Aftermath: The Complete Collection (Books 1 & 2)

by John Wilkinson

  Shazia broke down, and had to be helped by those around her, it was difficult to watch. She left as his body was covered with earth, and a volley of gunshots began again. A small group of us headed to the bar on the first floor, to have a drink in celebration of Hassan’s life. We had hoped Shazia would attend, but we couldn’t convince her to. It was a solemn affair, with barely anyone talking. Normally under these circumstances, the gathering would have known the deceased, and could enjoy stories about them. But no one here knew Hassan that well, only meeting him a few days before. It was a bit awkward, until Adrian started telling a story, and bringing a smile back onto everyone’s face. ‘I remember Hassan getting his uniform’ said Adrian, as he put his beer on the table. ‘He told them he was a size forty eight, but he had lost that much weight he was more like a forty two. He wouldn’t change them though, said he had always been a forty eight. Straight after suiting, when we had to line up for inspection, he was having to hold his pants up, and Captain Jones was walking along the line inspecting everyone’s uniform. I think you were in the second group Nathan,’ said Adrian, as a smirk started to stretch across his face. ‘He won’t have told you about this, he was highly embarrassed. As Captain Jones got closer, I could see the panic in his eyes, as I tried to hold it together. But Captain Jones knew what was happening, and stopped opposite him.

  ‘Stand straight Hana, eyes forward and heels together. Get your hands out of your pockets recruit, this isn’t the fucking Freemans Catalogue’ he shouted, fully aware of what was going to happen. It seemed to take ages, but he waited, staring at Hassan, as he sweated uncomfortably. Then they dropped, like a stone, right down to his ankles. His hairy legs on show for all to see, some of the other recruits started giggling, but Captain Jones stayed stern faced the whole time. He stood looking at him, and then responded ‘Hana, your pants are by your fucking ankles, and unless you’re making a move on me, they don’t fucking belong there.’ Hassan bent down and quickly pulled them back up as Captain Jones moved on to me. As he walked, he turned to Hassan and said, ‘Just so we understand each other Hana, flattered though I am, you’re not my type.’ I saw a glint in his eye, and a little smile creeping into the corner of his mouth, before he moved onto someone else.’

  ‘It’s a good job Captain Jones found the funny side of it’ said Cox, trying to contain his amusement.

  ‘He certainly wouldn’t have found it funny the day after’ replied Adrian.

  The story opened the floodgates for more amusing memories about Hassan from the other recruits, and the rest of the afternoon flew by. Soon it was time to go and get the children for lunch, so we headed our separate ways, probably the last time we would all meet as a group. After lunch, I just wanted to spend some time with the children, as I would be away early tomorrow, and I’m not sure for how long. I had a little word with Lauren, who told me not to get myself killed. She seems to genuinely care for me, which is a turn up for the books. Not something I expected to happen again, but nice none the less. When we got back to our room, Bernard was there, collecting the dirty clothes for a trip to the wash room. The children all got changed into their pyjamas, and told me about their day. ‘We have been making a game’ said Emma excitedly. ‘And learning how to play it. James has it in his bag, can we have a game now dad, can we?’

  ‘I suppose so. What’s it called?’

  ‘Pick-a-stick.’

  ‘Oh yeah, I used to play it as a child, with your Grandma.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yeah it’s an old game, removing sticks from a pile without it collapsing.’

  ‘We have been decorating the sticks for the last two days, Mrs Brownhill said they were dry now, and we could take them home.’

  James went to the corner of the room, and picked up the bag he’d brought home, and gave it to me. Inside was a collection of colourful sticks, with an elastic band wrapped around tightly. The sticks were all various sizes, and still a bit sticky from the decoration. I pulled out the wooden side table from between the two beds, cleared everything off it and threw the sticks down in a pile. The children wouldn’t let me go first, ‘Youngest to oldest’ shouted Emma, slapping my hand. Josh went first, we allowed him a bit of leeway, being the youngest, but I was drawing the line at James. Everyone took their time taking their turn, and behaved impeccably, until my go. I had just touched my chosen stick with my finger and thumb, when everyone around me started shouting, ‘Drop it daddy’ yelled Emma, getting right in my face.

