Surviving the Fall: How England Died (17 page)

They ran deeper into the woods, and after a time there was no sound but their running and the rain falling through the trees above. Passing a ditch, Harriet led Adam into it.

“We can rest here, just for a few minutes.”

They crouched deep in the undergrowth. Harriet pulled Adam close and he hugged her, burying his head into her shoulder.

Chapter 4

It was dark when Harriet woke. She didn’t remember falling asleep, and couldn’t imagine how she had. The down after the adrenaline high, she guessed.

She glanced at her watch, it was ten at night. Insects chirped in unison and the odd owl whoot broke what was otherwise a deathly silence after the noise and panic from the earlier afternoon.

Her first thought was Adam - he was no longer in her arms.

“Adam”, she whispered in the darkness. There was a mumble of response from beside her. She felt around and found Adam, sleeping a few feet away from her.

She shook him gently and he stirred awake. His eyes stared at her from the darkness.

“Are you ok?”

Adam didn’t answer but turned away from her.

“Adam?” She put her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged her off quickly and with force.

“Get off.”

Harriet pulled her hand back and held it in mid air, not sure what to do with it.

“What is it Adam?”

“My mum’s dead because of you,” he hissed back at her.

Guilt rushed over her. He was right, wasn’t he?

“You did nothing,” said Adam. “You just stood there. You’re useless. And then you took us to the bad soldiers with the virus instead of the good ones.”

“Adam, I don’t think the soldiers had the virus, I think…” she caught herself and stopped speaking.

“My mum would have known what to do,” said Adam. “But she can’t now because she’s dead.”

Adam began to cry again, his body shaking in sobs, getting louder.

Harriet slowly moved towards Adam. “I’m sorry, Adam, I really am. I know, I’m not very good at things like this.” She put her arm on Adam’s shoulder again, gently. He tried to shake her away again, but it was without commitment.

“I would do anything to change what had happened, but I can’t.” She put her arm around the young boy. “But what I can promise is that I’ll do everything I can from now, to keep you safe, and to find your Dad.”

“How will we find him?

“I don’t know,” said Harriet. “But we will.”

An hour later they hitched up their back packs.

“We need to bury these,” said Adam, pointing at the wrappers of the protein bars they had eaten. “We have to cover our tracks.”

“Ok,” said Harriet, bending down to help Adam bury the plastic wrappers. She smiled as Adam earnestly dug in the ground. She had a rush of feeling for the boy, realising she meant every word of what she had said - she had to keep him safe.

“So which way,” said Harriet after they finished with the wrappers.

Adam took out the luminous compass from his pocket and studied it for a minute. “This way,” he said with confidence. “North west. My Dad’s army base is north of the M4. It’s this way.”

“Yes sir,” said Harriet, saluting and smiling.

Adam looked at her and shook his head, but she saw a small smile in the darkness.

They walked in silence for a good while, the odd crack of branch underfoot punctuating the rustle of leaves on the wood floor.

There were no lights in sight, which Harriet found comforting after what had happened at the motorway. She didn’t want to see people for a while. What would happen when they reached the military base, what would they do?

But how else could they find Adam’s dad?

“Why don’t you have any children?” said Adam, his surprise question making Harriet jump.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Why not?” said Adam as he threaded through some low bushes that lay over their path.

“I’m too young, and I haven’t found anyone I like enough yet.”

“Ok.”

They walked in silence for another five minutes, then Adam started his interrogation again. Harriet couldn’t help but smile.

“What do you do?”

“I’m a recruitment agent.”

Adam stopped and looked at her. “What’s that?”

“I help people find jobs.”

“Ah ok. Sounds boring. Jobs are boring, so finding them for other people must be even more boring.”

Harriet laughed. “You know what, I think you might be right.”

“Why do you do it then?”

“It just sort of happened, I guess. I needed a job when I finished university, and that’s what I got.”

“You’re one of the bovines.”

“What do you mean?” said Harriet.

“My Dad says that most people are bovines - they never think about what they want to do, and they just end up doing stuff that bores them. He says most civilians are bovines.”

Harriet had no answer.

“I bet you go out getting drunk every weekend.”

“Well, yes, but that’s just having fun.”

“Dad says bovines need to get drunk to forget how boring their lives are.”

“Well, maybe your dad doesn’t know everything.” To her surprise, she felt a bit offended, or maybe she was annoyed because a ten year old seemed to have summed up her life.

Adam stopped and held his hand up. Harriet froze. “What is it?” she whispered.

“I heard something,” he said.

There was a click and a powerful light shone from the darkness ahead of them. Harriet held her hands up to cover her eyes.

“Halt! Put your hands up,” shouted a disembodied voice from the light.

Harriet put he hands up, and glanced at Adam. She was glad to see he had his hands up too.

“Who are you? Tell us your names.”

“Adam.”

“Harriet.”

The light switched off and a few figures became visible in the darkness - soldiers.

“Sorry, ma’am. We have to check you are not infected. The zeds can’t speak.”

Harriet’s heart was beating fast against her chest. She moved forward slowly and put her hands protectively around Adam’s shoulders.

“Zeds?” said Harriet.

“Zombies.”

“Told you…” whispered Adam to Harriet. Then to the solider he said, “We’re looking for my dad, he’s a solider.”

The soldier at the front of the group, a tall man, crouched down in front of him. He lifted the intricate looking googles from his face and said, “Is he now? What’s his name?”

“He’s a sergeant. Donald Allen.”

The soldier glanced behind him at the other soldiers. “Ok, son, ma’am, you should come with us. It’s not safe out here.”

