On the fourth side of the bedding area he had positioned a small coffee table, so that Jane could set out the rations she was preparing. Chris had also found three tracksuits and he was going to suggest that they sleep in these. He also tracked down as much cold weather clothing he could find. Anoraks, skiwear and equipment, boots, gloves, rucksacks and general bad weather gear – hats, gloves and scarves. By 8pm there was a large pile of kit neatly laid out in three separate piles in the corner of HQ.
Meanwhile, Jane was in the kitchen going through cupboards, fridge and freezer to see what she could find to eat. She had prepared, and was now cooking, a large pot of Irish stew with ingredients from Brady’s fridge. Whilst this bubbled on the gas stove, she removed everything from the kitchen cupboards and took inventory of the freezer. Brady had told her to empty some of the plastic coke bottles from the cellar – bought in anticipation of Christmas – and fill them with fresh water. This job she gave priority, and transferred the bottles to HQ. Whilst doing this it crossed her mind that Brady had not been entirely honest with her regarding his domestic situation. There was clear evidence of a wife and two children. She decided to broach the subject when she and Brady were alone.
She boxed up anything edible in a tin or a packet and moved that upstairs as well. Jane also assembled a set of utensils - knives, forks, spoons, tin opener, scissors and plates. She had found sets of plastic camping utensils in the cellar and brought those up as well. A packet of Ziploc plastic bags she discovered might also come in handy for keeping useful items dry.
Jane found frozen chicken and steaks in the freezer, so she defrosted these in the microwave and roasted or fried the lot. These were now cooling on the sideboard and when they were ready, she would pack them up and store them in the fridge for future use, not that the fridge was any cooler than the ambient air! She assembled all of the fruit she could find and stored this upstairs, with a load of Christmas chocolate she found in the children’s bedrooms. This somewhat puzzled Jane and she spent a few minutes examining the two rooms. She needed to speak to Brady – there was definitely something he wasn’t telling her.
By eight o’clock she had scavenged just about every edible item in the house and it all lay in the opposite corner to Chris’s piles of clothing. Three bowls of steaming Irish stew with fresh bread lay on the table next to the window.
Brady had not been idle either. He had completely resigned himself to the fact that if the snow didn’t stop soon – and the Met men seemed to expect the worst – then the UK was in very grave trouble indeed. The radio stations which continued to transmit were full of advice and tales of doom and disaster. He could see no alternative to his proposed plan. They could either sit and wait to freeze – or – make a break for it. He had chosen the latter option and now he had to convince the others.
He had managed to speak to a Met man at his base. Like many other people, they were also trapped in their offices by the storm. The Met Office was predicting more than two weeks of snow. They could foresee no immediate relief. The four low-pressure systems were tightening their grip on the UK and Ireland, and the volcanic ash from Iceland was capping the whole lot off. It was a truly catastrophic situation.
Consequently, Brady was convinced enough to start drawing up a plan. After two hours, he was just about ready to put his scheme to his two new friends. With a new determination bred by hope, he picked up his computer and walked downstairs to the new HQ. After dinner, he would reveal his proposal.
Day 2 – World Reaction – 8:00pm
As usual, due to mainly parochial reasons, the rest of Europe and the world in general took a while to realise just what was happening in the UK. The BAA is on record as declaring that 2.4 inches of lying snow overwhelms them. Six centimetres. It's pathetic. So, what are the consequences when two feet of snow fall in one day?
At first, it was all seen as just more temporary winter weather. Maybe slightly more fierce than usual – but certainly no worse than many northern European countries experienced for six months of the year. Consequently, our neighbours mostly ignored the situation. Of course, the United States was, at first, oblivious of anything outside its own borders. Asia and Africa had their own problems and snow was a concept that those two continents could only appreciate with some difficulty.
However, there was a deal of interest being shown by British ex-pats. At any one time there are about 3.5 million British émigrés living abroad. From Australia and New Zealand to the United States, France and Spain. 3.5 million citizens – either retired or still working with ties and family back home.
These people generally kept in contact with their families via text, phone, e-mail or by Skype - (up to twenty-eight million Skypers are on line at times).
On the evening of the sixteenth of December, many of these ex-pats started to experience difficulty contacting their loved ones in the UK. Either the phone would not be answered or just not ring. Mobile phones would go direct to message and attempts at Skyping would fail.
Brits abroad were starting to monitor the position very carefully, and it soon became clear to many of them that the UK was experiencing unprecedented weather conditions. After the 2pm broadcast by the PM, which was picked up by non UK-based television stations and internet providers, ex-pats all over the world started to panic. Some tried to get immediate flights back to the UK, but to no avail – there were no flights into or out of Great Britain. Clark Williams died aboard the very last attempt at flight.
