by Benson, Tom
“I will, of course, leader,” She sat smiling, with pen poised.
Bill shook his head and grinned at her. “Okay, our first topic is morale. To improve it we need to arrange food and accommodation.” He glanced at Steph, who nodded. “Food, we will deal with shortly, but I’d like to discuss the accommodation. We have the coach here, and Harry has his train carriages, which, except for one, are all spoken for with his survival preparations. Between this vehicle behind me and Harry’s train at the other end of the tunnel, we have three MPs … maintenance portals.”
Alan raised a hand. “How many people can we afford to allocate to each MP?”
“From what I recall, I’d say four comfortably. My concern is having people in the coach for any longer than necessary. When the seats are reclined, they’re relatively comfortable. Most people would prefer to stretch out, and anybody with an underlying physical issue is going to be put at risk of injury. All ideas are welcome.”
“To be honest,” Steph said, “I have a back problem, but it’s alleviated by being able to lie on a firm surface. How about using our roll call to annotate any special health considerations?”
“That sounds good,” Calvin said. “I’ll give you a hand on that one, Steph.”
Steph nodded.
“Anybody else?” Bill said. “Just call it out if you think it’s relevant.”
Craig said, “Why did you say four comfortably for the maint … MPs, Bill, yeah?”
“When the bunks are folded down, they make space for two people. A third person would be okay to sleep on the table, and the two bench seats pulled together would sleep another person.”
“Okay, so if there are three of those MP things, how about allocating people there first, and then we consider the coach for the others, yeah?”
“Good idea,” Dawn said. “We already have Victoria staying at Harry’s place, so that’s one of us accounted for.” She turned. “How many does that leave, Steph?”
“If Victoria is working and living at the other end, it leaves us with eight men and thirteen women.”
“Okay, I’ve got an idea, yeah?” Craig said, trying to make up for his previous negativity. “If we allocate four people to each MP then that takes care of twelve people. That leaves us with nine to cater for, yeah?”
Bill said, “If anybody has to go anywhere, nobody is to be alone. We must maintain that rule.”
“Got it,” Paul said. “My driver’s seat and Dawn’s front seat both fully recline, so we could stay with the coach. I’m pretty sure I could rip out a few seats and then there’d be plenty of room for a few more fully reclined.”
Alan nodded. “How about communication, guys?”
“Go on,” Bill said.
“Bear with me on this. If we include Harry, we have eight committee members, but we have five places for accommodation.” He paused. “For the purpose of updates, instead of everybody traipsing about in the dark, if we have at least one committee member resident in each place then only they have to attend any meetings.”
Calvin laughed briefly. “There is the voice of somebody who has hosted a few meetings.”
Alan smiled. “In the same way, if we’re here for an extended time, instead of the committee members having to walk to one end or the other of the tunnel, we could hold meetings at the halfway point.”
Bill laughed this time. “Speaking as somebody who has walked the length of this place more than once, I love that idea.” He turned. “Are you getting all this, Steph?”
“I’m on it, Bill, every word, but I have one reservation.”
The others all turned to face Steph who had been seen as trying to be upbeat.
She looked around them. “If we have individuals walking along the tunnel to attend meetings it breeches our safety rules—nobody should be alone.”
Bill nodded. “Good point. Thanks, Steph. Okay, let’s make some preparations on paper. Steph, would you list MP1 through to MP3 and then add the coach. We now know we want to have a committee member and three other names to each MP. We’ll leave that for you and Calvin to organise, but if possible, keep friends together.”
Dawn said, “I think we’re mostly friends in here now.”
“We’re mostly friends,” Paul said, “but while you have a bunch of people who are tired, hungry and fearful, we’re still going to have some friction.”
“I didn’t look at it like that,” Dawn said. “I reckon you’re right.”
Bill said. “I’ve just thought of something that had totally slipped my mind. Steph, do we have anybody who is listed as an electrician or handyman?”
“Give me a moment.” Steph flicked through to her roll call. “We’ve got Marie, whom you know about, listed as a homemaker and handy-person, and … Cherry who is listed as a mechanical engineer.”
“Cherry,” Bill said. “Does anybody recall who she is?” There was no response at first.
“Wait,” Dawn said. “I know who she is … the tall black woman with the great figure.” She nodded. “I asked her if she was a fashion model, and she said, ‘Yes honey, if you include overalls’.”
Everybody laughed.
“What did you have in mind, Bill?” Alan said.
“Each of the MPs has an old wind-up telephone on the wall. They were probably for emergency use because down here a mobile phone wouldn’t work and only some radios would work.”
Calvin said, “Could I borrow your flashlight for a minute, please, Bill?”
He handed it over. “What’s on your mind, mate?”
“Something we discussed on our first long walk through here.” He turned and pointed the flashlight at the side wall of the tunnel and then played the beam upwards and paused before moving the beam along a few metres. “There we are … an inbuilt lighting system.”
“We don’t have electricity, mate.”
