Light At The End | Book 1 | Surviving The Apocalypse

by Benson, Tom

  “One of the most ironic aspects of this is … our three squads served together in the Middle East last year as part of a peace-keeping force.”

  “Sandy, there hasn’t been peace in the Middle East since a carpenter’s son was crucified.”

  Both men laughed at the statement. For a few minutes, they discussed how best to deal with the migration of the survivors and then they fell silent again.

  Bill and Sandy appeared from amongst the greenery of the glass corridor. A massive cheer went up from within the mouth of the tunnel.

  “It sounds like you’re Mr Popular around here,” Sandy said.

  “Nah, it’s probably the sight of two good-looking men together.”

  The pair were still laughing when Harry and a few of the others came forward to meet them at the inner brick wall.

  “Hello again,” Harry said. “We’ve got everybody and each is carrying the little that they own.”

  “Okay, mate,” Bill said. “If you stay to one side a minute I’d like you to speak to Sandy here when the rest of our gang get moving.”

  “No problem.” Harry stood back.

  Bill raised his hands for silence which descended rapidly. “We have a new home, and our immediate future is brighter. Paul, Alan and Calvin, would you come forward please?” He paused and addressed the main group when the hubbub died down again. “In a moment after we’ve briefed these three guys, I’d like you all to leave here in a single file and carefully follow the route which has been marked in the glass corridor between the tunnels. This is important because we have an interest in not damaging the greenery out there.”

  Paul, Alan and Calvin had quietly introduced themselves to Sandy and then stood to one side to hear his briefing. The three survivors left the tunnel and went to their appointed positions. Calvin and Paul walked through the corridor and into the Auchcarn tunnel.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Paul said, as Calvin left him at the junction with the main internal road and sauntered to the far end where he’d wait to ensure everybody went straight to the Visitors’ Centre.

  Alan waited just inside the corridor to lead the group, mainly to prevent a rush, which would destroy the vegetation. Five minutes after the three men had been sent to their positions, Bill nodded for Alan to lead everybody else on their way. Each person was wearing their backpack and carrying a bottle of water … a small indication of their revised mindset. Water was a sacred commodity.

  Murmurs of thanks and sobbing could be heard during the mass exodus. The final person in the line was Victoria, who like many others was wiping her eyes as she stepped through the two gaps of brickwork and made her way into comparative light. “I’ve got Cherry’s backpack, Bill. Calvin and Paul have Steph’s and Craig’s, and Norman has yours.”

  Bill, Sandy, and Harry remained, plus the person who had received an imperceptible nod from Bill.

  “Excuse me, gents,” Bill said. “Norman wanted a quiet word before we moved out of here.”

  Harry said, “I’ll give Sandy a quick tour of my carriages, so he knows what we hope to take out of here.”

  “Good idea,” Bill said, glanced over his shoulder and then turned to the big Forestry Commission operative. “What’s up, Norman?”

  “Your backpack.”

  “Thanks, mate.” Bill slung the backpack over one shoulder. “What was the problem you wanted to discuss?”

  “There was a guy who had a fatal accident shortly after our arrival in the tunnel.”

  “Yes, his name was Ken.”

  “I don’t think that it was an accident. I believe he was murdered, and I have a suspicion who killed him.”

  13 - Introductions

  Norman whispered, “The murderer is a woman who has mingled somehow and become one of the passengers on the coach.” The forester’s voice was kept low although Bill had ushered him to stand between the end of the old train and the tunnel exit. Nobody was around to overhear the rest of their conversation.

  “Who suggested it wasn’t an accident?” Bill was intrigued to know how Norman could work out that it was a female killer. He wondered if Chloe, Steph or Anne had broken their word and said something.

  Norman glanced over his shoulder back into the darkness. “Nobody has suggested it, Bill, but over the past forty-eight hours, I’ve kept my eyes and ears open.”

  “What makes you so sure of your suspicions?”

