouts just as they had and brought back more and more survivors.  They hadn’t encountered the same problems of having to liberate others from slavery – a story which intrigued Mitch mainly for the use of the big machine gun – and there seemed to be less resistance to their recruits here perhaps due to the harsher terrain and the need for shelter taking over.

The more they spoke, the more Steve wanted to form some link with this group.  Not that he wanted to join, but more that he felt that he could in some way help them.  He tried to convince himself it was something other than the lure of getting behind the controls of an aircraft.

“There are other airfields in Scotland you know…” he said. 

THE FACILITY

It took them another two days to find it.  They did so just as the light was starting to fade after they had covered the same patch of ground repeatedly looking for it.  No handy signposts gave directions to the secret biological weapons development lab; that might have caused local residents to write to their MP’s.  Not that there were any local residents as the land was bleak and empty.

The doors were unlocked, and the ships-style airlock door swung open with a groan after the locking wheel was spun.  No electricity as they expected, and they cleared the place as best they could with torches before finding the generator room deep underground.  A jerry can of diesel and some encouragement finally sparked it up with a series of threatening spluttering coughs.  Slowly, the lights began to blink on and machines made whirring noises as they came to life.  Steve and Mitch cleared the whole bunker, which was made up of ghostly labs and dusty glass doors.

They found no trace of anyone there, and assumed that they too had abandoned their haven when the power ran dry.  Emma was lost in a rare moment of introspection wondering if there were a huddle of decaying scientists in a building nearby, having escaped to certain death in excruciating pain.  Her reverie was disturbed by the two armed men declaring that their temporary home was devoid of life other than their own.  They set up in the living quarters, using their own sleeping bags and discarding the duvets belonging to the former inhabitants.  Water was boiled, food was prepared and Emma formed a plan about the tests she wanted to run.  Mitch gave her another sample of blood for her subject pool, and the lab was set to be reinvigorated the following day.

Steve tried to offer his help, but after the third polite refusal Emma allowed her exasperation to show.

“It will take me longer to explain the very basics of how to run a single test than it will to do it!  Now please; let me work!” she snapped, softening her outburst with a smile and a drop of her shoulders.  Truth was, she was very stressed.  She knew where to start, but she didn’t know where to end. 

Steve got the hint and said that one of them would stand guard whilst the other scouted the local area.

Her analysis and comparison of blood samples between the immune and the now dead were the obvious initial places to look.  She ran every kind of test she could; haemoglobin levels, white cell count, potassium levels, enzymes, platelets, and a dozen other checks. Each sample was carefully catalogued and the results were recorded in a large notebook as well as on her voice recorder.

After almost an entire day running the same tests repeatedly and hunching over the worktop, she finally gave in to her aching back and growling stomach.  There was probably another four days left just doing the basics before she even started work on the microscopic analysis of each sample.  She left the lab to find Steve; they were going to be there maybe ten days and the others needed to bring in supplies and more fuel.  She found them both sat in the communal area, decorated like an early nineties government canteen, and explained the timeframe to them.

Steve and Mitch looked at each other, as though her declaration had touched upon a subject she wasn’t aware of.  Steve nodded to Mitch.

“I’ll go” said the soldier “First thing in the morning and should be back in three days.  You stay local and look for food and fuel”

Steve agreed, and turned to Emma to explain.

“During my service I spent some time up here; it’s one of the reasons I volunteered to come but I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up by saying why.” He told her, almost cautiously “There is another Air Force base just over a hundred and fifty miles north east.  I’m hoping there is a smaller helicopter there that is preserved enough to get in the air.  The chinook is too big for me to fly alone, and the engineering required for it is extensive; plus, I’ve never even been in the cockpit of one as flying them was always done by dedicated squadrons.  Something smaller like a Sea King or a Puma or a Merlin would be much easier and I’ve flown them all enough to know a bit about their engineering requirements.  I want to get in the air again, if I can”

Emma understood.  In her own way she was enjoying what she was doing now; she had an expertise and this was probably the last time she would get to use it.  Steve was a pilot, and he felt like he’d lost the use of his legs since he’d last flown.

She raised no objection, and Mitch began preparing for a solo trip as they all pored over a large scale map of the Highlands.  Unlike their current location, the base would be well signposted which would save a lot of searching.  Steve planned to stockpile all the diesel he could find locally having given Mitch his Land Rover for the journey, and Emma went back to her lab tests.