  ‘Drop it, drop it’ chanted James, at the top of his voice. I even heard Josh muttering something about a loser.

  ‘Oh that’s fair isn’t it’ I said, as the stick pile collapsed and everyone started cheering.

  ‘Mrs Brownhill told us to do that’ said Emma, in fits of laughter.

  ‘I bet she did.’

  Bernard arrived back and went straight to bed, he wished me good luck knowing I was up early in the morning. We had a couple more quiet games, before I got the children ready for bed and settled down to write my diary. Big mistake, no one fell asleep for about an hour, constantly asking me questions and wanting stuff. Eventually they dropped off, so I lay my uniform out at the bottom of my bed and went to sleep.

  3/12/27 time 23:00

  Blue and White Company are camped down for the night, on my neighbours farm on the outskirts of the Pentland Hills. Matthew and Kate Buchanan have owned the farm for as long as I can remember, and were good friends of my parents. They fed us, made us feel at home, and provided us with fresh intel on where else Kuru has been witnessed, and in which direction it seemed to be spreading.

  I didn’t sleep much last night, and decided to leave as the children slept, to make it easier for them, and for me. I remembered to pick up my diary on the way out of the door, and set off through the silent corridor towards the entrance. As I got outside the hotel, I could hear the vehicle’s engines roaring, and men’s voices from outside the football ground. I walked through the main doors, and into the body of the stadium, where I spotted my company. Everyone was giving their kit one last check over, which I did before packing it back into our vehicle. I kept my rifle on me, and went to see if I could offer any assistance, but we were pretty much on track. General Morris called everyone over to the gun range, where he was waiting behind the ammo table, with a few other soldiers. Behind him was a large map, taped to a couple of gun targets, with red markers positioned across the Pentland Hills and surrounding countryside. The hills had been split down into nine areas, like the boundaries of counties. ‘Good morning soldiers, my name is General Morris, this is General Brown and Captain Jones. As you are aware, today we are launching an offensive against the outbreak of a disease we have identified as kuru. This is the largest operation the camp has undertaken, and is a mission we feel must be successful. We accept many of you have only graduated into the army within the past two months, some of you just days ago. And we would like to have given you more time in the field, and to have partaken in dummy battles, but the opportunity was not afforded to us. First I will run over the overall mission, before each group will be briefed on their particular objectives by their sergeant.’ General Morris turned around to the map, and pointed at the centre marker, with a wooden cane he picked up off the desk.

  ‘After receiving further evidence from Private Driver, we believe the epicenter to be roughly seven miles from Edinburgh. Blue and White Company will be leading the mission, from this point, with a four mile radius search zone. Due to the unusual shape of the area, other companies will provide support in a clockwise direction roughly two miles squared each. Please check your boundaries, and be confident with your search zone before you leave the camp. The complete area of search, will cover a total range of twenty miles. The convoy will drive to Preston via the M55, then onto the M6 where you will stay until the motorway turns into the A74, and you will take the A702 towards Edinburgh. This is a three hour journey, with no obstacles, however we do believe you will encounter problems, particularly around La
ncaster, where reports suggest the motorway is impassable. You are not to engage with any of Torriero’s men, should you happen upon any, unless initiated by them. The wiping out of kuru is a sensitive subject, and must not be taken lightly. You have permission to use deadly force, but confirmation of each target must be confirmed before contact is made. Speak to your sergeant, with regards the tell tale signs of kuru, each soldier will be issued with a description, study it, know what you are looking for. All bodies of the dead must be burned, this is of paramount importance. Not just bodies, all sites, and camps must be wiped out. Any animals found to be feeding on the remains must also be destroyed, you will be equipped with a M202A1 Flamethrower to complete this task, one per vehicle. The terrain is largely open and hilly, with large areas of forest to navigate. There are also a few properties within the search zone, we believe them to be occupied, but as yet we have no confirmation, these properties must be searched. The conditions towards Edinburgh will be significantly worse than you are accustomed to, with storms, rain and snow blizzards. The air will also be thicker than you are used to, each vehicle will be carrying one, six point eight kilogram canister of oxygen. Tangerine and Royal Blues Companies will stay for a further eight weeks after the mission has been completed, to periodically sweep the area, and make sure nothing has been missed. I want confirmation this disease has been wiped out, before the mission can be considered a success. The camp has obtained twenty nine, two-way radios, protected from the effects of the EMP in a faraday cage at the Fleetwood Barracks. One will be issued to each vehicle, to be used on odd hours, using the frequency nine. The range of these machines is around thirty to forty miles, so should be sufficient taking into account the terrain. Hillsides can hamper transmission signals, so climb one of the many peaks Pentland Hills has to offer if you are struggling. Before I hand you over to your sergeants, are there any questions?’