  “I don’t know if you’re acquainted with the three murders in the Scottish Highlands over the past six months. Two of the bodies were discovered deep in the forests.”

  “Yes, and the three victims were all men, which is why I remember them. It’s highly unusual to have a serial killer stalking men.”

  “One of those men was Malcolm, a good friend of mine, and Chloe knew him too. A member of this group of survivors is wearing our late friend’s bracelet. Malcolm was murdered while working in the forest three months ago. When we found his body, he was wearing a ring and a watch, but his bracelet was gone.”

  “You’re certain it’s your friend’s bracelet?”

  “Malcolm’s bracelet was altered. His wife had a gold link added among the silver links so it made the item unique.”

  “It would be hard to see the difference between silver and gold links in this tunnel, Norman. You could be mistaken, mate.”

  “It was hard to see any difference, but I was sitting near my suspect yesterday in Harry’s Place, enjoying our meagre veggie meal. Under those strange LED things that Harry uses for light, the difference between gold and silver is pretty damn obvious. Earlier when we were all standing around waiting for you to come back, I got a closer look.” He nodded towards the gap at the entrance. “In decent light there, the difference was easy to see. She’s wearing Malcolm’s bracelet.”

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Patsy, if she’s using her real name. People were talking about the jobs they did before this adventure, and I overheard her say she’s worked in prisons.” Norman held a hand out to his front. “She stands about this height to me, so she’s probably about five-nine and a handsome-looking woman … maybe in her mid-thirties.”

  “Okay, mate. Who else have you told about this?”

  “Nobody.”

  “Good. Thanks for keeping this quiet. As you’ll remember, we listed everybody by name and occupation to avoid losing track of anybody. I’ll speak to Steph and Dawn because Steph has the handwritten list of our brief interviews. We’ll see if Dawn’s tablet still works, and we should be able to double-check who joined the coach and when.”

  “I know we shouldn’t advocate vigilante justice, Bill, but there is a murderer in our midst—”

  Bill held up a hand. “Norman, I come from a background where summary justice was condoned in the right circumstances. If it looks like somebody among us has a case to answer, I’ll include you in the decision making.”

  “I appreciate it, Bill, and I won’t mention it to anybody else.”

  Bill nodded. “We’ll get it fixed, mate. We haven’t come through all this shit to have decent people killed by some heartless bastard, be it a man or a woman.” Bill didn’t see the need to tell Norman that a select few people were aware of the killer’s existence.

  “Hey,” Harry said. “You two are looking serious. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine, mate,” Bill said. “Norman was getting a bit apprehensive about not being able to stay in this cold, damp shit-hole of a tunnel.”

  Harry, Sandy and Norman all laughed.

  “The dark humour really never leaves you, does it?” Sandy said.

  “No, mate. Sometimes it’s all we’ve got to keep us sane.” Bill looked from Sandy to Harry and then Norman. “If you guys all have your backpacks, are we ready to go and see how our friends are doing?”

  “Let’s go,” Sandy said. “On the way, we can talk about what Harry and I have discussed in his train.” The soldier shook his head. “That is one incredible set-up in there, and I reckon he probably saved
a couple of lives just by being here.”

  “I don’t know about saving lives,” Bill said. “When he first made himself known it was pitch dark and I nearly had a bloody heart attack.”

  The others laughed and they all set off through the foliage of the glass corridor. They were in good spirits at the thought of what was being left behind and what lay ahead.

  “I’m delighted to see you again, Ramona,” Bill said. “You’re the queen of the kitchen from what I’ve been hearing.” He held the gaze of the voluptuous woman in her whites.

  “And you’re the leader of the pack from what I’ve been hearing.”

  “Hardly the leader, just somebody who wanted to try and keep everything together when it was likely to fall apart.”

  “I hope vegetarian pizza is okay for you. When the soldiers told me earlier that we might be rising in number, I prepared something simple.”

  “It looks delicious, and I’m sure it will be, thank you.”

  “We’ll talk again later, Bill.”