IMMINENT ARRIVALS

Dan relented and allowed the logistics crews to load enough baby equipment to last their growing colony for years.  With all the powders and bottles and equipment he reckoned they could raise kids for years, but still more was needed.  Kate and her team wanted more and more medical equipment, and a return run to the hospital was suggested.  Dan was not an advocate of ever visiting the hospital again, and was supported by Lexi as she absent-mindedly rubbed at the thick scars on her chest.

Nobody had strayed far from home since Steve and Emma had left, and there was a slight air of anticipation about their expedition.  Dan wondered why, as there could surely be no great revelations coming from the results.  There could be no cure, nor was there anyone to be cured.  They were what was left, and the only answers that could matter were to the questions of how and why.

On one of the morning tasking meetings Joe and Lexi went out and Leah asked Dan for a minute of his time.

“I’ve figured it out” she said.

“What?” asked Dan, confused.

“The tyre changing problem.  You said I could go out alone if I could repair a flat tyre.  I’ve figured it out”

Dan had completely forgotten about her driving assessment and felt bad as she was so disappointed that she couldn’t lift the spare wheel down.  After her recent performance he trusted her abilities, but was still reluctant to let her out alone purely because he wanted to keep her safe.  The tyre problem was a good excuse to hide behind until now.

“Tell me” he said, worrying that she had indeed surmounted the last remaining obstacle to her freedom.

“I’ve got a pump and some of that stuff you inject in so the puncture fixes itself.  The pump runs off the car so I can repair a flat and get home without having to take the wheel off” she said proudly.

As much as Dan wanted to find fault with it, she had presented a valid argument.  He sighed with his head down, thinking.

“Dan?” she asked, concerned that she had got the answer wrong or had upset him “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, kid” he said, giving in.

“It was nearly a year ago when I found you” he said wistfully “You were a scared little girl, and now… Well, now you’re just scary” he said, investing the last word with pride and admiration.  She beamed, pleased with the compliment.

“Let me run your idea past Neil, and I’ll let you know” he finished.

“Today?” she pushed.

“Maybe.  No promises”

She nodded and went back to looking busy over a map.  His little girl was all grown up, in a way.  He suddenly felt very sad that she was no longer vulnerable and weak, that she could look after herself despite her age.  Modern society had made children stay dependent for so long; just a few hundred years ago and she would be expected to be getting married soon, so really was it so bad that she was doing adult work now?  She had adapted so quickly and efficiently to their new situation, and he couldn’t hold her back much longer.  Not without her resenting him.  She’d trained intensively over the last nine months without taking a day off just to be the best she could be, and he couldn’t deny that she was good.

With a heavy heart he stood and left the house, Ash following at his heel without a command.  He smoked as he walked slowly up to the farm, delaying the conversation as long as he could in good conscience.  He found Neil with a hot drink and his feet up on the rear step of a Land Rover.  Ash went straight to him and gave him an expectant stare until Neil’s had went to a pocket and came out with something for him.  Dan sat heavily and let out a long sigh.

Neil sipped his tea and guessed his friend’s problems.

“She asked you about the tyre pump then, mate?”

“Yeah” Dan said with a tired smile “she did”

“It’s viable.  I’ve got the stuff and as long as she doesn’t rip a wheel off she should be fine.  I’ve fitted a CB to her motor, and was planning on repainting it black like yours” Neil said, way ahead of him as always “Ready in two days”

“Thanks” Dan said “Am I wrong?  Is she ready?”

“She saved your arse didn’t she?” he replied “Twice as I recall!”

Dan smiled and leaned his head back “She did, but I worry about her.  She scares me a bit”

He meant it.  Leah’s abilities were impressive, but her cold attitude towards what she was becoming was his greatest concern.  She had killed people.  Killed people with the weapons he had given her and the training he had provided.  She had calmly assessed situations and made ruthless decisions without hesitation, just as he did.  The only difference was that he struggled with the decisions sometimes, where she seemed not to.  He had had this discussion with Marie more than once.  In her counselling sessions Leah was very matter of fact about it and the taking of a life was pure logic to her; necessary to protect the group, hence acceptable.  She didn’t have trouble sleeping, she showed no signs of post traumatic responses. 

“In a way” Marie had told him “She’s better equipped to deal with this as she has less to forget about from before.  This is her life, and we are expecting her to still act like a child.  She isn’t, not anymore”

Dan had to accept it; she wasn’t a little girl now.  He had to let her go out into the hostile wasteland that was their home, and trust that he had prepared her enough.

He left Neil with the project to finish Leah’s vehicle and went to find Andrew to find out what stores were the next priority.  A supply run for clothing and bedding was planned for three days’ time.