Aftermath: The Complete Collection (Books 1 & 2)

by John Wilkinson

  ‘Thank you Nathan, it’s much appreciated. She didn’t seem to recognize me at first, and I didn’t know how to deal with that. But the fog seems to be lifting now, this morning she’s been talking about us more, remembering things about our life.’ We walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, picking up the cast iron kettle and filling it with water from the sink, we then went outside and placed it over the makeshift oven pit and started making a fire.

  What happened at the mill Roy? I lost you, how did you find Nancy?’

  ‘I don’t really know, it was luck more than anything. I couldn’t see any faces, I was panicking, running around like an idiot, shouting her name in vain. But I had to find her, I wasn’t going back without her. Then I saw the unmistakable sight of a pregnant body amongst the madness. My eyes focused on her, removing all the chaos around me, I just ran through the bodies, when I reached her I grabbed her arm and turned to run but she didn’t move. When I turned back around, I was face to face with one of the guards.’

  ‘How far away was he?’

  ‘Ten yards, if that. We looked at each other for what seemed like an age, he never moved, never drew his gun, women were running past us in all directions. Simon appeared from behind, grabbing my shoulder, ‘Move, move’ he shouted, and we turned and fled.’

  ‘Did he shoot at you?’

  ‘No, I don’t recall any shots being fired.’

  ‘Why would he not shoot? I don’t understand’

  ‘I don’t know either, maybe he didn’t want to get shot himself. Simon had his gun aimed at him, but he didn’t fire either, we couldn’t, we would have hit the women. The guard never even raised his weapon.’

  We sat and chatted over a freshly boiled cup of tea, a luxury I think will soon be lost. I simply cannot understand why the guard didn’t shoot, what was he afraid of? Why did he allow us to rescue Nancy and free all those women? He cannot have been worried about hitting anyone, they had been ruthless with the women at the entrance, killing them with no remorse, and the bodies in the woods. But the thing that worries me the most is what was going on in that mill? I grabbed some food from Simon, who was making lunch for everyone, and headed to my room to update my diary.

  3/11/2027 - Time 22:00

  There was a knock at my door around four p.m., it was Steve letting me know Nancy was downstairs. After spending the past thirty six hours in her room, she finally felt well enough to see us. I had just finished putting the final entry into my diary, so I went downstairs slightly apprehensive of what I would find, I had my suspicions as to why Roy had been hiding her away, and was now forcing her to face questions. When I got downstairs, everyone was in the front room, Roy and Nancy were sat together on the same sofa I was introduced to them on. Simon was sat on the chair opposite and Steve was standing, warming himself by the crackling fire.

  ‘Nathan’ said Nancy, ‘I hear you’ve been worried about me, which is lovely, but I’m feeling much better now.’

  ‘That’s really good to hear,’ I replied ‘You certainly had us all concerned, how’s the baby doing?’

  ‘She’s doing really well, lots of moving around, isn’t she?’ Nancy said, looking at Roy.

  ‘He sure is, I think he’s just about ready to pop out and say hello’ he replied, smiling as he caressed her belly. ‘Nancy is convinced we have a girl on the way, but I’m pretty sure it’s Roy Junior.’

  Nancy smiled before replying ‘A mother...’

  ‘Knows’ interrupted Roy, ‘We will see.’

  ‘So you do remember us all Nancy?’ Simon asked, ‘And what happened?’

  ‘Of course I remember you Simon, my short term memory is fine, it’s my long term memory that’s been slow to recover. I remember you both arriving at the b&b, in terrible condition, having to nurse you both better and treat your leg wound. It’s the early part of my life I’ve been struggling with, how Roy and I met, my childhood, but it’s slowly coming back.’

  ‘What about the night you were abducted, what do you recall about that?’ Simon asked.

  ‘I cannot remember much about that night, I recall Lee was taking us to a doctors somewhere, the conditions were terrible, mud and ash blowing around. I have a vague memory of reaching a built up area, but nothing after that, I don’t even remember being rescued. Roy told me what Lee did, how he betrayed us.’