In addition, over the previous fortnight, around 1.4 million Brits had gone on holiday via aeroplane, car, train or boat. These people were now ready to return to the UK but could not. Cruise ships and airlines dumped their passengers in foreign ports, had thrown up their hands theatrically and left them to it. Therefore, the world only started to take notice when 1.4 million British holidaymakers started jamming up airports and hotels throughout Europe and beyond, causing confusion and overcrowding.
Airlines also realised the problem, as their aeroplanes couldn’t fly to or from the UK. Thousands of flights and sailings were cancelled and thousands of airline and ferry staff were stranded. Thousands of lorries, cars and coaches were stuck at French ports – where the weather was not brilliant – to add to the chaos. The final batches of ferry passengers had been disgorged at the European mainland ports and had to fend for themselves. Cargo vessels due for the UK had to seek refuge elsewhere and many docks in Europe were filling to capacity.
Basically, there was nothing much anyone could do – except employ crisis management. The weather was so bad by nightfall on the sixteenth of December that the UK had become, in effect, isolated. No one could get in or out.
The knock on effect became devastating as Brits around the world would have to sit it out wherever they were, relying on foreign hospitality. Many people suffered financial problems as their money ran out or their cards ceased to function and hotels eased them onto the streets. This caused additional accommodation issues as 1.4 million British holidaymakers had potentially nowhere to sleep.
It was not now just a problem for the UK, but an issue of international proportions.
Those insurance companies still functioning were also beginning to take note and no doubt were looking for excuses not to pay out. Surely, this was an ‘Act of God’. In the final analysis this weather was going to bankrupt the financial system anyway.
Therefore, as night fell on Day 2 of the crisis, the repercussions were being felt around the globe. Not only were the inhabitants of Great Britain suffering extreme hardship, but their families and friends abroad were experiencing extreme distress and severe inconvenience.
Worse was yet to come.
Much worse.
Day 2 – Grantham, Lincolnshire – 9:00pm
Brady, Jane and Chris wolfed down their Irish stew and all three had second helpings. It was just what they needed and it cheered their spirits enormously.
Brady looked round the room as they sat back savouring their meal and nodded with satisfact
ion and approval.
‘Well done, girls and boys. You’ve done a grand job. We should be fine in here tonight and for the next few days. We will keep this room as warm as possible and spend most of our time in here. The toilet will be an issue if the water freezes – but we’ll have to cross that bridge when we need to. No room for modesty, Jane, we’ll have to sleep close for warmth and wear as much clothing as possible during the night. If the electricity goes off – which I’m sure it will – we’ll be in trouble. The gas fire should work but how long will the supply last, which reminds me, I’ll transfer the Carbon Monoxide detector from upstairs to this room. Also, I’m not sure how the gas is supplied or whether electric power is needed. We’ll see.’
As he turned to pick up his computer in preparation for explaining his plan, the lights went off. Jane immediately stood up, grabbed a torch and a box of matches and lit half a dozen candles she had strategically set up around the room. Within a minute the HQ was bathed in candle-light. Happily the gas fire was still going.
‘Nice one, Jane. That's a relief,’ praised Brady.
He went to the window and peeked through the duvet and curtain protecting them from the cold glass. It was still snowing and he estimated the depth to be around two feet – at least. There were no lights on anywhere and the snow gave off an eerie white light. He turned back into the room and sat down. It was time to talk about his plan.
‘Well, if you are ready, I’ll reveal my ideas for our escape. I’ll run the laptop on battery but will turn it off as soon as possible as we might not get the power back.’
Jane and Chris sat back in silence as Brady began. The room was warm and they were comfortably replete after their supper, but there was no chance of dropping off to sleep – this was too important. Life and death - and they both knew it.
‘OK. Let me sum up briefly,’ started Brady, ‘It's snowing and my research suggests that it is going to snow for some time to come. At least two weeks. This is going to bring death and destruction to the country. I regret to say that many people have died already and many more are going to perish. This is inevitable – we will all be touched by this. There will soon be no power, gas, communication, heat, food or water. This all means that in due course there will be no shelter. People are going to freeze to death in their own homes. Those who don’t freeze are going to dehydrate. Yes, there's loads of snow – but how do you convert it to water without heat? The answer is - you don’t. The water in the pipes is already freezing. In short, the population is in big trouble. The Prime Minister has already given up. He’s told us that it's a survival situation and it's every man for him or herself.’
Jane and Chris looked at each other but remained silent. Brady continued relentlessly.
‘Therefore, we have a choice – or rather no choice! I do not want to stay here and freeze to death. It's a ‘no brainer’ as our American friends might say. I believe we need to make a break for the coast and try to cross the channel to France or Belgium. We need to plan this very carefully, and the earliest I reckon we can move would be first thing Thursday morning. That gives us just two days to prepare!’
Day 2 – M42, Leicestershire – 10:00pm
Eric Faulkner had been in his car since early morning. He was cold, very cold. His fuel had run out about an hour ago and the residual heat had now dissipated. The air conditioning had stopped working at the same time and the windows were steaming up with his exhalations.
