After It Happened (Book 1): Survival

by Devon C. Ford

  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 serv
ice.

  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.

  NEW WORLD ORDER

  Breakfast was early, Penny saw to that as she started cooking the eggs and bacon singing what sounded like hymns.

  One by one the survivors came out into the world. When they were all gathered, Penny cleared her throat and called for everyone’s attention.

  “Good morning everyone” she paused. Dan wasn’t sure if they were expected to chorus ‘good morning’ back to her.

  “I have drawn up plans for today, I hope you don’t mind me taking the liberty?” She paused again, scanning the group. On hearing and seeing no exceptions raised she continued with confidence.

  “Sit, everyone, please” she fussed

  “Now, our immediate supply issues are well catered for as the contents of this supermarket would sustain us for many months. However, we have further considerations if we intend to spend the coming winter in any form of comfort…”

  “Daniel here has set us all on a path, to some extent. It’s fair to say that many of us would be wandering without much in the way of purpose had this man not sought to bring us together for a common cause.”

  Dan realised that Penny was clearly used to public speaking, even if she did have a tendency to address the group as though they were children in her school. He was half expecting a flip chart to be produced at any moment.

  “Our long term survival depends on our ability to seek out more survivors and create a society that can be sustained in the future without the modern comforts we are all accustomed to” Leah and Kev had already lost track of the speech entirely, but seemed glued to Penny’s words anyway, waiting to hear their names. Penny glanced at Dan, who got a sense that she was asking his permission to proceed. He gave a subtle nod as he bent his head to his black coffee, encouraging her to press on.

  “Our priority is to find others like us, but the problem in doing so is that we may quickly overrun ourselves with mouths to feed, so to speak. To that end, and in anticipation of further additions, I have tasked everyone as follows:”

  Nobody argued, not that they had a choice as Penny went on with her tasking.

  “James and Kevin. You two are now our chief recovery agents. You are to empty your vehicle and collect the supplies marked by Daniel on his map. I have prioritised these, and listed them for you. I am assured that you know how to use the new equipment to enter these premises?” She referred to the circular cutting saw recovered yesterday.

  “No problem” said Jimmy “me and Kev will have it all back here ready for tea” he added with a smile.

  “Wonderful” said Penny “Neil, with your expertise, might I suggest that you be named our head of engineering? Your impressive display with the petrol solution and previous experience make you the ideal candidate.” She carried on, without waiting for agreement or assent, which Dan could tell annoyed Neil. Not because he had any objection but because he knew him well enough already to recognise when he was going to quote a film in a perfect mimic of the actor.

  “I’d like you to take Andrew with you today, and collect another caravan from the place you found. With instruction, he should be able to bring it back here in preparation. Another vehicle for him would be in order too. After that, if you could return and continue your search of the industrial area as discussed”

  Neil nodded, raising his coffee in salute.

  “Andrew, after collecting a vehicle and caravan with Neil and being shown how to arrange it properly, I would be grateful if you would continue to recover and load supplies from the supermarket into our lorry here” she said, indicating Neil’s truck.

  Andrew agreed. Dan thought he didn’t seem the type of person to disagree much.

  “Daniel” Penny moved on, fixing him with a look. A look that almost pleaded for support, like only he and she knew how very important to was to establish a hierarchy this early and to have an unchallenged leadership.

  “If you could kindly continue your search of the area, mark buildings that you wish James and Kevin to empty for the group, and focus your attention towards finding us a permanent site?”

  Dan paused. He was genuinely happy that Penny was taking the lead, as he simply didn’t have the patience with people to do this kind of thing every day, but he didn’t think it wise to fold immediately to instruction and be seen as just one of the pawns of the group. He needed to retain or establish a kind of leadership role to the others; the better for making decisions that they would need to listen to if push came to shove. He didn’t want to ride roughshod over Penny’s newly accepted social leadership, so this needed to be worded carefully.

  “Good plan Penny, but Jimmy and Kev have enough locally to be getting on with. I need to make a trip to gather some sensitive supplies which are key to our future. I may be away overnight.” He left it there, with a heavy hint of something secret.

  “I’ll resume my scouting locally after this unless there are any objections?” Nobody had any.

  “Very well. I shall stay here, prepare food for later and assist in the disposal of the spoiled goods.” Dan noticed that she had deliberately given herself a job which would turn most peop
le’s stomachs. Clever move. He reminded himself to offer Penny a gas mask before he went. She continued, “We all have our jobs to do, shall we continue within the hour?”

  Everyone went to get up, when Leah said “What about me?”

  That stopped everyone where they were, and Penny said “You will stay here and assist me” She went to leave, and everyone took their cues from her.

  “I want to help Dan” Leah said.

  An air of awkwardness shadowed the group. Penny didn’t know how to squash Leah’s ambition without hurting her feelings and embarrassing her publicly.

  “Leah, how about you come with me after I’m back?” said Dan, trying to rescue the situation from the possibility of a teenage strop.

  Leah thought about this for a few seconds before saying, “Ok, but you promised so you have to take me.” She said with a beaming smile.

  That seemed fair.

  Penny came to find him a short time later, and saw him in conversation with Neil.

  “Gentlemen, I do hope you don’t think me too forward?” she asked hopefully.

  “Not at all, Penny” said Dan. “We were just saying how glad we are that you are taking control; we need your organisational skills to keep this group together and moving with a purpose. I didn’t want to say in front of everyone, but I’m going to an army camp I know and it’s a couple of hours away at least. To do this properly I’ll need time to recce the area and make sure it’s safe.”

  Both Penny and Neil started to raise objections simultaneously, but Dan held up his hands.

  “Trust me, I’m capable. And I’m going to be very careful.” Dan reasoned, “We need to be aware that people may want to take what we have, and until we are strong enough as a group then we need to consider some kind of guard. I’d like Neil to stay home for now, unless we find someone able to protect the camp when I’m away. In the interim I don’t want him far from the camp. If someone turns up again like Andrew did, then I want you two” he pointed at Neil and Penny in turn “to stay in radio contact using the walkie-talkies. If you can’t get him, blast the horn on the truck and he’ll come back”