  ‘I don’t think it was as cut and dry as that’ I interrupted, ‘I think Lee was forced into his actions, but I don’t know why. There are things going on we don’t yet understand.’

  ‘Like what?’ Roy responded, looking angry his story was being undermined.

  ‘I don’t know, but things aren’t as they seem. Why were all those females being kept in that mill? What had happened to them?’

  ‘This is bullshit’ said Roy, ‘I don’t know what they did inside that place, and I don’t want to know. I have Nancy back and that’s all I care about.’

  ‘So you don’t know what happened to you while you were in that building Nancy?’ Steve asked.

  ‘I have no memory of that I’m sorry, Roy told me some men had me’ she said. ‘But I don’t recall any of it.’

  ‘It’s true’ said Steve, ‘You’re lucky to be alive, the poor women at the entrance were not so fortunate.’

  ‘Which women?’

  ‘I think that’s enough about that’ interrupted Roy, ‘You are starting to stress Nancy and the baby out with all these questions, we would both like to thank you for sticking around and helping us with the birth, it’s much appreciated. Nancy’s tired, and needs to get some more rest.’ She was taken off to bed by Roy, whose blinkered attitude was becoming a worry. But I certainly feel better about Nancy now, she’s nothing like the disorientated and scared girl we rescued two nights ago. She seemed comfortable with Roy and didn’t appear to have been forced into facing us, and with her memories starting to return, we might get a few answers as to what happened at the mill. That’s still the million dollar question, what were they doing with all those females, and why did they let us free them all. I hope this birth goes well, they deserve something to go right for them. Simon had been busy while Steve and myself were out, getting a bedroom ready for the birth, with plastic sheets on the bed and all the essentials to hand, I think we are as ready as possible under these circumstances.

  4/11/2027 - Time 11:47

  At two thirty a.m., in bed half asleep, I could hear voices in my head shouting, it took a while for me to come around and realise I wasn’t dreaming. I vaguely remember Steve in my room, standing at the bottom of my bed, shouting something at me, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I rose, disorientated but fully dressed, it’s too cold to sleep any other way. I quickly unhooked the laces from my shoes, cursing the fact I had forgot to do so the night before, as we would need them to tie the umbilical cord. I picked up my torch and headed towards the bedroom Simon had prepared, worried I had slept through the birth. When I got there I shone the light around the room, and on the bed, but it was empty and clearly hadn’t been used. The light from my torch was starting to flicker as I walked back out onto the landing, I noticed a figure at the end of the corridor heading downstairs. I shouted to him but it was to late, they vanished down the stairs. The house was strangely quiet, as I reached Roy and Nancy’s room I felt a cool draft coming through the slightly open door, as I walked in I was immediately struck by how cold it was. There was a hole the size of a football in the wood panel used to board up the window, the wood had splintered and the curtains were flapping wildly in the wind. I could hear a kind of muttering noise but couldn’t determine its location, I shone the flickering torchlight over the bed, which was covered in blood. With the light I followed the blood trail under my feet, lifting them where it was sticking to my socks. I could see the outline of a body in the far right hand corner of the room, I followed the blood trail which lead straight to it. Nancy was laid on the floor with her eyes open, she was looking at me, but not blinking. I leaned over her body and checked her pulse, although I alre
ady knew she was dead from the colour of her skin. Her nightdress was riding up her body, exposing a huge gaping hole in her stomach, bits of skin and bone were covering the immediate area, they crunched and squelched as I walked over them. ‘Where’s the baby?’ I shouted, ‘Roy where’s the baby?’ He was laid on his back in the opposite corner of the room, muttering to himself. ‘Did you cut the baby out? Where is it? Roy.’ I grabbed him and gave him a shake, but he continued to give no response. Just then, something outside caught my eye, I moved closer to the hole in the wood and peered out. In the darkness outside there was a torchlight, I could just make out a figure in the darkness, it seemed to be searching for something. I picked up a clean blanket off a pile by the side of the bed and covered Nancy’s body from head to foot, as a voice from behind said,‘She’s dead.’