Calvin said, “They would be on two circuits if they’re emergency lights. There should be a failsafe facility so that when the main power supply falters everything switches to emergency mode. They might have been out of use for years, but they might still work with a low level of power, like the source on the coach.”
“It would be capable,” Paul said.
“Great,” Bill said. “If we keep that idea on hold for a minute, we also have to consider the food aspect. We have to work out how to get everybody to the other end of the tunnel, fed, and back to their accommodation.”
“It’s easy,” Steph said. “We allocate the groups to their accommodation first and give them all timings. As long as each group has at least one working watch or phone, we can stage people to walk along to the other end. I know personally, if I’m going to be fed, I don’t give a shit about walking five miles there and back.”
The others all laughed at the attitude of the quiet, mature woman who so far said little but was eager to help. Steph’s regular humorous ‘leader’ jibes at Phil were appreciated, especially by him because he knew it lightened the mood.
“Right,” Bill said, “Here’s a basic plan and once again, chip in if you see a better way forward.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “Steph and Calvin deal with setting up groups for accommodation and ensure each MP has a timepiece and a committee member. Paul, with your knowledge of the coach, we’ll need you to help Cherry with the tunnel lighting issue.”
Paul said, “What about the old phones?”
“Lighting is more important right now, mate.” Bill turned. “Alan and Craig, if you two guys fancy a walk you could take one of the flashlights and head along to brief Harry and Victoria.”
Dawn said, “Would you like me to nip in and ask Cherry to come out here now?”
“Yes, please, and bring out the other flashlight.”
Paul aimed the flashlight for Cherry as she stood on two upturned crates to reach the nearest light fitting.
“Stay to my left, please, Paul and I’ll cut this light out of the circuit.”
“Why do we need to cut one out?”
“The lig
ht casings are staged at every ten or fifteen metres, but we need sufficient cable to reach the ground and then along to the power-pack under the coach. If my theory works, we lose this light and any behind the coach all the way to the entrance, but if the remainder of the cable is sound we’ll get light from some of the units.”
Paul stood back, watching Cherry adapting her mechanical engineering skills to the issue of the tunnel lighting. He smiled at the thought that so far, apart from the young woman standing on the wooden crates, Steph had made all the notes, and Victoria was helping Harry organise food and drink.
“I can’t wait until some of us guys get into a bit of hard graft,” he murmured.
“What was that, Paul?”
“Nothing important, Cherry. I was just saying that this will be great if it works.”
“Oh, it’ll bloody work, alright, mate.” Cherry tugged on the cable and freed a five-metre length from the clips which secured it to the tunnel wall. “Right, Paul, let’s get under your coach and see how best to connect to the power.”
“I’ve isolated the main pack, so it’s okay for you to connect the cable.”
“Before we do this part, for the sake of safety, I’d prefer everybody was off the coach for a few minutes.”
“No problem. I’ll ask Steph and Dawn to organise that now.”
Five minutes later, there was nobody in the coach because they were all standing at the front. Both Cherry and Paul were lying underneath at the back. A few mild curses sounded from under the chassis, and then the two bodies climbed out.
“Hit that isolator, Paul.” Cherry stood back beside the coach and looked into the darkness of the tunnel as Paul climbed aboard, turned the ignition and threw a switch. Nothing happened.
Cherry shouted, “Cut the coach lights, Paul. Allow all the power to be used for the tunnel.”
“Got it.” He flicked a switch. The coach and the area immediately to the front were thrown into darkness. For two minutes, nothing happened, and there was silence. A few metres from the coach, a light on the left side of the tunnel illuminated like a pale yellow flickering candle, and then a few metres farther along another flickered, and another. Five minutes later, the first light was slightly brighter, and each successive light became more brilliant. A long chain of tiny lights started appearing off into the distance.
“Yay!” The cheer went up from the group standing near the rails at the front of the coach.
Cherry walked across to the open door of the coach. “Hey, Paul … anything else you want fixing?”
He nodded and gave her brief and quiet applause. “Good job, Cherry—you’re a star.”
For several minutes the lights all became brighter until there was an unmistakable line of yellow lights which reflected on the left sides of the rails throughout the tunnel.
Bill approached. “Thank you, Cherry. That is first-class. I’ve explained to the main group that we want to let the lights settle for half an hour. If all is good at the end of that time, the first ones listed for a meal can start walking through the tunnel, led by Calvin.”
“When do the next bunch go?”
“Steph will lead them half an hour after the first group. That will leave you, me, Paul and Dawn.”
“Okay,” she said. “It’ll be safe for those who’d like to get back onboard now. You can show me the first of these old telephones you told me about.”
Bill briefed Paul and Dawn and headed along the tunnel with Cherry, complete with a flashlight and small toolbox from the coach.
Alan and Craig were slowly making their way along in the darkness, the low flashlight beam pointing a few metres ahead on the rails. Every now and then they’d see a faint light ahead as they neared one of the portals. It became a challenge to see who’d be first to spot the next one.