  A few arms went up, and General Morris went through them one at a time.

  ‘Do the radios-’

  ‘Identify yourself soldier.’

  ‘Private Williams sir, do the radios have any backup power?’

  ‘They come with two battery packs, both rechargeable using the vehicles electrical point. It is also possible to use the electrical plug to give power to the radio as you talk, if the batteries fail. The battery pack can be carried inside your rucksack, when you leave your vehicles, with the radio attached.’

  ‘Yes you’ said General Morris, pointing at the next soldier.

  ‘Second Lieutenant Burch. How long do you expect this mission to take, and how much food do we have?’

  ‘Each vehicle is carrying enough food and water for six soldiers, for seven days. However, we don’t expect the mission to go on beyond four days.’

  General Morris pointed to the next soldier, who spoke up.

  ‘Sergeant Little. Are the vehicles carrying enough fuel to complete the mission?’

  ‘All vehicles have a full tank of diesel, and are carrying an extra tanks worth, the trip is a three hundred and ninety mile round trip, plus whatever is used while completing the mission, so yes there is enough.’

  General Morris pointed at another solider, stood near the back of the room.

  ‘Sergeant Charles. Are we-’

  ‘Speak up Sergeant Charles.’

  ‘Sorry sir, are we expected to sleep out in the open? I’m concerned about the conditions we will be sleeping in, in such close proximity to an impact zone.’

  ‘I understand your concerns Sergeant Charles, we advise you sleep in your vehicle.’

  There were noticeable groans from within the group of soldiers, before Sergeant Charles continued. ‘Have you tried to sleep inside a Viking? It ain’t easy.’

  ‘There are also properties all around that area, farms, towns, plenty of places to use.’

  After the final question, General Morris stood aside, and let his sergeants run through the particulars of their mission with his own team. Sergeant Davis laid out a detailed map on the bonnet of our vehicle, and we made notes of areas of interest. Our search zone included two farms, mine and my neighbours, Scald Law Peak, the forest where Roy and I saw cannibalism, vast areas of open landscape and the outskirts of two small towns. Sergeant Davis folded up the map, and put it in the front passage door of the Viking. ‘Right soldiers’ shouted General Morris, rounding us all up again with a hand movement. ‘Just a final comment, before you leave. This mission needs to be completed swiftly and efficiently as you are required back here. A war is approaching that will effect us all, and you will play an important role in defeating the enemy. For now, let’s get rid of this disease, and make sure we destroy it at the core. Good luck.’

  The men cheered, which I joined in with, even though I felt a bit like a fraud. We climbed aboard the Viking, as Sergeant Davis handed us each a sheet of paper titled ‘Key signs of kuru.’ It had a pencil drawing of a man, who looked more like the male from the good sex guide. There were five key signs: Trouble walking, increasingly poor coordination, slurred speech, muscle twitching and tremors, random laughing and/or crying. I folded up the sheet and put it in my pocket, when we see kuru we’ll know, I thought to myself. Sergeant Davis sat in the passenger seat and Murphy took the wheel. There was plenty of room for the rest of us, the vehicle was capable of seating more than it was taking. The Viking looks like a tank, sitting on two tracked vehicle units linked by a steering mechanism. It is a fully amphibious armoured all terrain vehicle, capable of hitting fifty miles per hour. Whether we are on the motorway, driving through the British countryside or needing to pass through a river, this vehicle is not going to let us down. We led the convoy, out of the stadium, past the hotel towards Security Base Delta. Officer Abbott waved us through while Officer Wilson opened the gate by the side of the tram. I looked back at the camp, and watched it disappear into the darkness, as we followed Preston New Road towards the M55. The further away from the coast we got, the more houses and buildings were occupied. People out on the streets would wave as our convoy drove past, I felt like a conquering soldier driving through a city he had helped liberate.