He was a shaken and disillusioned man.
He had truly believed that the snow would stop, the road would be cleared and he would continue on his way. None of this had happened and he now realised that his life was in serious peril. The traffic had not moved since it had ground to a standstill earlier that day. Like many others in adjacent vehicles, Eric had run his engine to keep the heater and/or air conditioning running. The snow had continued to fall and after a brief and foolhardy expedition to a lorry behind him in the queue, he had remained in the car. The lorry driver had no community spirit whatsoever and had steadfastly refused Eric entry into his cab.
Some drivers had set off walking through the snow many hours before and Eric thought that perhaps he should have done so himself. However, he was clearly not prepared for the vehemence of the snowstorm. All he had to wear was a light business suit and an anorak. With nothing else to protect himself against the storm, rightly or wrongly, he had stayed with the car.
Eric had phoned his wife, the business and some family during the day. Without exception, they were all experiencing the wrath of the storm. His wife was trapped indoors and he told her to stay there. A couple of ‘reps’ and a secretary manned the company phones. They were only there because they couldn’t get out of the car park and would be attempting the walk home at some point. His family around the country were all in similar situations and couldn’t help him. He was alone.
The snow continued to fall and he contemplated approaching another car for mutual support. He should have done it sooner but the experience with the lorry driver and natural British reserve had put him off.
And now, he couldn’t get out of the car even if he wanted to. The snowdrifts were over two feet high and the doors were blocked. He couldn’t get out of the car. He considered climbing out through the boot but two feet of snow lay across the back. He couldn’t shift it.
Eric, like many other motorists that night, was imprisoned in his car. No fuel, no heat, no proper clothing. He was hungry and thirsty but had nothing to eat or drink. He had tried melting some snow but only suffered frozen hands for his trouble. There was no more that he could do.
He had heard the Prime Minister’s broadcast on the car radio at 2pm and had listened with growing despair and was now almost resigned to his fate. It was dark and cold and he had no one to converse with. He would have tried his wife again but his mobile phone battery had given up the ghost. He was truly alone.
Eric sat and shivered in his car trying to tune into a radio station. None were transmitting anything except pre-recorded programmes; and that was rare.
At around 11pm, Eric Faulkner fell asleep and never woke up.
He wasn’t the first, or the last person, to die of hypothermia in a motor vehicle that night.
Day 2 – Grantham, Lincolnshire – 9:30pm
Andrew Brady paused. Jane and Chris looked at each other, smiled feebly, and turned back to face Brady.
‘Come on then, give us the plan, we’re both ‘sort of’ with you at this point,’ Jane responded grimly.
Brady continued, using his computer to aid his argument.
‘The first reason why we should wait a couple of days is that if it does stop snowing, then we can get back to some degree of normality here in Grantham. Secondly, I believe that we need two days to fully prepare ourselves. And the first question I have to ask you both is this. Can you ski?’
Chris spoke up first.
‘I visit my dad twice a year and he lives in Lucerne. He taught me to ski when I was six. I’m pretty good. He lets me go on the black runs sometimes. But I’ve got no equipment. What do we do – go to the sports shop and buy some?’
Jane joined in.
‘Yes, I ski too. We holiday every year in France. Love it. But Chris is right. Where do we get the gear?’
‘I’m way ahead of you. I have all the ski gear we could possibly need, here in this house. We just have to fine tune the skis and we’ll be ready to go.’
Jane took this opportunity to quiz Brady regarding the indications of a missing family all over the house.
‘What do you mean, Brady? You told me that you lived alone, yet all over the place is evidence of a wife and children. Where are they? What aren’t you telling us?’
Brady looked at Chris and then at Jane. He had no choice now but to let Jane into his awful heart-breaking secret and over the next fifteen minutes he told her the full story.
They sat in silence for some minutes when he had finished. Spookily, the lights flickered on and off three times and then plunged
them back into semi-darkness. This seemed to shock them out of their trance.
‘Andrew, what can I say? You must feel awful. How can you possibly carry on like nothing has happened?’
Brady sighed and gave his solemn response.
‘They’ve gone and there's nothing I can do about it. The remainder of my family is spread throughout the country and I’ve told my wife’s parents and the grandparents. They are devastated, but what more can I say? But, I will tell you what I can do! I can save the three of us. And that's just exactly what I’m going to do!’
Chris remained silent and Jane held her hands to her face.
‘There's no point in harping over what's gone before. It's horribly tragic and I can barely believe it – but it's a fact. And another fact is that we have got to survive. Can we please put the past behind us and concentrate our minds on the future – on survival? We cannot afford to brood on what's gone before. There will be time to grieve later. We must look forward. Are we agreed?’
Snow! The Series [Books 1-4] Page 21