They’d passed the time asking each other about their working lives before the end of normality as they knew it. Alan talked of the tedious nature of spending a lot of time trying to control situations alone from an office, whereas Craig was accustomed to pitching new ideas or products to groups of clients.
The difficulty of walking along a railway line, and avoiding accidental trips on the sleepers was made more hazardous by hunger and tiredness.
“I think I can see the next maintenance portal, yeah?” Craig said.
“You’ve definitely got better eyesight than me in the dark then,” Alan said. “We must still be about half a mile from there.”
“How far do you think we’ve covered, Alan?”
“We’ve passed two MPs so we must have gone about three or four miles. I’d say about a mile to go, but we’re doing okay, mate.”
“I know I must have sounded like a real idiot early on, but it’s great the way that everybody is pulling together. We must have so many skills within the group, yeah?”
“That’s true, Craig, and it doesn’t matter how small a part a person plays, we’re in an exclusive club in here. We’re all responsible for each other’s wellbeing.”
The pair fell silent for a while and walked on slowly until a flicker of light nearby caught their attention, and they stopped walking.
“Alan … look … that’s not a portal light … it’s yellow … bloody hell … they’re lighting all the way along.”
“Cherry said she’d do it,” Alan said.
“Is that the tall black girl … the attractive, tall black girl, yeah?”
“You noticed her then?” Alan laughed as they set off again but with the flashlight off.
“It would be hard not to notice her, and in different circumstances—”
“Hey, hold that thought, Craig. We’re survivors, remember?”
“Yes, I suppose the thought of getting to know her will keep me going, yeah?”
Alan laughed and pointed to the left side of the tunnel wall ahead of them. “If this is her handiwork, she already lights up our lives.”
Craig laughed, and for a brief moment, forgot the circumstances they were all in.
The walk through the tunnel felt like a daylight stroll. They were able to see the line of small yellow lights far into the distance.
It was half an hour later when they reached the back of Harry’s old abandoned train.
“Bloody hell,” Craig said when they were a few hundred metres away. “I can see it from here … it really is a train, yeah?”
When they arrived at the carriages, there were brief introductions. Between Alan and Craig, they briefed Harry and Victoria on what the committee had suggested.
“We’re well on the way,” Harry said. “Bill returned to you guys with a good idea of what we could rustle up. I’ve got the vegetables ready and waiting, rationed to give everybody a meal. We might not have the best crockery or utensils, but we’ve salvaged what we could from the MPs.”
“Should I start with the cooking of the food now, Harry?” The pretty blonde botanist was busy preparing what would be cooked.
“Yes, please, Victoria. Remember, no peeling, just clean the veg and cook it as it comes ready to feed the first group.”
Craig half-turned. “Amazing.” He sniffed. “I’ll go outside and sit on the step for a while … you know … watch for the first guys coming, yeah?”
“Okay, mate,” Alan said. “I’ll stay here and help these two.” He turned to Harry and pointed to his eyes as he whispered, “Craig is a bit highly strung, so all this positivity is hitting him hard.”
“It’s okay,” Harry said. “I think it’s to be expected.”
Victoria leant closer from where she was arranging food. “Harry had a minor breakdown to deal with yesterday … or whenever it was.” She gave a token smile.
The academic smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I told you, you’ll be fine. You’re a brave girl, Victoria, and you’ll be invaluable to our efforts in here and onward.”
“It was thanks to another young woman that we’ve got those lights working,” Alan said.
“Gender means nothing right now,” Harry whispered
, “but it will if we’re to survive as a race.”
Victoria half-turned and smiled at the man who had captivated most of the female students he’d addressed during his lectures. “Fate is a strange thing,” Victoria murmured.
10 - We need a Volunteer
The group found advances and a level of organisation that few of them would have imagined possible even twenty-four hours earlier.
Hillwalking and hiking over the countryside were quite different to trying to maintain a steady pace over the wooden sleepers of an ancient railway track in a dimly-lit tunnel, mile after mile. Each person had been briefed to carry two water bottles, and they’d been allocated accommodation.
In their environment, time meant nothing. By the evening every person had enjoyed a simple meal of potato and two other pieces of veg. They all dined in the comfort of the old train carriages, or Harry’s Place as it was nicknamed. There were no complaints when the choice of a hot drink was Chamomile tea or Jasmine tea.
While Victoria and Alan dealt with serving food and drink, Jay-Dee, Fiona and Linda volunteered to perform cleaning duties to maintain an operational system. And so it was at that for the first sequence of meals, a botanist, a senior executive, a male nurse, a dentist and a prison governor were the kitchen staff for a while.
Bill and Cherry arrived at Harry’s Place, both tired but feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Cherry went into the carriage holding a small wind-up telephone and a length of cable. “Where would you like this installed, Harry?”
“Oh, my god. Where did that come from?”
“Each of the MPs had one fitted,” Cherry said. “Bill and I discussed it and made a decision after finding a reel of cable. At one end of the tunnel, we have the coach, and this end we have your train carriages. We opted to give both ends a connection and commandeered the phones from the two MPs closest to the tunnel ends.”