  ‘Two weeks ago, all this was under water’ said Sergeant Davis, turning around to speak to me.

  ‘Really’ I replied, looking out of the window at the devastation. The insides of shops and houses had been swept away, rotting wood everywhere and rusting vehicles smashed through shop windows. ‘The storms must have been torrential?’ I remarked, noticing Keane starting to smile. ‘It wasn’t rain that did this’ he snapped back at me. ‘It was a tsunami.’

  ‘A tsunami, in Great Britain? Did you see it?’

  ‘Yeah we saw it, those that didn’t are dead now. It set the camp back weeks, having to sort that shit out.’

  ‘You didn’t have to do fuck all’ laughed Sergeant Davis.

  Keane sat back in his seat and sulked, as I looked out of my window. We were soon on the M55, driving on the wrong side of the motorway due to the abandoned vehicles in the left hand lane, probably caused by the traffic trying to get out of Blackpool on the morning of the attack. The view out of the window turned from industrial and urban, to open fields and countryside. Just outside Fleetwood, we had a tense moment as we drove past some of Torriero’s men, not just some, there were hundreds. We had to slow down because of stray vehicles in the road, when Murphy yelled ‘Wake up, Torriero’s men.’ Sergeant Davis quickly sent a radio message to the vehicles behind, if they had their radios on. In the field on our right, no more than one hundred yards away, was a large camp. There looked to be hundreds of tents, it resembled a music festival. There were men milling around outside, they looked at us, and we at them. Some were barely a stones throw away, near enough to see their weapons. The camp looked like it had been there some time, muddy walkways and litter everywhere. The convoy moved past without incident, and we could all breath a little easier. I think the experienced soldiers were concerned it was a good position for an ambush, possibly an IED. Sergeant Davis spoke to Camp Blue via the radio, repor
ting our sighting, as security was tightened to all approaches, and new spotters sent to observe the camp. The roundabout to get onto the M6 was still flooded with sea water, with cars overturned in piles, a proper traffic jam with no way around. It was the first opportunity to take the Viking off road, and Murphy manoeuvred the vehicle straight over a hedgerow and into the field opposite. Mud splashed up the side of the vehicle, streaking across the window. We drove parallel to the M6 for around a mile as the carriageway cleared, and then smashed through the wooden fence back onto the motorway. There were more stray cars near the main junction, but as we got further away from Preston, the roads somewhat cleared. There was a constant stream of ash falling from the sky, highlighted by the front headlights, through the windscreen it resembled a Christmas scene. The wet sludge and mud coming off the fields and road had started to cake the windows of the vehicle, to the point I couldn’t see out of them. I sunk down in my seat to try and have a doze, before Keane woke me up with some bad singing. ‘Lucille, please, come back where you belong. I been good to you, baby, please, don’t leave me alone.’ I turned away from him, but it continued. ‘Lucille, please, come back where you belong.’ He laughed at my attempts to ignore him, before he continued. ‘Hey noob, wake up I got something to ask you. The lads have been giving me a bit of stick, they think I’m not being very friendly. So on that note, I want to bring you into the group a bit more, help you bed in. As you are a member of Blue and White Company now, I thought I would let you join our betting ring.’ I turned to face him, fully expecting this to be another piss take, but prepared to go along with it. ‘This week’s bet revolves around you as it happens, ‘How long will Private Driver last before he is killed?’ He started laughing as he continued. ‘I have you to die before the days out, Sergeant Davis thinks you’ll do a bit better, five plus day’s. My money’s on you to be bitten by a zombie, and finished off by me. You get bit by one of those fuckers, and I will put you down, make no mistake.’