  “I look forward to it.” He turned at the end of the self-service counter and surveyed the faces of people he’d only seen in half-light for the past couple of days.

  “Bill,” Sandy called and waved.

  Bill nodded and joined the NCO, who was at a table with Steph and Harry. “Where’s Norman … he arrived with us?”

  “He’s over there,” Steph said. “He’s catching up with his colleague, Chloe and a couple of other people. Now that you’ve got a bite to eat, it looks like everybody’s been served.”

  While Bill fed, he glanced up and nodded to Steph when she poured tea for him. “Thanks, Steph. A week ago this would have been a snack on the go, but right now … it’s a feast.” He slurped tea. “No offence, Harry, but I hope this traditional stuff lasts a while.”

  “No offence taken, Bill, and I’m confident that before long, I’ll be training you all to drink herbal.”

  While the four of them ate and drank tea their conversation was sporadic. All around the cafeteria were tables of people who were learning to appreciate the simplest things in life and contrasting behaviour was easy to see. At one table two or three people were excited about the change in their fortunes, while at other tables were two, three or four people who barely spoke, still in shock. If asked they would all no doubt agree that they were in a surreal set of circumstances.

  Bill lifted his tea and slowly looked around, catching the occasional nod and smile from different folk. He’d got to know his fellow travelling companions better than he had ever intended when the coach tour had started.

  “This is the Bill we’ve come to know and respect, Sandy.” Steph nodded towards the man, she always called their leader. “You’re now witnessing how he spends half of his time, assessing where we’re at and planning the next move.”

  Sandy nodded. “I’m glad we’ve got him. I hardly know the man and I can tell he’s a safe pair of hands.”

  “No pressure,” Bill said, which caused the others at the table to laugh. “Talking of pressure, where are the guys who are maintaining this place?”

  Sandy said, “I told them I’d take you up to the Control Centre after you’d eaten.”

  “Has somebody organised where people can get their heads down—”

  “Hey,” Steph said. “Take some time off. Sandy’s colleague, Flint, took us around on a quick tour of the different areas earlier, so everybody has a place to sleep tonight. There is padded seating around the Visitors’ Centre and Admin areas, so most will have a comfortable rest. Some of our people will be happy to sleep on a clean floor at the temperature in here.”

  Sandy said, “Within the first twenty-four hours of assessing our situation, I got together with Ramona to set up routine meal-times. We needed to maintain some sense of order.”

  Harry laughed. “Well, Steph, having heard what our new friend, Sandy, is like, I think the rest of us might as well do as we’re told from now on. All we have to do is keep Bill and Sandy on a shift system to make decisions.”

  There was another bout of subdued laughter at the table.

  Steph said, “You two leave your crockery and get off to meet the Auchcarn staff. There are plenty of us to clean up and organise things.”

  “Come on, mate,” Sandy said and nodded his thanks to the two remaining at the table. He led Bill out of the cafeteria. “It’s a five-minute walk.”

  Sandy tapped on the Control Centre door before pushing it open.

  The room was twenty metres long by ten wide. Cushioned seating took up half the length of one wall, and there was a booth with a table and seating. Along the length of another wall and down one side were banks of monitors and control panels with digital meters and keypads. A slim, dark-haired man sat on a swivel seat at the massive console.

  An attractive blonde woman was sitting at another part of the console.

  “Hi guys,” Sandy said. “I’ve brought the alien leader to meet you … this is Bill.”

  “I’m Des, the duty technicians.” The man who’d been facing the instrument panels left his position to shake Bill’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, Bill.”

  “Good to meet you, Des.” Bill nodded and turned to the woman.

  “Hi, Bill, I’m Tracey, the duty firefighter.” The thirty-something shook hands with the visitor.

  “Delighted,” Bill said, meeting her gaze before he turned to look at the wall of lights, switches, monitors and controls. Most of the dials were reading zero, and the majority of the lights were red.

  “Do we have any indication of power being used?” Bill said.