  ‘I know Roy, I’m sorry, what happened? Where’s the baby?’

  ‘The baby is dead too, look closely and you’ll see. There was a creature inside her, she was in so much pain but I thought it was normal. It burst out of her, it was horrific, there was so much blood.’

  I removed the blanket and took a closer look at the wound, inside I could see the remains of the baby, I covered her back up again. ‘What happened Roy?’

  ‘We were both asleep, and everything was quiet. When she woke up in pain, I thought it was starting, so I shouted for help. Simon came first, followed by Steve. I sent Simon to boil the water, for sterilising the equipment, everything seemed fine, she wasn’t in too much pain. All of a sudden she started screaming and writhing around on the bed, I didn’t know what to expect with a birth, so I thought it was normal, but it wasn’t normal. The pain didn’t stop, like with contractions, she was doubled over in constant pain. By the time I realized something was wrong it was too late, I could see something moving around inside her, the skin bulging and folding. She grabbed hold of me, pleading for me to stop the pain, I was trying to calm her down when it suddenly burst out of her, there was so much blood. She was screaming, hauling herself along the floor towards the window in the corner of the room, where the creature exited. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t see the creature, it was dark and it moved quick, but I heard it. I tried to save her but she had gone, she died right there in my arms, asking if our baby was OK.’

  ‘What happened to the creature?’

  ‘I don’t know, I just heard it scurrying along the floor and then the wood cracking and splintering, Steve went out after it.’

  ‘Listen Roy, I’m going outside to see what’s going on, you stay here, do you understand?’

  When I got outside, I could see a flickering torchlight in the distance, I ran towards it until it disappeared, I shouted a few times but with no response, I headed back. It was freezing, particularly without a coat, Steve didn’t turn up for another forty minutes, he followed the creature as far as he could but it eventually disappeared into the darkness. When he arrived back he was cold, wet and tired, we all sat in the living room in silence, dumbstruck by what had just happened. We must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember was being woken at ten forty three a.m., by shouting coming from the kitchen. A quick glance around the room identified Roy as the culprit. Steve and Simon thought I should speak to him, having lost my wife, but I have never been that person. I struggle to know what to say, what can you say? I’ve watched people who are good in those situations and wished it was a trait of mine, but sadly it wasn’t. My parents were probably the same, certainly my father, he couldn’t let his emotions out either, but without him and my mum, I would have been lost after Jane’s death. The kitchen had been trashed, pots and pans littering the floor. Roy was leaning against the work top with his head in his hands, he sensed my arrival and lifted his head to speak.

  ‘Did you see what it did to my baby Nathan?’

  ‘Yeah I did Roy, I’m sorry.’

  ‘What’s going on? I don’t understand, I think I’m going insane.’

  ‘What happened is unexplainable, I’m not going to try. I don’t know what’s happened to this planet, but we have to remain strong.’

  ‘Strong? What are you talking about? My wife is dead, eaten from the inside, not before it ate my unborn child, in what way am I to be strong? Everything I had is gone, everything I cared about. I’ve got nothing left.’ He picked up a knife from the drainage board and placed it against his shaking wrist, his eyes becoming redder with every tear. ‘I don’t want to continue living in this world, like this, I’d rather die now.’

  ‘I know it looks hopeless but you have us, we will help you. I lost my wife and child, I know what you are going through, I had those feelings too. I know the pain feels like it will never end, but it will get better with time.’

  ‘How is it possibly going to improve for me? What’s left for me now? The world’s gone to shit.’

  ‘You have to let us help you Roy, please give me the knife.’

  ‘I’m going to be on my own though, you all need to leave now, I know that, it’s not like I’m asking you not to, you all have to go. But what am I gonna do? I’ve got nothing left to live for, nothing to fight for.’

  Roy lowered the knife and placed it on the work top as Steve and Simon entered the kitchen.

  ‘None of us know what we are doing’ said Steve. ‘We are all winging it, if you need a purpose you can come with us.’