“Do you know my dad?”

“I’ve heard the name. You need to come back with us to our base.”

Harriet squeezed Adam’s shoulder’s gently. “Let’s go Adam, they can help us.” He looked up at her, and she smiled at him and took his hand. “Come on.”

They followed the soldiers into the darkness. Harriet felt her heart relax, her breathing slow down. Even given what had happened by the bridge, she felt safe - the need for order and authority outweighing her fears.

They were to be taken to a military camp.

They joined a troop carrier full of a rag tag collection of civilians in various stages of shock, distress and numbness.

The only person who seemed excited was Adam. Harriet held him close as the truck rumbled through the woods and over dirt tracks, and she felt his heart thumping fast. The few glances she caught from him showed an excited face full of anticipation.

“Do you think dad will be there to meet us?”

“I don’t know, Adam. He might not be there, so lets just wait and see.”

The truck stopped in a busy and very large courtyard. The tarpaulin was pulled back by two soldiers and a third soldier hustled them out onto the wet concrete. A grand four story building surrounded the courtyard on three sides, the fourth side being the entrance, a road lined with trucks leading out into the woods.

Soldiers ran through the courtyard, the air rang with shouts and engines and boots sloshing through the puddles left by the recent downpour. Groups of civilians were being moved from trucks into buildings, into tents pitched in the courtyard, and into other trucks.

Powerful floodlights sat high on metal struts, shining bright white beams across the throng of the courtyard.

Harriet jumped as shots cracked in the air. Tall sentinel towers surrounded the base. A marksmen fired into the woods beyond the fence, most probably at approaching zeds. She took Adam’s hand and crouched down next to him.

“Stay close to me, ok?”

Adam, his eyes wide, looking around in fascination, nodded.

“This way,” shouted a solider. He led them and the other people from their truck through a door into the large building. They were taken through a few corridors into a plain, empty, beige room with a solitary desk at the front. A smart looking young soldier sat at the desk.

“Well done, you are the last lot we can take in. Our patrols are over, we’re full. I’m Lieutenant Byrd.” He stood up, his arms behind his back. “You should be quite safe here for now, as you can imagine. I understand the events of the last few days have probably been quite terrifying for most of you, and that you may have lost much.”

His face glowed softly with a benevolent and sad smile.

“You can be assured that this is the best place for you all now. Her Majesty’s finest are here to protect you.”

Harriet squeezed Adam’s hand.

“Where’s my dad?” he whispered to her.

“Shhh. We’ll find out soon.”

Lieutenant Byrd walked to the near side of the desk as three other men in uniform entered the room.

“These men will take you to your rooms.”

The group started to shuffle out after the soldiers. Harriet felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Byrd.

“Ma’am. Would you and your son follow me please.”

Harriet shook his head, “Oh, he’s not my son, he’s-”

“That’s quite alright ma’am, this way.” He led her away from the group, through a door on the other side of the room. They walked down a yellow painted corridor and stopped outside a door. Byrd opened it, motioning Harriet and Adam inside.

The room was a medium sized office with a desk and a number of filing cabinets lining one of the grey walls. A large map of the UK covered the wall behind the desk.

An attractive officer with short blond hair and sharp blue eyes sat behind the desk. He stood up as Harriet and Adam entered and reached his hand forward, which Harriet took, surprised at how flustered she was feeling.

“Please, sit down.” He motioned to two chairs. Adam and Harriet sat on them.

The man smiled at them and said, “I’m Lieutenant Dalby, very pleased to met you. I believe you are Harriet, and, Adam?” He smiled at Adam.

“Do you know my dad?” he said.

Dalby nodded. “That’s why we brought you here.”

Adam’s face lit up, a beaming smile, “I told you,” he said to Harriet, “I told you he was here.”

Looking at the happiness in Adam’s eyes, Harriet felt a warm glow again. She reached over and hugged him.

As she held the boy, she turned to look at Dalby. Dalby was no longer smiling. He shook his head slowly.

Harriet pulled herself away from Adam, feeling the colour drain from her face.

“Adam,” said Dalby.

“Are we going to see him?”

Harriet held Adam’s hand tightly.

“Adam,” Dalby paused. He leaned forward and spoke in a soft voice. “Yesterday morning, I was with your dad.”

“Where is he now?” Adam looked from Harriet to Dalby, sensing the change in atmosphere in the room.

“He was a very brave man, Adam, your dad.”

“Can I see him?” said Adam, his voice quiet, pleading. Harriet felt tears well in her eyes.

“He saved a lot of men. Without him, many brave soldiers would not be alive, but I’m sorry Adam. He didn’t make it himself.” Dalby shook his head, his brow furrowed with sadness.

Silence sat on the room, heavy and numb.

Adam stared at Dalby. “No,” he said, quietly. He turned to face Harriet, “He’s not right, is he? He’s lying, isn’t he? My dad can’t be dead.”

Harriet felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she looked at the life drain from Adam’s eyes. She turned to Dalby. “Are you sure, his name is Sergeant Donald Allen, there’s no mistake?”

Dalby shook his head slowly. “No mistake, I’m sorry. Sergeant Allen died yesterday afternoon in the execution of his duties. Such a brave man, Adam, a brave man.”

Adam stared to shake. He rocked back and forward. Harriet grabbed onto him and held him tight. He pushed against her and yelled. He screamed, his mouth wide open, letting out long and mournful cries, the like of which should never be heard from a young boy. Harriet felt the pain, and wished she could take it from him.