  Des half-turned. “The only place we know power is being used is here, in the facility. We’re still doing shifts, and I’ve been teaching Tracey what to do so we can share the responsibility and get rest. There’s a lot to take in, mate. If you want to rest that head of yours for a few hours, there’s a couch there.”

  “I was keen to make sure everybody was—”

  Sandy placed a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “I brought you to meet these guys so you could be in here in peace and quiet and relax. It was Steph’s idea if you want to argue.” He smiled. “Get your head down, and I’ll come and give you a shout for breakfast.”

  The soldier, the technician and the firefighter were all looking at Bill. They’d been told he had given every ounce of energy for the benefit of others. They were all smiling as he stood there, eyelids obviously heavy.

  Five minutes later, Bill was stretched out on a padded seat sleeping soundly. A blanket was placed over him and he was left to recover.

  Day Five

  Wednesday 1st June

  Steph and Dawn arrived in the cafeteria together before anybody else, or so they thought.

  “Good morning,” Victoria said from the service side of the counter and gave a cheery smile. “We’ve set up tea over there. Is it two breakfasts as listed?”

  They both nodded, and Victoria leant through the hatch to the kitchen area to tell Ramona.

  Steph said, “How is it looking for volunteers to help Ramona?”

  Victoria said, “I gave her my name last night, and she’s got maybe six names now, including mine.”

  Dawn said, “I imagine the best thing would be for all of us to get involved, perhaps on a rolling rota.”

  “We could bring that up at today’s briefing,” Steph said. “I’m sure everybody will be happy to do their bit.”

  “A couple of the men have given their names already,” Victoria said.

  “Two breakfasts,” Ramona said at the hatch. “Hi there.”

  “Hi,” Steph and Dawn chorused before they set off to a table in a distant corner of the room, and then Dawn fetched two hot drinks.

  “How did it go with your data reader, Dawn?”

  “It hasn’t held a charge since we first entered the tunnel and that nuclear EMP or whatever Bill called it has sent the damned thing haywire.” She grinned. “There is some good news though … if I have the tablet plugged into a power point it
works after a fashion.”

  “When we’ve had this meal, we need to find a place where we’ll be sure of no disturbances.”

  “Where did you say that Bill went last night?”

  “Sandy took him to the Control Centre because it’s now one of the quietest places in the entire installation.”

  “What exactly did Norman say to you yesterday, Steph?”

  “He asked if everybody was happy to give their occupation when we did our initial interviews on Day One.”

  “Did he explain why it was important to him?”

  Steph stopped with her cup at her lips. “He said he believes somebody in the passenger list is a fake. Only a couple of us know the details we uncovered following our interviews. I asked Norman to hold back yesterday to have a word with Bill.”

  “Here comes Sandy,” Dawn said. “He’d be able to get us introduced in the Control Centre.”

  “Hi, Sandy.”

  “Hello Steph,” the soldier said and turned. “And it’s … Dawn, isn’t it?”

  “It is and hello to you.”

  Steph explained that they had a delicate matter to deal with and would appreciate a place where they could plug in a device but not be disturbed.

  “Is it concerning your group?”

  “Yes,” Steph said. “Bill is aware of the problem, but we’re trying to keep it to a small circle. We were wondering if you could get us access to the Control Centre or somewhere similar.”

  “Either Des or Tracey has to be in there, at least until we can train somebody else. A duty operator has to learn the basics of the equipment to know when there might be a problem.” He gulped tea. “How about me going with you from here? I’ll sit chatting with whoever is on duty to cover up what you two are talking about.”

  “Genius,” Dawn said. “We’ll have secrecy in plain sight.”

  Steph said, “We saw Des leaving here as we came in this morning.”

  “Good,” Sandy said. “That means he’s going on shift this morning, and I know Tracey is taking Bill on a tour of the installation some time after breakfast. He saw some of it last night, but he probably didn’t take it all in.” He laughed. “The man has a constant thirst for knowledge.”