  ‘I don’t know what to do any more’ interjected Simon. ‘Knowing what we now know, how can I leave my wife on her own, how can I pick between her and my son? I honestly don’t know what to do.’

  ‘We have to continue with the plan, we nearly died getting this far’ said Steve.

  ‘But it’s not safe, she doesn’t know what’s happened, she is completely unaware of any danger.’

  ‘Before any decisions are made, we have to give Nancy and her baby the burial they deserve’ said Steve.

  It hadn’t even occurred to me the situation Simon had found himself in, how can he choose between his wife and his child. This isn’t an unborn baby he has never met, this is a young adult, who he has loved and nurtured up to the age of nineteen. I’m glad I don’t have to make any such decision, I only have one thing to focus on.

  4/11/2027 - Time 22:15

  In the afternoon, Steve, Simon and myself went onto the field behind the b&b and dug a hole for Nancy’s grave, the ground was frozen solid, sapping what little energy we had left. It took around an hour for us to dig the hole, when we had finished, we put the spades on the floor ready for re-filling. Roy had cleaned Nancy’s body up, making her more presentable. He put her makeup on, her hair up, and dressed her in her favourite outfit. He managed to hide the trauma her body had been through, she looked like she was sleeping, and could wake at any moment. The four of us carried her body from the house and carefully placed her in the grave, and spent a minute or two in silence and thought. Roy tried to speak about her but struggled, the three of us listened as he spoke from the heart, sobbing uncontrollably at points, unable to fully articulate his feelings. As the night set in, we shovelled the mud and ash covering the ground over her body, watching her slowly disappear. Roy said he would prefer to leave her grave unmarked, which we did.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  5/11/2027 - Time 11:00

  As I woke, wrapped in blankets, I could feel the bite of the cold air on my face, it took a few seconds for yesterdays events to relight in my memory, for those few seconds I forgot the horror that had unfolded. I got up, washed the sleep from my eyes and went downstairs, through the silent house and into the back garden. I walked up to the back wall and climbed on top, looking over the field where we buried Nancy last night. I stared at the sky, as the pitiful sun tried in vain to break the charcoal cover. Smoke was rising from an undetermined location, out in the wilderness, mixing with the ashen clouds. We were going to have to move out of here soon, it didn’t feel safe any more, the conversation I had over the walkie talkie the other night had started to worry me again, I couldn’t be sure we were safe. I should have mentio
ned it to the others but I hadn’t, they had enough to worry about at the time, and now it was too late.

  I went back to my room and collected my belongings, packing them into my rucksack, which still contained all the food and water, plus other essentials I had originally packed. By the time I had finished, everyone was up, the brothers had brought their vehicle around to the front of the building, and the hood was up as they inspected the engine, checking it was still road worthy. Roy was sat outside in silence, opposite Nancy’s makeshift grave, I joined him and we talked a while about what had happened, and his plans. He appeared hesitant to join the brothers, believing they were conflicted, Simon had grown concerned about his wife after all he’d witnessed, Steve believing they should still continue with their plan. I could tell the way the conversation was going, what Roy was pushing for, and sure enough he asked to join me on my journey. I’m cautious about bringing anyone along for obvious reasons, but I couldn’t say no to him, not now. Maybe some company on the journey will be a good thing, I have no real idea what lies ahead. As the cold started to get the better of us, we headed inside to finalise our preparations, as the brothers were busy doing the same.

  5/11/2027 - Time 13:10

  We all gathered in the kitchen, and laid our maps out on the table to plan our routes. Steve and Simon would drive down the country, sticking to the countryside and fields whenever possible. My plan was to use the M6 as our guide up the country. It follows the North West coast through Northern England, ending in Glasgow, but we will follow the A702 as it leaves the A74 (M6), a days walk from Edinburgh. If we use the countryside as much as possible, keeping the motorway within eyes view, we should make the one hundred and eighty mile journey in five to seven days by my calculations, with a couple of days added on for unforeseen circumstances and weather conditions. The brothers advised us to stay away from the roads if possible, they had witnessed some bad things go down, we will just use them as a visual guide.